Your Coffee Maker requires regular cleaning to rid it of deposits and coffee oils that ruin the taste of coffee made using it. Vinegar is the cleaning agent that’s most used in homes. While its cleaning capabilities are excellent, most people don’t like its strong smell, or the distinct odor it leaves on your coffee maker.

If you’re one of the coffee brewers who dislike using vinegar for its smell, you need not worry anymore. There are other ways to clean your coffee making machine without necessarily using vinegar. One of them is using a solution of fresh lemon juice.

Lemon provides an alternative cleaner with equally effective cleaning abilities, but minus the unpleasant smell. Lemon is natural and its smell can be tolerated by many people. It’s fresh, safe on your skin, and has antimicrobial properties to rid your coffee maker of germs.

Here is a procedure on how to clean hour coffee maker without vinegar, using only lemon juice and water.

10 Steps:

1. Flush out leftover coffee grounds by running water through the coffee maker once or twice.
2. Turn off the coffee maker.
3. Pour, into the coffee maker, equal parts of lemon juice and water to make the cleaning solution. Ensure the solution covers the inside fully so that every part of the inner surface is cleaned.
4. Let the lemon juice solution stay still for between fifteen and twenty minutes; it allows the lemon time to dislodge and break the coffee oils stuck to the coffee maker’s walls.
5. Let the lemon solution run out by turning on the coffee maker.
6. Repeat the process if you have plenty of lemon solution remaining to ensure a thorough cleanup.
7. Rinse the coffee maker by pouring clean, cold water into the coffee maker and allowing it to run out. Do it for about two to three times. It will help to clear the inside of any lemon odor and taste that would get into your next coffee.
8. Take the coffee maker apart and wash its parts using the remaining lemon juice solution.
9. Next, wash the same parts using soap and warm water to rid them of lemon odor and taste.
10. Finally, rinse the parts with clean water and dry them up before assembling them back.

Your coffee maker is now clean and ready to make your next brew of coffee.

Now that you can wash your coffee maker without using vinegar, here are tips on how to keep it in good condition so that a wash results in a perfectly clean maker producing a coffee brew of the right taste and flavor.

5 Tips

• Store the coffee maker with its top open so that air can circulate freely. Ensure the place is well ventilated. It will prevent odors building up inside it and not finding a way to escape
• Store your coffee maker in a dry pace, away from any dampness. Ensure it’s completely dry before storing it. If unsure, use a dry towel to wipe it, especially immediately after cleaning it. Ensure, too, that the storage place is at the right temperature, not too hot as to encourage a rapid growth of mold
• Follow the cleaning recommendations that came with the coffee maker because they’re different depending on make and working mechanisms. One cleaning procedure for one coffee maker may not be ideal for another. The procedures vary only slightly, though.
• Clean your coffee maker as soon as you use it. At that time, stains and other dirt can easily wash off. If it stays for long, it can take a lot of effort to clean it, and worse still, have the stains remain even after a wash
• Once in a while, carry out a thorough cleaning of your coffee making machine where you disassemble it and scrub every part. It’s largely dependent on the frequency of use, but a monthly cleanup is recommended.

Above all, ensure you use water that will not cause minerals to deposit in your coffee making machine. Such deposits can be hard to clean, can cause coffee oils to stick more, and reduce the life of your coffee maker. Tap water, although the most available, is not recommended. Filtered water is the best; it causes no mineral deposits, plus it results in quality coffee in terms of taste.

There are a number cleaning agents that you can use to clean your coffee maker apart from vinegar. Lemon performs better, is natural and, therefore, safe in all ways.

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