How to Clean a Coffee Pot in 8 Easy Steps

Today we’re going to show you how to clean a coffee pot with natural ingredients instead of harsh chemicals.

Here’s how to get the job done.

How to clean a coffee pot with natural cleaners

Just follow these 8 easy steps to make your coffee pot sparkle like it’s brand new again:

1. Empty out any leftover coffee and rinse the pot with clean water.

2. Lather up the pot with natural dish soap (conventional dish soap contains too many harsh toxins that leave behind chemical residue – learn more in this post).

3. Rinse the pot with clean water.

4. Now it’s time to sanitize the coffee pot to get rid of microbial buildup. Get some vinegar (like this one) and prepare a solution consisting of one part water and one part vinegar.

5. Use some of the vinegar-water concoction to wash the outside of the coffee pot, including the handle, to remove microbes.

6. Fill the coffee pot with the rest of the vinegar mixture and let it sit for 30 minutes. (Scientists found that applying a vinegar-and-water mix to any area for a half hour is sufficient to kill disease-causing microbes.)

Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of vinegar (or don’t have any), mix one part of baking soda with 9 parts of water instead. Studies have found that baking soda is an effective all-natural cleaner capable of removing microbes. (Learn more in this post).

7. After 30 minutes, dump out the solution and rinse the coffee pot.

8. Last but not least, it’s time to dry your clean pot – but watch out. Don’t be tempted to towel-dry the pot. Damp kitchen towels are often packed with microbes that in turn get rubbed onto freshly-washed items; counterproductive, no? The better option: air drying. Set your pot on a dish rack and allow it to dry naturally. This doesn’t only do a better job keeping the coffee pot clean; it also saves you some time.

All done – that’s how to clean a coffee pot!

But what if there are microbes inside the coffee maker? Won’t they spoil the cleanliness of your newly-washed coffee pot the next time you prepare a fresh brew?

Good thinking!

If you want to keep your coffee pot clean, then you should aim to sanitize the whole coffee maker at least once a month.

Here’s how.

How to keep your coffee pot clean

Now that you know how to clean a coffee pot, here are some simple steps for getting a clean coffee maker as well.

1. Take apart the coffee maker and wash each individual part with natural dish soap.

2. Rinse the parts with clean water and let them air dry.

3. Reassemble the parts and fill the water chamber with a mix of one part water to one part vinegar. (Again, if vinegar isn’t your thing and you’d prefer baking soda instead, mix one part of baking soda with 9 parts of water and follow the remaining steps. Learn more about the cleaning power of baking soda in this post).

4. Start a brewing cycle, but stop it as soon as the vinegar solution begins dripping into the coffee pot.

5. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes. Then, restart the coffee maker.

6. When the cycle is done, dump out the vinegar mix and run another cycle with clean water to remove any lingering vinegar odor.

All set!

The vinegar solution will remove any microbial buildup inside the coffee maker and the coffee dripping into your clean coffee pot will be as clean as you’d hope.

Carrying out those steps at least once a month is your ticket to keeping it clean.

Now you know how to clean a coffee pot.

If you’ve been intrigued by the power of natural cleaners that are 100% nontoxic and still get the job done, there’s one more thing you should do.

Did you know that conventional dish soap leaves behind toxic residue all over your freshly-washed dishes (including your coffee pot)?

Here's why:

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s a post about the benefits of natural dish soap to help you keep yourself and your family safe.

(When you make a purchase from links in this post we might receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.)