How To Clean A Coffee Maker Without Vinegar

The coffee maker has become the most used equipment in the kitchen Most people love a cup of coffee before going about their daily business. After an extended coffee brewing session, your coffee maker needs to be kept clean. You need to tidy your coffee maker at regular intervals to remove dirt and stop bacterial growth. This serves to give a smooth coffee brewing experience.

There are several ways to make your coffee maker squeaky clean. Vinegar is one of the most used cleaning agents in many homes. It can be used to clean coffee makers. But, vinegar may not be available for cleaning. In some extreme cases, vinegar might not be suitable for your coffee maker.

Thus, you need to learn how to clean your coffee maker without vinegar. This article contains a list of suitable alternatives to vinegar that can do the work. Read along to find out the best substitutes to clean your vinegar.

How To Clean A Coffee Maker Without Vinegar?

There are several substitutes to vinegar, some of which are lemon juice, liquid dish soap, salt and ice water, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, to mention a few. All these cleaning agents are easy to apply to your coffee maker. All you have to do to clean your coffee maker is to run the system for some cycles. This cleans them out.

Despite the usefulness of vinegar as a cleaning agent for your coffee maker, it is not the first choice for many coffee lovers. Most people hate the pungent odor that it leaves behind. Also, vinegar leaves a strange taste on your coffee maker, which may be difficult to get rid of in your coffee pot. Also, the acidic nature of vinegar may cause reactions in your body.

Due to these reasons, most people embrace other cleaning agents to clean your coffee maker. Some of them are lemon juice, liquid dish soap, salt and ice water, baking soda, peroxide, to mention a few. A more detailed explanation of how to use these cleaning agents are listed below.

Cleaning with Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is more preferred to vinegar because it can be cleaned and has no strong odor. Like vinegar, it has acidic nature. Hence, it would be useful in cleaning dirt and grime from your coffee maker. Also, the acidity of lemon juice makes it a good disinfectant.

You can easily buy a few lemons and squeeze the juice out. Conversely, you can also get pre-packaged lemon juice from the mall.

Cleaning with Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a good cleaning agent. Besides, they are also suitable for disinfection. However, hydrogen peroxide is a little toxic; you will need to exercise special care.

Cleaning with Borax in water

Borax can clean almost everything. It is one of those multipurpose cleaning agents with a broad range of applications. It is preferred to vinegar because it does not leave any lingering odors or chemical films on your coffee maker. You can use it with your Keurig coffee maker.

Cleaning with salt and ice

In case you don’t have any cleaning agents at home, you can easily improvise with salt and ice. The best thing about this combination is that it is readily available. They work great together to clean out the grease and mineral deposits in your coffee maker.

How Do You Use Lemon Juice To Clean Your Coffee Maker?

The first thing to do is run a full brew cycle on your coffee maker to remove any remaining coffee residue. Secondly, fill up the coffee maker pod with lemon juice and sit for 15 minutes. Thirdly, add a clean filter to the machine and brew for one cycle with the lemon juice. After brewing with the lemon juice, remove the pod and brew again with water. Do this repeatedly.

Finally, wash the removable parts in the sink with soap and water.

How Do You Use Hydrogen Peroxide To Clean Your Coffee Maker?

The first step is to make your hydrogen peroxide solution. Mix two cups of water with one cup of hydrogen peroxide. Then, pour the mixture into your coffee maker and brew it for a full cycle.

After the brew, discard the hydrogen period mixture from the coffee maker and run water through several cycles. This serves to remove any traces of hydrogen peroxide.

How Do You Use Borax In Water To Clean Your Coffee Maker?

The first step is to fill up the pod with water. Then, add two tablespoons to the water to form your borax solution. Afterward, start brewing with the Borax in your coffee maker to get the cleaning agent working throughout the system. After brewing, remove the borax solution and re-brew with water repeatedly to clean out the system

How Do You Use Salt And Ice To Clean Your Coffee Maker?

The first thing to do is to crush the ice cubes into smaller pieces. Then mix the salt and ice together with a spoon for efficient mixing. The next step is to scrub the inside of the carafe with the salt and ice mix. This removes the dirt that may have gotten stuck on the walls of the carafe.

When done cleaning, wash the carafe with soap and water.

Now that you know several substitutes for vinegar, your coffee maker can remain clean all year round.

Can You Clean A Coffee Maker With Baking Soda?

Baking soda is another cleaning agent that works wonders for your coffee maker. It is very safe to use due to its non-toxic nature. Also, it is mildly alkaline. This makes it very ideal for removing dirt from your coffee maker.

How Do You Use Baking Soda To Clean Your Coffee Maker?

Firstly, detach the filter from the coffee maker. Secondly, make a baking soda solution by adding a quarter cup of baking soda in a container. Mix it thoroughly and pour it inside the coffee maker reservoir. Then, run a brew cycle with the baking soda solution. This cleans the coffee maker system.

After that, discard the baking soda solution and run clean water through the coffee maker a few times to eliminate baking soda scent and residue.

Can A Dirty Coffee Maker Make You Sick?

Definitely, you can get sick if you brew your coffee with a dirty coffee maker. Without proper cleaning, your coffee maker could be one of the dirtiest appliances in your kitchen.

Besides, bacteria and molds can grow inside your coffee maker. The moisture and warm conditions of your coffee maker favor the growth of microorganisms. These microorganisms may mix with your coffee when brewing and so cause harm to your body.

Thus, you need to clean out your coffee maker at regular intervals.

How often should I clean my coffee maker?

Ideally, you should clean your coffee maker after every use, removing the grounds and cleaning the brew basket, lid, and carafe. Deeper cleaning of your coffee maker is needed to remove mineral deposits. Also, do this every two to three months.

If the water from your home contains high mineral content, the residue may build up more. In this case, a monthly cleaning is recommended.

You can buy a particular brand of coffee maker that has a tracker to help you time cleaning dates. They give a cleaning signal to alert the users that cleaning is needed. If no cleaning is done, they enter downtime mode.

These are just a few of the several alternatives to vinegar. You could also use Alcohol or dishwashing liquid to clean your coffee maker. All of these cleaning agents have unique features that make them perfect to be used for your coffee maker.

You can avoid downtime by cleaning it regularly. Feel free to check your coffee maker instruction manual for a detailed guide on cleaning.

What happens if you don’t clean your coffee maker?

When water doesn’t reach the optimal temperature needed for brewing, then the coffee bean’s full flavor won’t be extracted. This is an effect of not cleaning your coffee maker.

What is the life expectancy of a coffee maker?

Typically, your coffee maker should last you between 6-10 years of use depending on the model.

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