Even though stainless steel is easy to clean in general, many people have some questions about properly cleaning and caring for their stainless steel coffee pot. Can it rust? Should I put it in the dishwasher? We'll answer these questions and more in this guide and leave you with a few tips for making your stainless steel pot last for years.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Active Time35 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Yield: 1clean coffee pot
Cost: $2
Equipment
Gooseneck kettle
Soft cloth
Materials
Dishwashing powder
1/2cupvinegar
1/8cupsalt
1/2cupcrushed ice
Instructions
Deep Cleaning Method
Boil water in a kettle or pot on the stove. Make sure to use a pot with a pouring spout if you don't have a tea kettle to make it easy to pour the boiling water into your coffee pot later.
Put one dishwasher pod or one load's worth of dishwashing powder into your stainless steel coffee pot.
Fill your coffee pot with boiling water.
Let the boiling water and dishwasher detergent sit for at least 30 minutes. It takes time for the detergent to work, so be patient.
After 30 minutes have elapsed, gently swirl the coffee pot to loosen any particularly stubborn coffee gunk determined to stay stuck to your coffee pot.
Pour out the soapy water and be prepared for a lot of coffee and other dried nastiness to come out with it. It's perfectly normal to see a lot of residual dried coffee, especially if you haven't cleaned your coffee pot in a while.
Rinse the coffee pot thoroughly with cold water. Dishwasher detergent is strong, and you don't want to have any in your next batch of coffee. We recommend filling your coffee pot with water several times before using it to brew coffee.
Removing Water Stains
Add ½ cup of vinegar to your coffee pot.
Add about ⅛ cup of salt. The exact amount is unimportant.
Add about ½ cup of crushed ice.
Swirl the mixture for 30 seconds. Most deposits will loosen from gently swirling, but you might have to use a soft cloth to scrub the more persistent ones.
Dump the mixture out and rinse thoroughly to remove any lingering vinegar taste.