Your coffee maker needs clean every once in a while. Regular cleaning ensures that the coffee machine will perform optimally for a longer period of time. Cleaning also stops your coffee maker from tasting like foot!
Steps involved in cleaning a Bunn coffee machine, you need to wash the coffee machine and the pot between uses, deeply clean the carafe and the entire machine every three months.
We recommend cleaning the outer surface of the machine once a week with a damp cloth. Unplugging the coffee maker and allow it to cool down sufficiently.
Descale the machine with white vinegar
When you use hard water or tap water, calcium and magnesium deposits buildup in the machine.
You should do descaling once a month.
- Empty the coffee machine and remove the filter
- Mix the white vinegar with distilled water
- The amount for the mixture should be: 1/3 of vinegar and 2/3 of distilled water
- Pour the mixture into your machine
- Switch on the coffee machine and start brewing
- At the end of the brewing cycle, turn off the machine and leave the solution of vinegar for 15 minutes
- Brew water for two cycles. This will remove the remaining flavor of the vinegar
- Always remember to switch off the coffee machine for 15 minutes between each cycle
- Check if the water coming out of the coffee machine tastes ok. If it still has the flavor of vinegar, keep rinsing it with water until it no longer tastes like vinegar
Cleaning the lime deposits of the spray head
Lime deposits in the Bunn coffee machine are often caused by impurities in the water.
- Before anything, disconnect the device from the power source
- Unscrew and remove the spray head from the machine
- There’s a probe supplied with the coffee maker. Insert it and Keep 2 inches of the probe in between your fingers just so it doesn’t go all the way in the machine and you lose it
- To remove stuck debris, move the probe up and down through the hole. Do this for five to six times
- Carefully inspect the spray head to make sure the holes are no longer blocked
- You can also try carefully inserting the small tip of a toothpick into each of the holes to loosen or remove debris
- Allow cold water and let it run through the spray head after removing the debris
Cleaning the thermal carafe
- Start with removing the lid
- The lid cannot be washed with dishwasher. It’s better to wash the lid with non-abrasive soap
- Place a paper filter into the funnel in which the coffee gets through
- Put 2 tablespoons of detergent in a brew filter. You can try powdered or liquid dishwasher detergents
- Pour in hot water in the machine and turn on the machine so that hot water can flow through
- When finished, discard the filter
- Let the decanter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes with water filled with detergent.
- Clean the inside with a soft brush and remove all the coffee stains
- Before you start using the machine again, rinse 3-4 times with cold water
Do coffee makers get moldy?
Yes, while running the coffee machines become wet and hot deep inside. Once the coffee has been brewed, the coffee machine contains hot water in the tank and in the tubing as well.
It’s a great place to grow mold and fungus. Reservoirs and tubes develop bacteria, mold and fungi, which should be cleaned regularly.
What can I use to clean my coffee machine without vinegar?
A good alternative for vinegar can be citric acid. The citric acid in lemon juice kills bacteria and dislodge mineral deposits as it’s a strong substance.
Not only citric acid kills bacteria, mold and fungi but it actually removes calcium, rust, coffee stains and mineral deposits from hard water.
There’s one issue though, you’re going to need a lot of lemons to do it properly. You can buy prepared lemon juice, that way you can reduce the cost.
Since lemon juice is a substitute for vinegar, the rest of the cleaning process is same. Use a commercially available detergent and descaler if you want your machine to be deeply cleaned. They are inexpensive than lemon juice and cleans better and faster than the white vinegar.
Can a dirty coffee maker make you sick?
Yup! It can grow a lot of things including bacteria. A coffee machine that is not cleaned regularly enough starts to raise harmful bacteria. Mold can be very bad for your health.
Mold can releases spores which can make us sick. For people with a weak immune system, mold can be pretty dangerous.
Most of the things a mold can cause include sneezing or allergies, headache, congestion, itching and watery eyes.
Indeed, mold in small doses acts as an irritant. So, always replace the water after each use.
Can I use tap water for coffee?
Filtered water and tap water generally have a slightly different flavor and therefore also affect the taste of coffee. If the tap water you are using has a metallic or acidic taste, it may be is best to use filtered or bottled water.
However, to avoid the formation of mold, do not use tap water in the coffee machine. Use filtered water Instead.
Can I run bleach through my coffee maker?
NO! That, my friend, is not an option!
You should never use bleach to clean the reservoir/filter/basket of the coffee machine. You can clean the outside of a coffee machine or filter with a mild bleach solution but don’t let that get inside of your machine.
Can I clean my coffee machine with baking soda?
Yup, that’s a good way to do it. That’s what some of us use. Although it is ideal for removing stains from the outside of the coffee machine, the problem is that the baking soda does not completely dissolve in the water and the small particles can remain in the machine, which can indeed be a problem.
What you can do to solve this is, after you drain out the water and baking soda mixture, rinse and add fresh water to the coffee machine.
Pour some fresh lemon juice and brew the coffee maker again. Lemon juice removes the remaining sodium bicarbonate particles. If that looks like an extra effort you can instead try cleaning your coffee machine with lemon/vinegar juice itself!
How often should you descale your coffee machine?
You must clean the coffee machine after each use by removing the coffee grounds and cleaning the basket, the lid and the carafe.
Most modern coffee/espresso machines have a screen indicating when to descale. If your machine does not have an indicator, we recommend that you should perform a complete cleaning or descaling at least every two/three months to remove molds and deposits.
I would advise once a month if possible.
Can you run soapy water through a coffee maker?
You should clean the removable parts like the carafe, the brew basket and the permanent filter with warm water and soap.
However, it is best not to pour soapy water into the water tank. Instead, fill the water tank with water and vinegar solution and perform 1-2 brew cycles to clean it.
