My husband who drinks coffee 3 times a day looked me in the
eyes and said with embarrassment: "Honey, I don’t understand but this cup
of coffee is the worst coffee I’ve had in a while, it tastes like foot!".
Now, I'm not a coffee drinker. Out of the few things I remember, what I know is
coffee shouldn't taste like feet. I think it's a basic principle, right?
If the coffee you make tastes bitter and smells funny, it is
time you should think about taking care of your coffee machine. Cleaning your
coffee machine on a regular basis helps maintain freshness, removes hard water
from coffee and prevents stains.
It also removes mineral deposits and purifies the remaining
coffee oils and becomes rancid. The best news? It's easy and probably the best
idea if you need to recharge yourself at home!
It’s a good think you don’t have to tear apart your
coffee maker to clean it.
When my husband said his coffee tasted like a toe, I went to
our machine to check for any fungal growth. The situation was bad. I asked him
when is the last time he had cleaned the coffee maker? The answer was an
incomprehensible mutter, avoiding eye contact.
Well that’s a bad sign.
I could see an accumulation of hard water in the carafe and
some mineral deposits inside the machine. So, I decided to clean the machine
that has been a best friend to my husband.
I can fix it, I hurried. Give me some vinegar, it's time to
take it seriously.
Cleaning the Coffee Maker With Vinegar
·
White vinegar (enough to fill up half your
carafe)
·
Water
·
Sponge
·
Hot soapy water
·
Damp dish towel
·
Dry dish towel
How to?
Empty the carafe and the coffee grounds: Empty and
rinse the carafe and empty the rest of the ground coffee from the filter.
Preparing the cleaning solution: You need some water to
mix with the vinegar.
Pour the solution into the water chamber: Fill the
water chamber with white vinegar and
water. Completely fill the water tank. I used the pitcher to measure the same
pieces.
Perform a half infusion cycle: Start the infusion
cycle. Turn off the coffee maker in the middle of the brew cycle and let it sit
for an hour.
End of the brewing cycle: Turn on the coffee maker
after one hour and end the brewing cycle.
Discard the vinegar water solution and start a fresh water
cycle: once the infusion cycle is finished, pour the vinegar solution into the
water and fill the water chamber with fresh water (no vinegar).
Run an infusion cycle again with just water. Repeat this
process two more times to allow your
coffee brewer to cool easily between the white shades.
Clean your coffee maker: clean the outside of your
coffee maker and wash the carafe and filter basket in hot, soapy water.
Now your coffee will not taste like your feet! Go try it.