Coffee maker is one of the most used gadgets in the kitchen. At the same time, it is one of the home appliances that receive least care. If you skip cleaning the coffee maker, it accumulates a lot of nasty stuff that spoils the taste of your coffee and spreads an unpleasant smell throughout your kitchen. This smell should ring an alarm bell for you, as it lets you know that something goes wrong with your gadget. It’s best, though, if you don’t wait for this nasty scent to appear, and clean your coffee maker on regular basis. One of the best products to use for it is apple cider vinegar. Read on to get a grasp on how to clean coffee maker with apple cider vinegar.
Why cleaning coffee maker is important?
There are a lot of people who neglect the necessity of cleaning their coffee-making machine. Whether caused by laziness or busy life, inaction leads a ton of dirty stuff accumulating in the device over time. You are expected to feel the effects of it in a while with a nasty smell invading your kitchen, an unhealthy and less tasty coffee, and a poorly functionable coffee maker. So what it is that makes your coffee maker so dirty and insanitary?
Your coffee-making machine is a huge hub of bacteria and germs, because it has everything for them to grow and multiply, including heat, moisture and organic material. Drinking coffee from such machine is dangerous for your health. That’s why, you have to clean it regularly not to allow the harmful bacteria to thrive.
In addition to making your coffee dirty and unhealthy, the germs impede the smooth flow of the coffee machine and generate a disgusting smell throughout the kitchen. If things come to this point, you will have not only to clean the appliance, but also to sanitize and deodorize the entire kitchen, which takes additional time, effort and money. This is another reason you should clean your coffee maker more often than you would want to.
How to clean coffee maker with apple cider vinegar?
Apple cider is a great weapon against grime and bacteria that accumulate in your coffee machine. But to make it effective, you have to use it properly. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to clean coffee machine with apple cider vinegar.
1. Prepare the coffee maker
Before jumping into cleaning the device, make sure all its parts are empty. This will help you give it a deeper clean. Empty out the water reservoir and remove the coffee grounds if any got stuck in the machine. Also, the apple cider vinegar will be thankful to you if you wipe the moisture off the appliance parts. Water makes the vinegar less concentrated, and hence less effective in removing the debris.
2. Make the mixture
Mix apple cider vinegar and water with a ratio 1:2 in a bowl. Make sure to choose a bowl as big as the solution inside is enough to fill your maker’s reservoir. Mix well to make the ingredients blend into one, then move on to the next step. If you are in a rush and don’t want to waste time on the mixture preparation, pour the ingredients directly into the coffee maker and turn it on. Althouth not so well, the apple cider vinegar and water will mix up in the maker’s reservoir while it’s running.
3. Run a brew cycle
Pour the mixture into the coffee maker and press the brew button, allowing for the solution to get spread through the maker and get heated by the maker’s parts. The higher the solution’s temperature, the more effectively it deals with stubborn dirt. Once the brew cycle comes to an end, let the mixture sit inside the machine for an hour so that it dissolves calcified minerals and stuck-on grime.
4. Dispose of the apple cider vinegar
Collect the solution into the coffee pot. Since the coffee pot is also affected by mineral deposits, you are good to leave the vinegary mixture in it for half an hour to clean them out. Then, pour the mixture down the kitchen sink.
5. Give a hot water shower
The apple cider cycle should be followed by a few hot water cycles to get the maker fully ready for new coffee brews. Pour hot water into the reservoir and let the machine run a cycle. The water will remove the vinegar residue, preventing its sharp smell interacting with the brewed coffee. Also, the heat is going to lift the remaining tough dirt that the cider hasn’t managed to. If the smell persists after the first cycle, run another cycle to guarantee the vinegary scent is gone. Don’t forget to give a hot water shower to the coffee pot as well.
Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar: how do they differ?
Both products have the same compound at their basis — acetic acid. However, they are manufactured in different ways. The apple cider vinegar forms as a result of the fermentation of apples, while the white vinegar is obtained by fermenting ethanol. Given that it has a natural product at its foundation, apple cider vinegar is considered healthier and safer to use in the kitchen. That’s why, you are better off using this product in cleaning your coffee machine.
The main disadvantage of this type of vinegar is that it has a strong smell and taste. You have to pay close attention to the removal of apple cider vinegar residue after cleaning the maker with it. Luckily, it can be done simply by running the appliance through some hot water cycles.
Closing thoughts
By reading this article, you should acquire knowledge on how to clean coffee maker with apple cider vinegar. Since the process implies no elbow grease from you, you can do it even when you are tired after a hard working day. No wiping, no scrubbing, you just add the vinegar to the machine and let it clean itself. Don’t forget to clean the maker with water afterwards to prevent it preparing a coffee with sour undertones.
