For many of us, a coffee maker is akin to a trusted friend. This device allows us to enjoy a good cup of coffee every morning with minimal effort. It’s crucial to maintain the cleanliness of your coffee maker to ensure you’re always getting the best performance from it. However, many of us tend to neglect cleaning the coffee maker, which can negatively affect both the taste of the coffee and the longevity of the appliance. In this article, we’ll explore the steps to effectively clean your coffee maker’s hot plate.
Usually, the hot plate of the coffee maker is the most underrated part. Although it does an important task of keeping the coffee hot, most of us hardly clean it. Along with the other parts of your coffee maker, you should also consider cleaning the hot plate regularly. Below, you will find the required steps to clean a hot plate of the coffee maker.
How to Clean Coffee Maker Hot Plate
The good news is it’s very easy to clean the hot plate of your coffee maker. You don’t require costly cleaning solutions and a lot of time. Today, we will let you know how to clean the hot plate using household ingredients quickly in four simple steps. Keep reading the below paragraphs to find the guide.
Here is what you will need:
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Old Toothbrush
- Non-abrasive cloth
Even if the hot plate of the coffee maker got burnt, this solution should work efficiently to remove it. Here are the steps:
Turn Off and Unplug the Machine
The first thing you require doing is to turn off the coffee machine and unplug the device from electricity. That is important you will use liquid and it can increase the risk of shock. Apart from injuring you, electrocution can also damage the device by producing electric discharge. If you have used the coffee maker earlier, it would be better if you leave it for cooling down.
The hot plate must be completely cool before you attempt to clean it. That is because the hot warming plate can burn your fingers. Moreover, it can even burn the cleaning solution and make the situation worse.
Sprinkle Baking Soda on Hot Plate
Baking is a common ingredient that you will find in any kitchen. It is useful for baking as the name suggests but it also has strong cleaning power. It can efficiently work to lift things off from the coffee maker’s hot plate. If it is not available at your home, you will find it at any super shops or related stores. There can be different types of baking soda but make sure that the one you are using contain sodium bicarbonate.
Here is how to use it: take around 1/4 tsp. of coffee maker and sprinkle on the burnt or stains of the hot plate. If your coffee maker is bigger, use around 1/2 tablespoons for the best performance. You may also use more if required and if the hot plate has not been cleaned within a while.
Apply the Vinegar
Once you have added the baking soda, it is time to use the vinegar. Vinegar is another common kitchen ingredient that also equips excellent cleaning capability. The vinegar and baking soda are chemically different. There are also a lot of variations of vinegar. You can simply pick the one that is low-cost from the nearby store.
One of them is acid while the other one is the base. As a result, they can form a strong chemical reaction. The chemical reaction helps to eliminate the rust along with the dirt or burnt from the hot plate. Don’t worry as the chemical reaction is not going to damage your hot plate.
Wait and Brush
The vinegar and baking soda solution should lift off most of the dirt from the surface without any assistance. However, it would better and more effective if you use a soft-bristled brush to rub the solution on the surface. Make sure to target the affected area to eliminate them perfectly. However, don’t be harsh as you can end up peeling off the surface.
Once you are done, wipe off the vinegar and baking soda solution along with removed residue using the lint-free damp cloth. Do this several times to remove the trace of the solution and residue from the hot plate.
How Often Should You Clean the Hot Plate?
Most of the people leave their coffee maker’s hot plate uncleaned. But this is not going to be good. As the hot plate often gets wet by splashing coffee or water, it can easily get rusted. And when it gets rust, it will not be able to keep your coffee hot at a certain temperature. That is why you should consider cleaning this part regularly. A few simple wipes should be enough with a clean and dry cloth.
Also, consider giving a deep clean to the coffee maker’s hot plate following the above method once in a while. If you use the machine several times a day, it would be better if you clean it frequently to keep it in the good shape for accurate performance.
What are the Alternative Ways to Clean Hot Plate?
The vinegar and baking soda method is the best way to clean your coffee maker. That is because it can clean off everything from dust, dirt, to stains, burnt, and rust. However, if you are out of vinegar and don’t like the smell, you can consider cleaning this part in the alternative methods.
You might use dish soap to remove the dirt. However, it might not be able to remove the old stains that easily. In such cases, you can consider using coca-cola. Interestingly, this drink works amazingly to remove the stains rust from the hot plate.
Conclusion
Just like cleaning the inside of the coffee maker, it is also important to clean the outside including the hot plate for optimum performance. This will help to extend the lifespan of the device while keeping the coffee at the right temperature. We hope you will be able to clean the coffee maker hot plate efficiently after reading the article.
