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How to Clean Your Coffee Carafe

Author: Jessica Dillon

Published: June 4, 2020

Anyone who has forgotten to clean their coffee pot for a week knows about those infamous brown stains. As much as you scrub, they just won’t come out. This can be a frustrating experience if you love to clean like me. Here are a few ways to lift those stains out of your carafe and have it look like new.

7 Ways to Easily Clean a Glass Coffee Carafe

Clean a Coffee Carafe with Vinegar and Baking Soda
Use one part baking soda and one part water to make a paste. Scrub the inside of your carafe with it until it is clean. If you have a stubborn area, then add in a bit of vinegar to cause a chemical reaction, this helps remove the stain.
Clean Coffee Carafes with Dish Soap
If you regularly wash out your carafe with warm water and soap, it will prevent the coffee from staining it in the first place. Try to do this at least once a week. Make sure to rinse out your carafe well to prevent soapy tasting coffee.
Sanitize and Stain-Lift Carafes with White Vinegar
This is a two for one cleaning method. Add a third of a cup of water into your carafe and then fill the rest with water. Pour this mixture into your coffee machine’s reservoir and run it through a brewing cycle. Not only will it help pull stains out of your carafe, but it will also clean your coffee machine inside. Make sure to run plain water through your coffee machine after at least twice.
Cleaning Coffee Carafes with Lemon Juice and Salt
Combine three tablespoons of salt, two tablespoons of lemon juice and one cup of crushed ice into your carafe. Swirl it around and let the ice and salt scrub the sides while the lemon pulls out the stains. Rinse after with cold water and use a sponge on any stubborn stains.
Fizz Away Stains with Denture Tablets
Denture tablets aren’t just good for cleaning dentures, they can work for your carriage as well. You can add two anti-bacterial denture tablets to a carafe full of warm water and wait about 15 minutes. Scrub and rinse it out after the pot is clean.
Remove Stubborn Stains with Dishwashing Detergent
Dishwashing detergent can be a great way to get rid of tough stains. Fill the carafe full of boiling hot water and then add in one tablespoon of dishwasher detergent. Let this sit overnight, and it will pull the stains out of your coffee pot.
Power Through Grime with Coffee Cleaner
If all else fails, you can always use a commercial coffee stain cleaner. If you don’t mind using a chemical cleaner, this is the easiest way to remove stains from your carafe. Just remember to follow the instructions on the back of the bottle.

Carafe Cleaning - The Problem

As you make your coffee every day throughout the month, you will notice your coffee pot will start to turn brownish on the inside. This is caused by the build-up of coffee oils.

The problem arises when you go to wash your carafe, and those stains won’t come out. This is most easily prevented by cleaning your carafe daily after each use, but everyone forgets occasionally.

Carafe Cleaning - The Solution

The only solution for getting rid of those brown stains on your carafe is a deep cleaning. You can try any of the methods we mentioned earlier and see which one fits the best.

I recommend you deep clean your carafe at least once a month. If your carafe is in an office or used more than normal you may need to clean bi-weekly.

Conclusion

Hopefully, at least one of these methods will help you get those pesky stains out of your carafe.

No one wants brown stains on their favorite coffee pot. Next time you go to put your coffee cup in the sink, remember to wash out your carafe when you are done.