How Much Vinegar Do You Need to Clean a Coffee Maker?

If you’re wondering how much vinegar you need in order to clean a coffee maker, you’ve come to the right place.

You ready for this?

I’ve got my vinegar – now what?

A peer-reviewed study found that exposing bacteria to a solution of water and vinegar for 30 minutes is sufficient to kill bacteria. That’s useful information if you’re looking to clean a coffee maker with vinegar.

So exactly how much vinegar should you use?

The study used a mixture of one part water to one part vinegar. So when you’re ready to clean your coffee maker, here’s what you do:

1. Take a half cup of water.

2. Measure a half cup of vinegar, and mix it with the water. (Choose an all-natural vinegar that doesn’t contain synthetic preservatives).

3. Pour the mixture into the water chamber of your coffee maker.

4. Start the cycle, but pause it as soon as the vinegar solution starts to trickle into the coffee pot.

5. Allow the mixture sit inside the coffee maker for 30 minutes.

6. After the 30 minutes are up, restart the cycle.

7. Discard the vinegar mix and run a cycle with clean water.

8. To remove any lingering odor, disassemble the coffee maker and wash the parts with natural dish soap and clean water.

Why natural?

Find out in this video:

9. Air dry and reassemble the parts.

Done!

If you’re just here to learn about how much vinegar to use to clean your coffee maker, that’s really all you need to know.

If, however, you might be tempted to learn about why vinegar is so darn effective, just keep reading.

Why clean a coffee maker with vinegar?

Good question!

Vinegar has a low pH, and so is very acidic. Thanks to its acidity, vinegar has been proven to work great for killing common household bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans.

Another study showed that vinegar is effective at killing bacteria inside dish sponges, which are known for hosting more bacteria than any other item in most people’s homes.

Vinegar isn’t the only substance with great sanitizing power. Lots of different kinds of chemicals – including bleach – are also powerful at killing bacteria. What’s so special about vinegar?

The little problem with bleach (and many other chemical disinfectants) is that it’s toxic. It is far to easy to come away from a bleach-cleaning session with serious damage to your skin, lungs, or eyes.

Vinegar, by contrast, is non-toxic and totally safe!

Vinegar is also highly affordable, and you might already have some in your kitchen anyway.

That’s why vinegar is the perfect ingredient to clean your coffee maker with!

Now that you’re well-versed in the ways of vinegar, let’s unpack this scenario just a little bit more.

Why should you clean your coffee maker?

Doesn’t all that hot water mean that your coffee maker is self-cleaning?

Unfortunately, no.

There are two huuuge reason to clean your coffee maker regularly.

First, coffee gets stale. Stale coffee tastes bad.

When coffee residue sticks around inside your coffee maker, your delicious brew will absorb some of that funky taste, tainting the flavor of your coffee.

Second, bacteria thrive in moist, dark environments. The inside of your coffee maker is a moist, dark environment.

When scientists tested the insides of people’s coffee makers, they found up to 4.6 million colonies of bacteria and mold inside each machine.

So if you haven’t cleaned your coffee maker in a while, it might be time to do so.

Over to you

Now you know not just how much vinegar you need to clean a coffee maker.

You also know why that’s the way to go.

If you want to try different methods for cleaning a coffer maker, check out how to use baking soda as an alternative.

Also find out what cleaners you should never use inside a coffee maker.

If you’d like to learn how to use vinegar for sanitizing your dishes, we’ve got you covered right here.

Happy cleaning!

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