How To Clean a Stainless Coffee Pot – Without Scrubbing!

Aug 13

If you own a stainless coffee pot that is coated with brown, sludgy coffee stains inside and you’ve been struggling to get it back to its like-new condition….sit back and prepare to be amazed, excited and disgusted. All at the same time.

This is one of those cleaning tips you will love because it requires almost NO effort on your part. Seriously – no effort! No scrubbing. No trying to shove your hand into the small pot opening. AND only requires 1 cleaning product you already have on hand!

looooove coffee. Like, love love coffee. My machine runs 7 mornings a week, 365 mornings a year….and sometimes in the afternoon if I’m particularly busy with the kids and work…

I own a capresso coffee maker – love it! A big selling point was the stainless coffee carafe. It seals in hot coffee for several hours after brewing….

 

But the inside is hard to clean. The opening is big enough for my hand to fit inside, but not big enough to move my hand around while cleaning. Over the years I tried everything during the coffee maker cleaning process, hoping it would help chip away at the gunk coating the inside of the pot. Nothing worked.

I tried scrubbing sponges, baby bottle brushes, vinegar, hot hot water. Nothing worked. Not only did I want the pot to be clean and look new, I also wondered if it was affecting the flavor of my freshly brewed coffee. Or worse…adding germs and bacteria to it.

Once I found the solution, excitement is an understatement. Especially with how easy it truly was to get a sparkling clean stainless coffee pot once again. And today I’m going to tell you how to get your stainless coffee pot looking brand new again, too.

BEFORE

Here is what the inside of my coffee pot looked like before…

YES, gross!

That is not a pot full of coffee you’re looking at. That is the coffee stain on the entire inside of the pot.

Oh! If you’d like to see a video of these steps, you can find that here!

HOW TO STEPS

Step One: Boil a tea kettle of water

Step Two: While waiting for the water to boil, add 1 dishwasher tab to your coffee pot and set pot in the sink

If you don’t use dishwasher tabs, just add 1/4 cup of dishwashing powder.

Step Three: Once the water is boiling, carefully pour the water into the pot filling it completely

 

Step Four: Leave the pot to soak for 30 minutes

After only a few minutes you will begin noticing gunk floating to the top.

Step Five: After 30 minutes carefully swirl the water around in the coffee pot and pour out

Check this out….

NO, that is not a full pot of fresh coffee I brewed…that is the inner coffee stains that are now GONE and pouring away. I had to pour this into another container in order to show you how amazing this works…

 

AFTER

Once you have emptied the water out of the coffee pot, take a look inside…

Talk about brand new!…

I could not believe how well this worked. after all my previous attempts with scrubbing and different cleansers, it was this easy to get it clean??? Again, without scrubbing.

BEFORE & AFTER

Here is the side by side…

If you own a stainless coffee pot, I hope this cleaning tip will help you! Check the comments below – it’s helped hundreds of others!

Thanks for stopping by and will be back soon with more tips!

xx,

Sam

comments +

  1. sucia01 says:

    I love this! Trying tonight.

    • yay! – let me know how it works for you!

      • Kevin Waters says:

        It definitely works!

        • Colette Cave says:

          OMG, I have tried everything I know and was so discouraged. I found your recipe and just tried it and my pot is brandy new! I could hug you and be sure that I will tell all my friends about this. Thank you!

        • Bonnie says:

          Hi,
          This is a great idea! It worked for me too. But one thing I’m wondering about is how to get the soap smell out. I’m boiling more water and hoping that works. But if you can tell anything else to do please let me know.

          • Sandra Zaremba says:

            I also tried this and it worked great, the only problem is getting the taste of soap out of the pot. I have run hot water through it several times but the taste of soap will not go away.

      • Mike Loew says:

        Wow. Simply amazing and gross at the same time. It was effortless and worked like a charm. Thank you so much for this post. I was to share it on my Facebook page if it is ok with you. I was about to throw my coffe pot away and go with a glass one and now I basically have a brand new Coffee pot. I showed my wife the cup of brown stuff that washed off and then showed her the inside of the coffee pot and could not believe it either. My coffee this morning is special

        • Samantha says:

          Awe – this was an incredible reply! Love it and am so grateful it worked for you! #mission:savethecoffeepots Yes, feel free to share!

          Sam

          • Cindy F says:

            I just tried this tonight-it magically disappeared before my eyes. Pouring out the water was like a pot of coffee. I will pass this along!

      • Andy Logar says:

        Samantha:

        My wife and I love you! Your advice worked like a charm – and an additional advantage is that the dishwasher soap is non-toxic and one feels comfortable using it and then rinsing well with plain hot water after the procedure. thank you very much.

      • Kay Ruscitto says:

        Kay Ruscitto
        OMG, I have tried everything until I saw your idea for using dishwasher detergent. My coffee pot is spotless tonight thanks to you. Didn’t even have to scrub. Just need to khow how to boil water ???? GOD BLESS YOU. My dirty pot was driving me crazy.
        THANK YOU SO MUCH.

      • Rocky Davis says:

        I tried this tip today…AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!

        Rocky

      • Jill says:

        This worked like a charm!!! TySM!

    • Anne says:

      I discarded my first coffee pot because I couldn't clean it well. Thank you for this precious tip. Now, I will clean my new pot and keep it spotless. Thanks.

    • MW says:

      I tried it today. Worked exactly as described. Far better than ice/baking soda/salt attempts in the past.
      Thanks!!!

      • Samantha says:

        YAY! Love hearing this!!! So glad it worked for you too!

        xo,
        Sam

        • Denise Flick says:

          I saw this post last year and tried this. Worked like a charm! Embarrassed to admit haven’t done it since. Just looked up the post again and will be cleaning my coffee pot tonight.

          • Samantha says:

            So great!! And glad you found it again! I’ll be doing mine soon as well…but this time, I’m making a video! Be on the lookout for that!

            xx,
            Sam

    • Deniz says:

      Morning coffee is my most peaceful and relaxing time. Thanks to you I’m even happier with a very clean coffee pot!!! Love you and thanks again!!!????????????????????????????????????

    • gmthomson says:

      Worked like a charm! Surprised and impressed!

  2. mom2maya says:

    I'm SO glad you posted about this! I have the same problem. Must.Try.Now. 🙂

    • hi there…sooooo, did you try?? let me know how it worked for you! 🙂

      sam

    • mom2maya says:

      I JUST did it! This was the most gross/awesome thing ever! Thank you for the post 🙂

      • Karen says:

        I have tried many coeaning suggestions for gunk in a coffee carafe, and was planning on discarding the pot as it was so gross inside! I decided to try ONE MORE TIME to find a suggestion online when I found this site. I tried it a few hours later and wad stunned….the pot was nice and shiny….looked like new and the Black Water I poured out of the pot was amazing! Such a simple and incredibly successful solution! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

    • YAY!!!!!!

      so glad it worked!

      i did this same trick while visiting my in-laws this weekend and my mother-in-law was amazed to see what came out of her pot!!! love it!

  3. Oh i'm so glad you posted this. I've got a coffee ring around the bottom of mine that would not come off for anything, I'd decided that I had to just live with it. I'm going to be trying this for sure!

  4. Nadia says:

    Again you saved the day!!!

  5. CAS says:

    Great tip, Samantha! I have a very similar pot & was always afraid my hand would get stuck inside — the fit was so tight. We don't use the pot during our extremely hot summers, but opt for cold-brewed iced coffee, so my faithful coffee pot is stowed away for now. When the weather cools down a bit, I will definitely use your technique to give it a good cleaning before we fire it up for the first time. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm your newest follower!

    CAS

    • lol! i worry my hand will get stuck too – or sliced open. not sure about your pot, but the rim of ours has a very fine edge that is sorta sharp – ouch! 🙂

      so glad this was a helpful tip for you!
      sam

  6. Sooner Laura says:

    I can't wait to try this. I used to have little packets of coffee pot cleaner and they cleaned the pot up nice and shiny on the inside like this, but after they were all gone I never search for anymore. I bet they contained basically the same ingredient as the dishwasher pack, it was a granular substance that looked like dishwasher detergent. This is one of those things I have to wonder why I never thought of myself. Thanks for the tip!

    • sooner laura….are you a sooner?? one of my best buds is a sooner grad too! 🙂 i think she randomly yells out something like "boomer sooner" or something. haha!!! 🙂 love the name!!

      so glad you liked the tip and hope it will come in handy for you one day!

      best,
      sam

  7. I did this tonight on my stainless travel mugs and it worked AMAZINGLY well!

    Thank you do much for posting this tip!!!

  8. jonie says:

    I only use my electric kettle pot for boiling water but the bottom of the pot which is stainless steel will always have some brown stain. So what I do is pour in vinegar (estimation) and some water and let it boil, and after that let the whole thing sat there for half an hour. I paste a note on the pot "vingar water, do not drink"…after that I pour away the vinegar water and boil another pot of water to rinse away. But I have to do it once a week as the stain will come back.

    • hi jonie,

      thanks for the tip! great idea!

      so, the stain comes back on your pot after about a week? that's odd! hummmm…wonder why it does that. i usually only have to do this dishwasher tab trick about 1-2 times a year. it really doesn't get back that quickly.

      maybe try this tip next time and then let me know if it works out for you, or the result lasts longer.

      best,
      sam

  9. Jim Filipps says:

    Awesome tip Samantha, thanks so much, it worked like a charm. I wonder if this works for tin and aluminum trays. (broiling pans, roaster, muffin trays etc.?) I can't see why not, these are items we would place in our dishwasher regardless. Anyone that tries this with other metal items, please share your results with us. Good luck to all.

  10. Terri says:

    Just did this…WOW…2 clean pots (regular & 4 cup), and clean travel mug! Thanks!

  11. theresa says:

    We brew at least 2 pots a day and love the carafe, as it never burns the coffee. Quickly saw how ugly it was with the same problem not being able to clean it. Thanks to you, we have a clean pot now! Very grateful here!

  12. Absolutely amazing. Worked perfectly. Thanks so much!

  13. Roxanne Bolt says:

    This was amazing! My coffee pot looks brand new again!

  14. Chuck Becker says:

    1/4 cup of Oxi-Clean with the hot water works as well to clean your pot.

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  16. Worked for me! After trying other items to clean the pots! Thanks for the post!

  17. jennifer says:

    gonna give it a try- have been fighting with my pot all morning trying to get it clean.

  18. zoanne says:

    this sounds a dream come true and will do it today! don’t know why I didn’t think of it. when I have burned pots that are hard to clean I put dish washer detergent in them, add water, set on range to boil for about 30 minutes. you can see the burned matter float off to the top, rinse away and you will be amazed. I always give a quick hand wash and rinse, dry and put away like a new pot or even corelle ware.

  19. Pat says:

    Thank you, thank you! I just cleaned my coffee pot and your formula worked like a charm.

  20. Leslie says:

    It worked great but cannot get the smell or taste of detergent out. Have tried vinegar, baking soda, boiling water. Help!

    • Samantha says:

      Hmmm, that’s strange! I’ve never experienced that and I’ve been doing this with my coffee pot for years. Maybe try running through the dishwasher? Sorry this happened – this is the first comment I’ve received like this too, so I don’t have other people to lean on for an answer. So bizarre!

      Sam 🙂

      • Roy says:

        Leslie is right just happened to me as well ” It worked great but cannot get the smell or taste of detergent out.” Also tried vinegar, baking soda, boiling water and dishwasher = still taste detergent. This is the second time using the Pod cleaning method. 1st time no problem or residual taste….but 2nd time doing it now the problem of residual pod detergent smell/taste, If anyone has a solution please let Leslie and I know…thanks
        Roy

        • Andrew says:

          I had a similar experience but was able to get rid of the soap residue by filling the pot completely with 50/50 vinegar/boiling water, sealing tightly and soaking overnight. After rinsing that out, I filled with filtered water let that sit for 30 minutes, then tasted the plain water to ensure the soap residue taste was gone. So this method works great for deep cleaning a few times a year, but I am still looking for a great way to clean the pot for everyday use. So far vinegar and water seems the best for daily cleaning.

  21. Victoria says:

    That the bottom text is in steaming mugs is just too much.

  22. Cat says:

    My coffee this morning tasted terrible. I was very sad. The pot was gross. Started srubbing the pot, then thought there has to be a better way. Found your suggestion and decided to give it a try. This totally works. Thanks for sharing.

  23. Victoria says:

    THANK YOU….Worked perfectly!!!! Such an easy solution. It was spotless.

  24. Sara says:

    My coffee pot is glowing inside!! Thank you!!!

  25. Eileen M. says:

    I am so happy I found your posting. We have a Capresso coffee maker that we loved that we replaced because my husband was so grossed out when the pot got nasty and we couldn’t clean it. We replaced it with another maker with stainless carafe and had it happen again. We just finished cleaning the newer pot and other than some really caked on crud, the pot is spotless. We are going to clean our old Capresso next and put it into use again. Thank you, thank you!!

    • Samantha says:

      Oh my gosh – you’re welcome!!! So glad this worked out for you! We too had thrown out one of the old carafe’s because I couldn’t get it clean. And my hand wouldn’t fit inside. I felt awful after figuring out this tip b/c I threw it away. But it wasn’t sanitary to drink from. So grateful you found this tip and that it helped you! So happy to hear that!! And thank you for coming back to share your results with me. Thank you so much!

      xo,
      Sam

  26. Karen says:

    Hi there!

    I only have liquid dishwasher detergent. Will it work? Hopefully it will take away the icky smell too! Thanks

    • Samantha says:

      Hi!

      Good question – not sure that would work, but it’s worth a shot. I think the tabs work so well because it’s essentially like putting it into the dishwasher but it’s more concentrated. Liquid dish soap might not be strong enough to remove all that gunk.

      xo,
      Sam

  27. Monica says:

    Do you know if this can work for stainless steel percolators? Thanks.

    • Samantha says:

      This is a good question! Never tried, but my guess would be yes!

      • Bonnie says:

        Was AMAZING how it cleaned!!
        I also can’t get the dishwashing soap taste of smell out of the pot!
        Please help.
        I have tried baking soda,vinegar,boiling water with 5 separate cycles to rinse ,still have the darn taste

  28. Donna says:

    WOW!! I can’t believe how great this worked!! It seriously made my pot look brand new! Thank you so much!!

  29. Susan Molnar says:

    Don’t do this!! My coffee tastes terrible even after scrubbing with dish soap, baking soda, salt and several pots of clean water. I CANT GET THE CHEMICAL TASTE OUT OF MY COFFEE. I may have to replace my coffeemaker. If anyone has a solution, please share

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Susan!

      So sorry you’ve had an issue with this cleaning process – I have not experienced that at all with my own coffee pot or coffee maker after having cleaned it this way. What did you use to clean it? What type of dishtab or dish soap?

    • Brenda Jackson says:

      Maybe try vinegar.

      • Samantha says:

        Good idea! I haven’t had an issue with the taste of my coffee so I am wondering what the soap was / is.

        Thank you for sharing this tip!
        Sam

  30. Brenda Jackson says:

    Just tried this and it worked so easily. I’ve been trying other things for months. Thank you.

  31. marg says:

    I agree with Leslie & Susan regarding the soapy smell and taste left after using your method of cleaning stainless steel coffee pot. I was so happy how clean and pretty my coffee decanter looked after the cleaning procedure, but now I’m saaad 🙁
    My home brewed starbucks coffee tastes like soap and I’ve rinsed the pot many times to no avail!! I’ll have to bite the bullet and invest in another stainless steel carafe ; if they even sell the stand alone pot, as my coffee maker works perfectly. boo….

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Marg!

      I am so sorry to hear this! I am wondering what soap everyone is using when they clean their pot? And also how it could possibly affect the taste when it’s a stainless pot….not sure how it could be absorbing the soap? This is baffling! I haven’t had that issue with my pot and have cleaned it a number of times this way.

      Maybe I could suggest using plain dishwasher powder instead of a concentrated pod??

      Sam

      • Ol' man Steve says:

        I will try your method next time. FYI – Stainless steel is not truly stainless. It is plain steel with Nickel and Chromium added to make it more heat and corrosion resistant. Some chemicals (Chlorine and Ammonia are a couple) can form metal salts from alloys they come in contact with. These salts will taint contained liquids with undesirable tastes and odors. I have used Chlorine bleach to clean my SS carafe. As expected, the next pot of coffee will have a metal/chemical taste & odor. To remove the taste/odor after cleaning, I rinse it and make a full pot of strong coffee using a grind that I don’t like anyway. I let the undesirable coffee sit in the carafe for an hour or so. After pouring out the yucky coffee and rinsing the glistening pot, the next potful with my favorite grind is terrific. I would suggest that anyone experiencing post cleaning tastes do the same thing. This is a good use for undesirable coffees that nobody likes….

  32. Marcia says:

    Wow…I can’t believe something this easy works so well. I was skeptical until I just rinsed out my pot and saw the shiny silver in my pot again! Thank you for sharing this wonderful tip!

  33. Evamarie says:

    I tried it….amazing it really worked, my coffee pot looks brand new!

  34. Carolyn says:

    What about a 60 pot stainless steel pot? Will the dishwashing pod work?

  35. Airele says:

    Hello there! May I make a youtube video of this, mention this blog and post a link to it in the description?

  36. David W says:

    Thank you very much for this tip! I tried everything to remove the coffee stains from my stainless steel tumbler. This is the only thing that worked. It left the inside looking brand new!

  37. Chris says:

    I just tried this and it worked great. After cleaning, I gave it a thorough rinse with hot water then filled the pot with cold water and drank some as a taste test. I could not taste any detergent at all. I used a Cascade Complete pod.

    The type of detergent is probably not the culprit for those experiencing taste issues. Like any product, stainless steel is not uniform across all products that use it. Age, exposure to different elements and temperatures, excessive scrubbing, etc. can all affect whether the pot maintains its properties.

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Chris!

      I am SOOO glad to hear this worked and really appreciate your feedback on the taste. I’ve never had that issue with my coffee pot but do take each of the comments here to heart. I definitely want to see every coffee pot made useful again…while remaining healthy.

      Thank you again for taking a moment to comment and leave feedback!

      Sam

  38. Kathy says:

    Just found this while searching for a way to get the coffee stains out of my 5 yr old electric percolator. I wash it daily, but over the years it had become quite stained. Worked great and the pot and the inside parts looks like new! Thanks!

  39. Maryann S says:

    My carafe was very stained,. Rather than try to scrub it I checked for a replacement carafe and found the cost was $20. So I searched on line and found this method. I tried it, no scrubbing and it worked perfectly. Thank you for saving me $20!

  40. Dee says:

    Totally worked thank you so much for the tip!

  41. Amanda says:

    This is AMAZING!!! I have tried so many things to clean my coffee pot and this worked like a miracle. THANK YOU!

  42. Jan L. says:

    Hi Samantha,

    I saw this tip on another site and tried it with a Cascade liquid pod and it didn’t work. Thinking I did something wrong, I went back online and found your site. Your photo showed a solid detergent pod so I tried a Finish Powerball and it worked! So….it’s got to be the powdered detergent. Thanks!

  43. Laura says:

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Our coffee pot at work has an opening too small for anyone’s hand to fit in to scrub…we tried every type of soaking combination…scrubbies on handles….nothing worked! I came across you website, saw this, and thought…”It can’t be that easy” . Took the pot home, followed your directions and WOW – we now have a clean pot! Everyone was amazed!

  44. Jessica says:

    Hi! I just wanted to say thank you SO much for this post! Worked perfectly just as described. This was a game changer. I really appreciate it!

  45. deborah says:

    I had tried vinegar, salt and lemon juice to no avail. Imagine my surprise when after an hour I returned to my pot to find it spotless after trying your suggestion. So freaking easy! Thanks again.

  46. Maxine says:

    I was a “Doubting Thomas” but I tried it and, by golly, IT WORKS! My lovely stainless steel coffee pot is sparkly once again. Thank you!!!

  47. Kathy says:

    Oh my goodness! This worked amazingly well! Thanks for the tip!

  48. Hannah says:

    Honestly, this was the best tip I’ve ever read!!! I’ve tried everything so was sceptical that something so easy would work…but sure enough, spotless! Thanks so much!

  49. Jessemyn Burns says:

    THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! My husband found the brown “stuff ” so disgusting he was ready to go buy another coffee pot. I tried your system and all is wonderful! It worked like a dream. Thank you so much for the information.

    • Samantha says:

      Yay! Another success story! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback – I love saving those coffee pots…and your sanity / wallet!

      xo,
      Sam

  50. Patty says:

    Oh. My. Goodness. You are a lifesaver. I was trying the same things you tried and nothing worked. The last time our coffee pot was this clean was when we bought it!!! THANK YOU!

  51. Barb Zeiler says:

    Thank you SO much for this miracle,. I have tried everything even denture cleaning tablets, to no avail. My pot now looks fantastic, even my mom is impressed. Thank you for this tip. If you have any other cleaning tips would love to hear them.

    Barb

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Barb!

      I LOVE hearing this! This post recently has some serious traction so many others have been commenting to say it worked well. Love saving those coffee pots!

      Loved hearing your mom’s reaction too – too cute!

      xx,
      Sam

  52. Dave Souren says:

    I have to admit that I was skeptical when I tried this method because I spent more than an hour scrubbing the inside of my Thermos and was only able to remove some of the crud, but to my amazement it came out as clean as new! Thank you very much for publishing this tip, I almost went out and bought a new Thermos, so you saved me $30.00! This cleaning method should be included in the instructions of every new stainless steel Thermos.

    • Samantha says:

      Omg, what a sweet comment – thank you! And I agree! Get on that, Thermos brand!!! haha! So so grateful you found this tutorial and saved yourself some $$$. Made my day to hear this!!

      xx,
      Sam

  53. Jeff says:

    My wife wanted a new coffee maker just because of the pot looking so stained. I paid top dollar for that coffee maker and wasn’t about to throw it out. Thankfully you had this post and i tried it out tonight and it worked like a charm! Thank you from me and my wallet!

  54. Vivian H. says:

    I had tried vinegar before seeing this and it got 1/2 of the grunge out. So when I found this, I used a Cascade liquid pod. I left the cleaning solution in for an hour. It was a miracle! There was still some on the bottom, which came right off with a dish sponge. Looks like new!

  55. Abby Balderson says:

    I googled “stainless coffee pot cleaning” this popped up. THANK YOU … took 2 minutes of my time and looks amazing…Can’t wait to taste my coffee now!

  56. janet says:

    wow this worked so well!!! My pot looks brambleton
    No new again so easy. Thank you

  57. Maureen says:

    This worked like magic – thank you!

  58. Deb says:

    I have been doing this for years to clean all my stainless pots and mugs..
    I buy the cheapest dishwasher granular detergent (no name) and use my coffee scoop full to clean
    my stainless..
    I put it in its own container with label “stainless pot cleaner”..it works for all stainless pots and pans, just put water in container and add boiling water or bring water to boil in cook pot and add dishwasher detergent.
    I don’t waste the expensive pod cleaners, also with under 6 year old grandson I don’t keep the pods in the house for safety reasons..
    Only use on stainless pots ..
    Voila, no more burnt food or stains..

  59. Barbara says:

    I googled “how to clean coffee pots” there were quite a few different ways to do this. I tried this because it was quick and easy and I already had a dish washing detergent pod. I could not believe the inside of my coffee pot afterwards it looked like brand new. Every time I go into the kitchen I look at the inside of my coffee pot “unbelievable” . So glad I found this I will definitely pass this one on.

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Barbara!

      This is such a great comment – thank you for taking the time to let me know! I get so excited each time someone comes in to let me know how well this tip works!

      Thank you!!!

      xx,
      Sam

  60. Roni says:

    I’d been trying to clean my stained “stainless” steel coffee pot, but to no avail. Because the opening is small, I can’t stick my hand inside to try scrubbing it.

    Following your instructions, I decided to give your solution a shot. I wish I’d taken before and after shots, because I am AMAZED at the results!!! WOW!!!

    Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your idea with us! YOU, dear lady, are being shared on FACEBOOK!!!!!!!

  61. Barbara Outten says:

    OMG this is just what I needed to restore both stainless steel coffee pots at my business. I could not believe how brand new the pots now look. Thank you!!

  62. Lela says:

    Thrilled to find this method; have been desparately looking unsuccessfully for the powder LimeA Way coffee pot cleaner and have concluded it is no longer made. I have had (30 + yrs) Stainless Farberware JetPerk electric perculator and Loovvvvve it- makes it as fast a “coffee maker”. Will be trying this tomorrow.

  63. Cork &Trina says:

    Sam This worked Fantastic!
    I saw the build up in our steel pot, tried salt and lemon, which got it a little “Cleanish” but not to our standards. Then I found your website and gave it a go. I used Cascade dishwasher gel, and like you said, and showed, it came out SPOTLESS!!!!! Thank You Very Much for all your help.????!

  64. Val says:

    I googled how to clean a stainless steel coffee pot and landed right on this. Immediately went in the kitchen and followed the instructions and am thrilled to death with the results. It looks brand new! Never, in a million years, would I have figured that out. Thank you SO much!

  65. Richard Martin says:

    Thanks so much for this information. I wanted to put my carafe into the dish washer because I have seen how effective that was to clean copper bottom pans, but was afraid that it would ruin the carafe. This accomplishes the same thing without risk of damaging the carafe. Sooo cool! Thanks

  66. Shirley Sluiter says:

    Wow!!!! Just did this!! Amazing! Thank you!

  67. Roger Bressette says:

    Worked like a charm !!! I’d had tried everything up to this point and had about given up

  68. Joyce says:

    I do something similar. I have two stainless stovetop percolators that get used most every day. I put one in the dishwasher, and have the clean one to make the day’s coffee. It does a passable job, but every few months I do a deep clean with powdered dish detergent. There used to be a product called Dip-It, but that’s almost impossible to find nowadays. I just use dollar store powdered dish detergent and it works great. I put a couple tablespoons in the basket (no filter) and perk as though I were making coffee. After it’s done, I take out the basket and fill to the brim with hot water to get the parts brewing didn’t reach. They come out looking like new.

    It also works great on Thermos bottles. My sons take them to work, then leave them in the truck for a few days 🙁 and the stains can be tough to clean. I put just about a tablespoon in there, add boiling water, let them sit for a bit, and they come out sparkling. Will be doing the percs today.

  69. Lisa Kelly says:

    I am trying this now. Only thing is I don’t use the powder I use the liguid dishwashing detergent. I hope this works the same as the powder.

    • Samantha says:

      Let me know if it works – the feedback I’ve heard is that the liquid doesn’t do as great of a job. But will be curious – so be sure to let me know 🙂

      Sam

  70. Kim says:

    I am blown away. I’m always so skeptical but decided to try this after trying every other method. I waited an hour with the pod and boiling water sitting in the pot, it is sparkling. Thanks for the tip!!!

  71. Dan says:

    WOW! I could not believe my eyes!!! This is awesome!!!

  72. Linda says:

    Thanks for the tip! The dishwasher tab worked fabulously. After having tried countless times, using endless methods to clean the inside of my stainless coffee carafe, you’re tip did the trick. Thanks, again!

  73. Ange says:

    I just did this, and was blown away, my carafe looks brand spanking new. My husband bet me that it would not work, well I won that bet and he gets to cook dinner. I guess it was a win, win situation for me. Thank you.

  74. Jennifer L Bable says:

    I just got done doing this to my Ninja coffee bar Stainless steel pot. It working like a charm. Thanks so much

  75. My goodness! I had these EXACT same resyults. Can’t wait to taste my coffee in the AM!!!

  76. Gigi says:

    I keep looking at my pot. I can’t believe it! Looks amazing. Btw, if this happens to anyone else during the process, here’s what I did: after pouring out the water, I used my sponge to wipe out a couple stubborn spots. And they came right out. (My pot was really bad.) Thank you so much for sharing this tip!

    • Samantha says:

      Oh – so great to hear!!!! And thank you for the added tip for other readers. So glad it worked out and we saved yet another coffee pot from the landfill!

      xx,
      Sam

      • Gigi says:

        Uh oh…Trouble.
        First, my pot still looks beautiful! Still amazed by that.
        But, unfortunately, my coffee is not tasting so good. Noticed a couple others here had the same problem. I used a Finish Powerball, which someone else mentioned with a good result, so I don’t think it’s that. And I tried Steve’s suggestion about making a strong pot of coffee and letting it sit. No luck.
        If anyone has had experience with this problem, and found a solution, I’d love to hear it!
        Thank you!

        • Samantha says:

          Oh no – I hope someone does have a solution for you. Yes, a couple people mentioned an odd taste after doing the cleaning…I wonder what could be causing that. I wonder (and this is me maybe overthinking it – I’m not a chemist or anything) if the coffee acid does something to eat away at the inside of the pot. Then when we clean it, that strong cleaning process leaves a soapy aftertaste in those areas where the acid ate away at the pot. Make sense? It’s the only opinion I might have on this because for many of us, the acid has been sitting in the pot for so long, you know?

          I’m determined to figure it out!!

          xx,
          Sam

          • Gigi says:

            Could be… makes sense.
            Thanks so much for your time and reply.
            Fingers crossed that there’s a solution to reverse it, because I so want to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee from my newly shining coffee pot!!

            Thanks again

  77. Faye says:

    Samantha, I read your post and after trying so many times to clean my coffee pot. I thought to my self… yea right I will do this and nothing will happen like so many other failed attempts to clean it. Much to my surprise and great happiness my coffee pot looks brand new. I can’t wait to share my new discovery with friends. I have no soapy aftertaste thankfully. I used a Finish pod Thank you so much for the tip!

    • Samantha says:

      Yay yay yay!!! I have to admit, your first sentence had me nervous that it didn’t work. SO I was very happy to hear it did in fact help you! So happy for you and grateful to know this little cleaning tip worked yet again.

      Thank you for coming in to share a comment!
      xx,
      Sam

  78. Cathy says:

    Maybe rinse out the pot with baking soda and water after cleaning? Just a thought. I’ll be cleaning mine tomorrow and will rinse with a baking soda solution. I’ll let you know the outcome. 🙂

    • Gigi says:

      Thanks for your suggestion of a baking soda rinse.
      Unfortunately after trying it, the coffee taste is still strange.
      Maybe it’s because it was days after cleaning the pot that I used the baking soda?
      But, I’m still determined to find a solution. Not giving up yet!

      Thanks again!

  79. Marnie says:

    My stainless carafe is gross and stained too! I just scrubbed with salt and ice with very little results. Thought there must be something out there to get this clean and found your link. I’ve got my water boiling and my “cascade complete action-pac” ready to go! Will update results later.

  80. Marnie Wilder says:

    Found your link while searching how to clean my stainless coffee pot. Followed instructions, boiled my water, had my cascade action-pac ready, filled up my carafe and waited 30 minutes. Poured out the most disgusting brown water ever! My pot is good as new! Thank you for sharing your amazing idea!

  81. Lisa Preece says:

    I tried this last night and now I have a super shiny stainless steel coffee pot that I can’t stop looking at! Amazing!!!

  82. Dee says:

    WOW!!!! This is the only thing that works. I couldn’t believe how my coffee pot looks brand new with no effort. I heard that this also works on oven racks, placed in tub or utility sink. I’m going to try that too.

  83. Carol says:

    I googled yet again how to clean my coffee pot and found your page. It works like a charm!

  84. Preetha Kurian says:

    Hi Samantha, That worked perfectly.. Amazing…So thankful to you for sharing this!!!

  85. Valerie Applebaum says:

    Samantha, I was SO skeptical, even after your photos above, but I work at a Construction site, with overly used, very hard, coffee-stained stainless steel pots, I’ve done baking soda, vinegar, scrubbing, scrubbing, etc. Saw this post, went and got Seventh Generation tablets (which were 20 tabs for $4.00), could not even believe how well it worked, I did not even lift a finger to scrub, and it is like brand new, seriously, cannot figure out how the heck you figured this one out, but you most certainly did. Many Thanks !

  86. Vicki Waldschmidt says:

    Can I clean the basket & perk tube as well?

    • Samantha says:

      Good question, but I don’t see why not! It’s just a dishwasher tab – couldn’t hurt anything. Be sure to report back so I know if it worked out for you!

      • Vicki says:

        I filled my coffee pot peculator with the detergent & hot water. I then submerged the basket, lit and stem/tube. Oh my gosh! Looks as good as brand new. Even the crevices in the stem are sparkling. Thank you for such an easy to remember process.

  87. Leo J OBrien says:

    I wonder how this would work on a percolator type pot. I have an all stainless percolator and the pot , basket ,basket lid , basket stem and pot top are showing signs of staining . I wonder if I ran it through a perk cycle with about four cups of water in it . What do you think , give it a shot and let you know ?

    • Samantha says:

      This is a good question…without knowing the internal parts of a system like that one, I’d be cautious to suggest it. I have only done this inside a coffee pot and not with actual parts of a coffee maker. If you think it would be ok, give it a shot and let me know!!

  88. I’m trying it now and so far gross and awesome!

  89. susannakleefman says:

    Just did my coffee pot and it’s like brand new again!! Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  90. Mel says:

    Thank You for sharing…. never thought i would see my coffee pot this clean again.

  91. Amy R says:

    YES!!!! This really worked! It was sooooooo hard waiting the 30 minutes…time seemed to stand still. I stirred it with a spoon before dumping out the dirty water, My 7-year-old coffee pot looks brand new! Thank you!

    • Samantha says:

      Yay! So happy! Love it and thank you so much for letting me know. It’s amazing how many coffee pots have been saved by using this cleaning method!

      xx,
      Sam

  92. Charlotte Casey says:

    Do you know how many hours of my life I’ve wasted trying to scrub out my Contigo coffee mugs…which we love but have been a pain to clean? Tried this today with 1 TBSP of powdered dishwasher detergent and it worked exactly as you said with NO scouring! You are my hero! Thanks for the great tip!!

  93. Felix Kütt says:

    Thanks, just poured the boiling water into the carafe, bookmarking this page just so as not to forget it.

  94. Kendra says:

    Remembered this post and used the ideal to clean my husbands stainless steel travel coffee cup. Looks just like new. He was surprised by the result. Thanks for posting this.

  95. WOW! we have a Ninja Thermal carafe. I purchased a new bottle brush thinking that would help. Tried multiple times using liquid dish detergent, pushed a scrubby surfaced sponge into bottle using brush too to work it around; even used Sigg bottle cleaners 3 times hoping to make a difference. Was researching what to purchase on Amazon and then I decided to google and found this. FANTASTIC! like new!

  96. Judith says:

    This really does work! I also used it on my stainless steel coffee thermos. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

  97. Jim Terry says:

    Outstanding information! Used Costco “Liquid Gel”, lemon scented, and let stand for about an hour. Rinsed pot and then dish soap on soft pad to literally wipe away all traces of “seasoned” coffee. Percolated plain water, and no traces of any soap taste on next brew.

    Also, for reference on restoring a good coffee percolator: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/54676/Not+heating+correctly+-+incomplete+perk#answer417327

    -Jim

  98. Kim says:

    I just tried this and am stunned! It absolutely works and with no scrubbing….. and in 30 minutes! Yah-hop!!! Btw…. I used Cascade dishwasher pod. 🙂

  99. Jack says:

    I have been using the automatic dishwasher compound to clean stainless steel carafe/thermos for years. I never experienced the bad taste problem but I did consider the possibility of the compound possibly soaking into the stainless steel, altering the inherent ‘non-porousity’ of the metal, or perhaps leaving a difficult to remove film on it. An alternative to the dishwashing compound that also works is false teeth cleaner tablets. They are designed to be used on dentures; I think that means they should be highly unlikely to leave any residue that if not completely removed and then subsequently consumed would be harmful. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend any particular brand of false teeth cleaner as I haven’t used that to clean my thermos or carafe for a long time – I do not remember which brands I had found worked best. By the way, my initial idea for using the false teeth cleaning tablets came from wanting to clean an old favorite ceramic coffee mug. It works well on ceramic too. Regards.

  100. D says:

    WOW! I cannot believe how well this worked! No effort, 30 minutes, brand new looking stainless steel carafe. Thank you so much!

  101. Gale Blackburn says:

    AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I am always so irritated when scrubbing my coffee pot! I have tried everything!!! I used to buy a cleaner for it and it worked great but they no longer carry it! I tried this and was so shocked to see it worked! Such a easy fix!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!! You saved my sanity with this coffee pot cleaning tasks!!! 😉

  102. Chris says:

    You are the BEST! I have tried everything! homemade recipes, buying special products – nothing worked until I read your very easy “recipe”. This worked SO beautifully – my stainless steel coffee urn/pot hasn’t looked this clean since the day I bought it!

    Thanks so much for sharing with us!!
    Chris

  103. Judi Wagner says:

    I just tried this on my carafe. OMG it looks great. I have tried multiple things to get it clean but nothing worked. Now it’s bright and shiny. Thank you.

  104. Emily says:

    I just tried this and it worked so well! I’ve had issues cleaning the carafe for years because my hands are too large to clean the inside! This just made my life so much easier! Thank you so much for sharing!

  105. Jennifer says:

    Worked perfectly! Much appreciated…thank you

  106. Belinda says:

    Yes…. it absolutely does work. I should’ve guessed it would, though, because things washed in the dishwasher always come out sparkling clean. My b4 and after look just like the pictures you posted. I was amazed. I’ve been trying to get that carafe clean for a while.
    Thank you for posting this.

  107. Anderson says:

    For years I have been scrubbing with stove top cleaner, a long brush and a scotch-brite sponge. Thank you for this, you’ve saved my arthritic old hands from scrubbing, and given my coffee pot a new lease on life. You are the bomb!!

  108. Sarah says:

    these pots are not easy to clean but I love the fact I have hot coffee for hours without the coffee pot being on. I tried your method and I now have a clean pot. Thank you for posting this.

  109. Jon Durham says:

    Like you, my wife and I are 365 coffee drinkers. We love our coffee, but our carafe was nasty. I was psyching myself up for some brutal cleaning job, but luckily found your post from a Google search. I was like “no way”; my wife was like “no way”. But what’s the harm in trying, right? When I started pouring out the dirty water, I was like “WHAT?!” and my wife was like “WHAT?!” We couldn’t believe it?! It was like new inside! Thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of us. You’ve had a permanent impact on our coffee drinking enjoyment, which is no small matter. God bless and I wish you all the success in the world. – Jon in CT

    • Samantha says:

      Oh my goodness – what a comment! I love this so much – thank you! And I am SO glad you found my post and tried it yourself. It’s a miracle!

      Thank you again and enjoy, my fellow coffee lovers!
      Sam

  110. Kristin says:

    I’m totally amazed with this easy solution! Not only did I clean my stainless coffee pot, but poured the icky water out onto my crud-crusted stainless stovetop burner rings. They looked hopeless. But they also came out sparkling new. LOVE this tip!

  111. JP says:

    WOW. Have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at this technique… just tried it on my gross stainless coffee pot and… IT TOTALLY WORKED !! Thank you !! I was just getting ready to purchase a new carafe at $40.00!

  112. Gail A Trimble says:

    This is amazing! Thank you!

  113. msb751 says:

    As said many times….WOW, works perfectly!! For my fellow Technivorm Moccamaster snobs, this process makes the carafe like new. Couldn’t be any easier.

  114. SC says:

    THANKS! Looks as good as new, absolutely the easiest way to get rid of those stains.

  115. december7112 says:

    It worked perfect!!! I did not have the tab or the powder so I used the cascade liquid, did not come out directly but i just took the washcloth and a knife and spin it around a few times and Presto!!! Clean Pot!!!!

  116. sonia chivs says:

    Worked like a charm. I tried everything else since morning and was about to give up. Thank you. Best cleaning hack ever.

  117. Tiff says:

    Holy cow! I must admit I was skeptical…. but……. phenomenal! Thank you!

  118. Rein says:

    Sam

    I’ve had the same stainless steel travel mug for about 22 years. It’s been with me everywhere, including sailing 6500 ocean miles between the US Northeast, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Over the years I’ve switched between coffee and tea as my tastes changed but the mug always gotten stained no matter what I was drinking. In the beginning I could clean it out easily by hand but over the last few years the buildup has gotten really bad and no amount of scrubbing or soaking with baking soda/vinegar or straight bleach would loosen what had become almost an eighth of an inch thick of buildup in some places along the bottom corners. Yikes!

    Nothing tasted that great anymore and I’d just about come to take it for granted that my favorite buddy was never going to be clean and shiny anymore. Then yesterday I finally decided to do some serious searching to figure out if there were anyone else out there with the same problem and discovered your wonderful solution. I read through dozens of comments to see how different people had used your solution to achieve results and then decided to try it for myself with some modification of technique.

    I microwaved water to boiling temp and followed your process with some differences. Instead of simply swirling the liquid around (with gloves on) when I thought enough time had passed, I poured off all the liquid back into the 2C glass measuring cup I’d used to heat the water so I could observe the results. A lot of the upper surfaces were clean but there were still a lot of solids still to remove so I used a bottle brush to see if some would come away to reveal more untouched surface area. The brush did loosen and remove further solids so I realized I was on the right track. I then poured the liquid back into my mug and repeated the process, letting it sit for another 30 minutes. This time I removed even more solids, again with the bottle brush to clear away some of the loosened surface material. After about 3 or 4 rounds of soaking and gentle scrubbing I was completely successful in removing all evidence of staining and had my old friend back again like new. Amazing!

    Now I’m on to some other projects that I think might benefit from the same process, like a downstairs toilet bowl which has had a black inside bottom surface for years. Yuck! No amount of scrubbing could ever remove it, even using Comet or equivalent powder. I’m hoping this newly-discovered technique will get me a clean toilet once again. 🙂 If I’m successful I’ll get back to you with a followup.

    Thanks for posting this solution. All the best.

    RC

  119. Robert Grill says:

    Absolutely worked as you described!!

  120. Dorothy says:

    Thank you so much for sharing! It was a simple and easy process. My pot was a mess and now it looks brand new. Your post was so appreciated!!! Thank you again!

  121. Erika says:

    I’m so excited to find this solution and even more excited to try it tonight!!! Thank you!!

  122. Mike Schmitt says:

    I had discovered this technique on my own. Just today I found a Starbucks Barista Aroma coffee maker in the alley. I went to test it, and it works fine. I looked in the stainless carafe and found that it had horrible stains. Probably the reason it was thrown out. A little bit of dishwasher powder and the boiling water, and now it looks brand new. I found this site because I was curious if this was well known. Now I know that there are other smart people like all the responders here.

  123. Hannah says:

    You ought to be a part of a contest for one of the finest sites on the internet. I will recommend this web site!

  124. Norm Z says:

    My coffee mug (a Zojirushi) has a very narrow opening. I wasted half a container of CLR, scrubbed and scraped with hot water to no avail. Then I put in a dishwasher pod, filled with boiling water and let it sit overnight. In the morning I emptied it and couldn’t believe the crud that came out. Now just like new.

  125. Mike says:

    Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! It is ridiculous how well this worked! 🙂 I was convinced my metal pot was just permanently stained but this has it looking new again. This also worked on my two Contigo metal travel mugs (that can’t go in the dishwasher). They look terrific as well. Thanks for posting this. It is so easy and so wonderfully effective.

  126. This was a “magical” solution! Our pot needed a second cleaning, but now it sparkles like new! Thanks SO MUCH for this wonderful idea.

  127. This worked wonderfully for me. I thought mine was landfill bound, but thanks to you one more carafe is saved! I wanted to show you, so I too took a photo but there was no way for me to attach it here. Just know you’re a wallet saver. Sue~

  128. Meredith says:

    I need to clean out coffee carafes to use for hot water for tea. Does this method get the pot clean enough to use for hot water without any residual coffee flavor to the water?

  129. C says:

    Would this work with regular dishwasher degetergent or does is have to be a pod ?

  130. Amanda Nelson says:

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I threw out my last stainless steel coffee carafe 2 years ago due to the stains and scrubbing and cleaning with no results. I finally purchased another one 6 months ago and rinse it out daily but still stained up and decided to put the internet to work and came across this and decided to try it this evening and I am absolutely stunned and so grateful. Of course after being totally grossed out by what came out of it!

  131. Mr. Hazelnut says:

    AMAZING ! To help others, I used 2 1/2 oz. of my regular dishwasher gel and it worked perfectly ! The Doubting Thomas in me was stirring the pot several times and let it sit about 30 minutes longer, but it had a lot of old coffee ….

  132. JOHANNA P RITTER says:

    Worked like a charm! Thanks a million.

  133. Sher says:

    WOW. I didn’t believe it but it worked! I’ve used straight ammonia in the past which did an okay job if I used a scrub brush but this was a breeze and took way less time…and didn’t make me choke LOL. Thank You Thank You Thank You!

  134. mouseroar says:

    Thank you!!!! After many years of fussing with baking soda, vinegar, etc, almost getting my hand stuck in the pot, and just getting frustrated, you gave us a real solution! Can’t believe how well this worked!

  135. Annmarie says:

    OMG! This really does work! We tried everything, and nothing else worked. We don’t have a dishwasher, so we did this as a last resort because we would have to buy the dishwasher tablets/detergent. I wish we had done it from the beginning! Our coffeepot looks new! Thank you!!

  136. T says:

    I am so excited about this. I was a little dubious because I tend to only use natural cleaning products, so all I had were some 7th Generation pods. Guess what? They work too! Like a charm. I was so disgusted by my coffee pot, but I wasn’t about to throw out my beloved Zojirushi! Now I don’t have to even entertain the thought–and my coffee will taste good again (nothing worse than coffee from a funky carafe!). Thank you!

  137. Rich says:

    Used liquid dishwasher soap and the results were the same as described for the pods. Thanks, I had been scrubbing them with a cleaning pad and brush combo which was a lot of work.

  138. Terry Lyster says:

    Oh my goodness! Amazing! Worked like a charm. Thanks so much.

  139. Pat H says:

    Best tip EVER! Worked like a charm! Thanks so much.

  140. john schroeder says:

    Wow … I was ready to through the stainless steel mug out and figured it was worth one more try. Nothing I’d previously tried had any impact.
    After following the approach here, the mug as if by magic came out sparkling like when new. Thanks for sharing!

  141. Jackie says:

    I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to find this page. THIS WORKS, IT REALLY DOES AND FAST! Look no further for a method to clean the inside of your coffee carafe, here it is. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

  142. Daniel says:

    THANK YOU! So glad I found this – it’s absolutely incredible! Worked like a charm for my Cuisinart carafe (which was a replacement for another I threw out because it got so bad). Used one Cascade pod and boiling water, left for a half hour and it came 99% clean with an easy swish. 20 seconds with a long handled brush got the last 1% with zero elbow grease. It’s literally shiny like new, and after just brewing my first post-cleaning pot, no detectable detergent/soapy taste. You rock. Thanks again!

  143. Duane says:

    Absolutely worked!!! Our stainless steel pot was 7 yrs in use and nothing cleaned it adequately until this process. Thank you! I look forward to the next pot of coffee tomorrow morning????

  144. Russ says:

    My wife told me she knew what she wanted for Christmas, A new Ninja steel carafe. She showed me the inside and the bottom looked liked someone had put in on the stove and let the coffee burn. That wasn’t the case as our Ninja does not use a hot plate but it looked really bad. I found your article, tried it, and it now looks brand new. My wife was out while I did the research and the cleansing process so I went ahead and put a Christmas bow on the carafe. I can’t wait to see her face when she returns 🙂

  145. Stephanie Munro says:

    THANK YOU! this tip was SO helpful! I’ve been trying for so long to get my stainless steel carafe clean. I thought I just had to accept that it wouldn’t get clean, until I stumbled across this tip. I just did it and it worked AMAZINGLY! I am SO pleasantly surprised at how clean our carafe is now. My husband couldn’t believe it. Now to brew a pot and taste the difference. Thanks again!

  146. cabby says:

    We have two problems with our Mr. Coffee maker. Our pot eventually gets clogged up with white calcium deposits. We do a couple of brews with vinegar and water and voila, the clog is cleared. The second problem, the inside of the pot eventually gets black and the coffee begins to taste very bitter. I think the black deposit has to do with residue from the coffee grounds or the coffee. Like tannins. I put a half cup or so of baking soda in the pot and some water. If only I could get my hand down in there! I wrap a big wooden spoon with paper towel or soft cloth and rub the sides and bottom. It takes quite a few repeats but within 15 minutes I have softly scrubbed the inside. After a lot of rinsing it’s ready to go. There is a huge difference in the taste of the coffee once those bitter tannins have been scrubbed out. Your detergent system sounds much easier but I fear the detergent residue not coming out and it tasting like soap. I need to look around for a better tool to rub the inside of the pot.

  147. Mark says:

    Like many others in the comments on this blog, I am completely in awe of how well this technique works. Manufacturers of stainless steel carafes and coffee mugs should put this in their manuals as THE way to clean coffee stains out of stainless steel.
    THANK YOU for taking the time to post this six years ago! Like many others, I was skeptical. But only because I had wasted countless hours trying to clean my mugs with fruitless techniques recommended on the internet (baking soda and vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, oxi clean, barkeepers friend, etc, etc). I’d tried it all, to no avail. Who knew a cheap material I already had in my house could be the answer? And it’s so easy!
    I don’t have a steel carafe, but I have multiple Contigo mugs which had become so disgusting, I could barely bring myself to pour coffee in them.
    I followed your instructions exactly, and sure enough after 30 minutes, my contigo mugs look brand new inside. My wife and I couldn’t believe it. Wow!!! Well done, internet coffee mug cleaning superwoman. Well done.
    Thank you!!!

    • Samantha says:

      Oh my gosh – what a comment! I LOVE this and so appreciate you taking the time to leave your feedback here. Nothing makes me happier than knowing we are NOT wasting our stainless pots and travel mugs by using this cleaning technique. Less landfill waste – so many people I knew were simply throwing away their carafe’s out of frustration.

      Thank you again so much!!!!

      Sam

  148. John says:

    Awesome tip. Have a shiny pot again!!!!

  149. Kathy Steinmetz says:

    I just tried your method of carafe cleaning and it worked like a charm. It worked better than the coffee maker cleaner solutions I’ve used in the past. Thanks for the great tip.

  150. Karen says:

    Thank you so much! This worked perfectly. I had tried so many other things (vinegar, baking soda, liquid dish soap) that didn’t work.

  151. Gerri says:

    Wow! This is the best technique ever. It worked beautifully for me. Thank you so much for sharing!

  152. Suzanne says:

    I did this today and it worked like a charm!

  153. Lori says:

    Just tried it tonight and it worked! Wow, thank you Samantha!

  154. Lyla says:

    I just tried this and OMG…the interior of my pot looks brand new! Thanks so much for this wonderful tip!

  155. Alan says:

    Mr Cynical says – “never doubt the advice of the beautiful Sam.”
    About to discard this carafe until I tried this. Works like a charm!

  156. Alan says:

    Oh, modest too! Wonderful!
    Seriously – thanks for posting this.

  157. Rich says:

    Samantha,

    You so totally ROCK! This problem has been bugging me for years. Your remarkably simple solution works perfectly! Thank you so much for a sparkling clean carafe and peace of mind.

    Regards,.
    Rich
    Elk Grove, CA

  158. Gayle Freeman says:

    Wow it worked amazingly!! Kudos!!!

  159. D D says:

    It worked. You just made my day !! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

  160. Barbara Rodts says:

    I am absolutely speechless. I was SO sure that this would be another ‘trick’ that works for everyone except me. Dynamite wouldn’t be able to clean the chunks of coffee buildup in this pot. After putting your cleaning secret to work….spotless. Sparkling stainless steel. If there was a Nobel for amazing suggestions, I would nominate you.

  161. Sandra Sturgeon says:

    OMG Absolutely AWESOME!!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!! Looks brand new!!!!!

  162. Najah Matthews says:

    Just did it this morning. Amazing how it worked. Do exactly as suggested. It’s the easiest method I found this far. Thank you for sharing this. The chunks that were in the lid alone was disgusting. Was exactly how the pictures show. It’s sparkling clean now. ????????????????????

  163. Peg says:

    Just did this procedure and it worked! Amazing! Can’t wait to try it on my stainless steel tea infuser thermos. Thank you!

  164. Joan says:

    Love it….have tried all different methods and with scrubbing brushes and this was the best and easiest with no work at all and my pot looks like brand new.
    Thanks

  165. Daryl says:

    All I can say is Wow, It worked like a charm. Thanks a bunch

  166. Aylin says:

    I’ve also tried everything…and this is the ONLY thing that works. It’s like magic!!!! Thank you so much!!!

  167. Tamara Dietzel says:

    This was the most amazing trick! I, like many others, had tried various purchased and concocted products and had resolved to purchasing a new coffee maker as it was cheaper than just purchasing a replacement carafe. Using something so simple as a dishwasher pod, that I already had at home, was ingenious. T
    Thank you for sharing this tip. it is shameful how many things we just toss rather than try to repair or re-use but at least for this one, i can continue to use until it truly no longer works.

  168. Kevin Pham says:

    Amazing result: it now looks just like new and so easy! Especially I just tried to rub it like crazy half hour ago then gave up and was about to buy baking soda powder for the next try … Thank you!!!

  169. Phil says:

    Made my morning coffee this morning. Tasted burnt! Looked in carafe, the gunk lining the pot was black. Having tried other cleaning methods, I searched and found your tip. Tried it. The quantity of gunk that came out was huge! Several rinses later, finally got no more gunk coming out. Gave the carafe a taste test with filtered water. It was good. Made a small amount of coffee, no longer a burnt taste! Yay! And many thanks.

    BTW: used a liquid dishwasher detergent, Cascade.

  170. Neil Vande Pol says:

    Used this method today, worked like a charm. Our previous Thermal pot had a large opening, so i could get my hand inside, and use a Magic Eraser, which worked great. I had been stymied in my efforts to get our pot clean until now. Thank You

  171. Ann says:

    Had gone online to search for a “coffee pot scrubber” to purchase, and found your youtube video and blog instead. Astonishing results. I did for 60 minutes, and rinsed at the end with a little more boiling water just because, final wash with a little Ivory. Can’t wait to make coffee again in a shiny clean pot! Many thanks and look forward to checking out your other tips!

  172. Jenny says:

    This works like a charm to get a carafe LOOKING new, HOWEVER, we now have a soap taste in the carafe that won’t go away????…. so if anyone knows how to get rid of that, I’m all ears. But in the meantime, we are desperately trying to get our coffeepot back to a useable condition.

  173. Joe says:

    Wonder how different it is to just use bleach and water? I mean here are one set of ingredients… https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/1605-cascadepowderdishwasherdetergent

    I know from past experience it works fast on coffee cups for this purpose. And logically you’re just denaturing the and proteins to get them to detach from the surface. Coffee being mostly acidic it seems like an obvious countering agent. Baking soda is a buffer, not a base (shifts acids toward neutral).

  174. Cate says:

    Hi Samantha, this tip is truly the most amazing, fantastic and totally effortless cleaning tip I’ve ever tried. Like other posts here, I’ve struggled and toiled in futile attempts to clean the awful, ugly built-up coffee residue from our stainless steel coffee carafe and travel mugs — IMPOSSIBLE! About two years ago, after reading and trying various other cleaning “tips” and I came across your website and like other posters here, was absolutely gleeful and astonished at the results — our carafe and mugs look actually better than new — they’re gleaming! It’s so effortless, that I now maintain their sparkling clean condition by using this method quarterly.

    Incidentally, I once accidentally let the solution sit in the carafe overnight and there was a VERY faint odor of dishwasher detergent that remained after washing/rinsing, but it was easily removed by filling the carafe with a mixture of hot water and a TBS of baking soda and letting it sit for about 30 minutes.

    Thanks again Sam, for sharing your great idea with all of us!

    • Samantha says:

      Hi Cate!!

      Thank you SOOO much for such a sweet and detailed comment. So grateful to hear it has worked for you as well…and for so long. It’s a tip I loved sharing and happy to know there aren’t carafes or mugs in the landfill.

      Thank you for commenting!!!

      xx,
      Sam

  175. KB says:

    Incredible! It worked amazingly!

  176. Marsha says:

    Amazing! Thank you so much!,

  177. Mike Reisner says:

    Yes!!! I’ve been trying to figure this out for a year. I was aggravated that I couldn’t scrub it like a glass pot. Thank you!!!

  178. Erin says:

    I just followed your advice and my stainless steel coffee pot is now spotless! I can’t believe how easy this was. Thank you, and stay safe! ; )

  179. Phillip Santiago says:

    Cleaned glass coffee pots before but this was new to me. Thank you so much for the info as it turned out looking brand new. Coffee this morning was delicious as we’ve we first used it.

  180. Elizabeth Warnock says:

    I can’t thank you enough.. this worked perfectly!!

  181. DJ says:

    Wow, you are a genius!! I loved your tip and it worked just as you said. LOVE, LOVE how new my stainless steel pot looks. Thank you so much!

  182. Elizabeth Lukie says:

    I find that using distilled water reduces coffee stains in mugs and such but when I do clean them I use regular bleach and water and let it sit for a couple of hours. Rinse and you are done. It’s probably cheaper too.

  183. Terry says:

    Thank you so much for the stainless steel coffee pot cleaning tip. I must say I was sceptical since other cleaning techniques either don’t work or require scrubbing. My coffee pot is as good as new.

  184. Lori D. says:

    THIS IS AMAZING!!! I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t cleaned my stainless carafe for a few years! I finally decided to tackle it today, but didn’t want to go out and spend $8+ on a descaler.

    So I tried your suggestion and in 30 minutes I had a sparkking new, clean carafe! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

  185. Kathy Boots says:

    So, not unlike the others, I am thrilled. This saved my coffee pot! I have tried everything throughout the years. I even got the blue cleaner that coffee shops use. None it worked well enough, until now! Amazing!! Thank you so much for posting this!

  186. Ed Dewsnap says:

    Thank you for posting this, my wife tried everything under the kitchen sink, we were just about to toss this expensive carafe. This worked like magic!!!!

  187. Janelle says:

    I rarely drink coffee but recently bought some organic mycotoxin-free decaf coffee as a treat. I knew I needed to clean my husband’s coffee maker first, but I ran into a roadblock with the thermal carafe. Suffice it to say he’s a rinser, not a washer. I stock organic/natural cleaners in the house, so I knew my kitchen cleaners wouldn’t cut through it. Instead, I used 1/4 cup of OXO Brite from Ecos with boiling water. Two cycles got most of it! I used 1/8th cup of OXO Brite the third time and poured an inch of boiling water into the carafe to soak the last bits from the bottom. I soaked the cover and the coffee basket in a Pyrex glass bowl during the last cycle. This was the easiest, most effective method I’ve found for this nasty task! Thank you very much. I took pictures throughout the process and texted them to hubby. I think he’s changed his mind about only rinsing. Thanks for the bonus effect. 😉

  188. Jenn says:

    OMG I have tried everything to get mine clean and gave up. Stopped drinking coffee as it started tasting bitter. IT’S CLEAN!!!!!!!!! Thank you sooooooo much for sharing this. I’m grateful my search led me straight to you 🙂

  189. Liz says:

    I had huge doubts about this ; and then I tried it. The water I poured put looked like coffee to begin with and some kind of gross sludge at the end. My pot was shining!!

  190. Marianne Reichelt says:

    Fantastic! Worked beautifully! Thank you so much!

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