Cleaning Coffee Maker With Vinegar? Stick to Salad.

For many of us, coffee plays an integral role in our lives; it can be a source of energy, comfort, pleasure, even happiness and peace of mind. If our coffee is to fulfill its role in our lives to its full potential, if it is to reach optimal levels of taste, temperature, and aroma, it must be brewed from a clean machine. Some of us who are aware of the importance of a clean coffee maker in relation to the quality of our coffee experience use vinegar as the cleaning solution. In fact, the internet is littered with countless “how-to” articles, blogs and posts on cleaning a coffee maker with vinegar. But while vinegar is great for cleaning windows or wood floors, and you can’t beat it for salad, it will not do the trick to make the best tasting coffee possible.

Whether you have a drip coffee maker or a Keurig® brewer, vinegar is not the total cleaning solution you’re looking for. Vinegar only does part of the job. As we discussed in a previous blog, it is necessary to both descale and clean your coffee maker in order to get the most from your roast. Descaling is the process of removing the limescale (or minerals from water) that builds up on the heating elements of your machine, preventing your coffee from achieving optimal heat and taste. Cleaning is the process of removing coffee oils that accumulate on internal and external machine parts, which also negatively affect the taste of your coffee. Vinegar does a decent job at descaling your machine, but it does not clean it. Furthermore, it is necessary to flush out the vinegar from your machine several times over in order to remove the smell and aftertaste. Imagine waking up, looking forward to the intoxicating aroma of a fresh brew and that first delicious sip of coffee, only to be rudely awakened by a smelly kitchen and a mouthful of vinegar because someone in the house flushed out the machine 2 times when they should have done it 5 times. Speaking from experience, it happens… and it’s not pretty.

Thankfully, there are much better alternatives out there that will descale AND clean any type of coffee maker you have without the hassle and without the smell of vinegar. When brewing at home, professional baristas don’t even consider vinegar as a cleaning solution; they only use descaling and cleaning products that are designed specifically for coffee equipment… so should you.

Urnex, a global leader in this industry, makes a wide variety of cost effective, easy-to-use solutions for home use that will ensure you will drink and experience the best tasting coffee possible.

Considering the important role coffee plays in your daily life, don’t rely on cleaning your equipment to a salad dressing, use proven solutions that will give you the confidence and peace of mind that you are consistently getting the most from your roast.