Ok, so I have a regular drip type electric coffee maker, it used to be fast! Now it takes forever to make a pot of coffee, it is about one year old. I belive this is due to my water being very hard and it is likely getting plugged up with scale and what not. Does anybody have a miracle answer for cleaning this baby so it works like it should again?

 

Here in the breakroom I put one of those little blue Tidy Bowl cakes you put in a toilet tank, right into the coffee maker tank. Keeps the rust and scale down ev'vrytime you make a pot o' coffee. As for cleaning it after it gets all gummed up, I dunno. I've never cleaned this one... ruins the character of the coffee.

chaikwa.

 

In all seriousness, are you sure it's gunked up? I spilled water on the heating plate on one of mine once and it did something to one of the diodes that's under the plate and made the coffee maker act just like yours; S L O W.

We have wicked hard water here too, and I just buy cheap, ($19.00) coffee makers and replace them twice a year. The water's so bad that the holding tank turns rusty after the first pot.

chaikwa.

 

Run warer with about a cup vinegar through it. And flush it about 20 times with just water before you make any more coffee.

The blue tabs do work wonders though. Preventive maintinanace. You do it on your truck, why not the coffee pot?

 

Will the vinegar remove the rust too?

chaikwa.

 

Maybe? I learned it as a kid from my dad, and do it to mine about once a year. We have always had hard water, and that makes a big difference. Makes the kitchen smell nice too

 

+1 on the vinegar

 

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll give the Vinegar a try before your Urinal ake idea Chaikwa......

I've been wondering why my tongue was stained blue!

 

They make a cleaner you run through to help get rid of deposits. I see it for sale around here. I've never tried it,
water is very soft here and coffee makers last forever.
Why do they sell it here? good question

 

Use white vinager.

 

Is that the voice of experience with some other kind?

 

You can get packets of cleaner where they sell the pots. You can run through/use a pot of white vinegar, then run a pot of water (or two) before making coffee again. Otherwise, you vill get vinegar-coffee with the first pot after cleaning, really funky tasting coffee.

As far as the blue tongue - stop getting you coffee water out of the toilet or drinking out of the toilet, whichever applies.

CD

 

I prefer citric acid over vinegar. It can be had really cheap over here and you get a better effect.
You will have to run 3 or more cans of fresh water through it before you can have coffee again.
Our water is so hard that I'd have to buy a new coffee maker 4 times a year. About 3 US$ of citric acid every 2 months take care of that problem, the machine runs for 5 years now.
(And it's cheaper than to buy new ones all the time especially if you figure the price of fuel nowadays.)
My coffee maker has a thermos can, wouldn't want one without it.

I do use the citric acid also on the hot water boiler, tea cooker etc.

AlpineRAM

 

Run some caustic soda through it , that should clean it out REALLY good

 

Caustic soda won't remove calcium - You could go citric acid first and then some caustic soda.

Wear protective gear. Place coffee maker in a blast shelter.
Use C4 to clean thoroughly.

AlpineRAM