Love your percolator but hate cleaning it. Let us help with 3 simple methods the details how to clean a stainless steel coffee percolator.
The percolator is a staple appliance in many kitchens. It can also be a pain to get clean after it starts to build up coffee stains over time. Read on to see how you can use everyday household items to make cleaning your percolator quick and easy.
Table of Contents
What is A Percolator
It’s used for making coffee and tea, but it can be used to make other things like oatmeal or hot chocolate. The percolator was invented by a man named John Sylvanus Lavell during the early 1900s in Canada. His invention became popular because it made coffee without using electricity and you could use any heat source available at the time!
Farberware 2-4-Cup Percolator, Stainless Stee
The stainless steel coffee pot has been designed to last a lifetime through regular maintenance such as cleaning with vinegar, baking soda, and water. This will keep your percolator from being stained or smelling bad from built up oils and residue from all those years of boiling water over grounds! If you want your stove top percolator to last long and look shiny, follow these easy steps to cleaning it.
Method 1: Vinegar and Water
Steps to Clean Percolator with Water and Vinegar:
1. Use a mixture of water and vinegar (about 1 cup water and 2 cups vinegar) to fill the percolator up without spilling over the top. Then heat the mixture on high for five minutes before turning off heat source.
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2. As the mixture is cooling off, use baking soda to thoroughly scrub off all the dirty parts of your percolator. You can also use a toothbrush or small brush.
3. Rinse off all the old water and vinegar solution left in the pot before filling it up with fresh hot water (no more than halfway) and rinsing it out.
4. Optional: You can now use a few tablespoons of white vinegar to clean and disinfect all parts and remove any stains left from the baking soda or dirt. Then fill with fresh water to rinse again before plugging in your percolator for another use!
Note: If you have an aluminum percolator, you can substitute Cream of Tarter for the vinegar in this cleaning recipe. It will be less abrasive since Aluminum is not as scratch resistant as stainless steel.
Method 2: Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide
While baking soda is an effective cleaner by itself, it works even better when mixed with hydrogen peroxide.
Steps to Clean Percolator with Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide:
1. Scrub down the inside of the percolator while it’s empty. You can use a toothbrush for this task.
2. Heat some water on the stove until it starts boiling, then fill up your empty percolator halfway with fresh hot water.
3. Pour around 3 tablespoons of baking soda and half cup of Hydrogen Peroxide into the filled percolator and let it boil for another 5 minutes before turning off heat source.
4. Let percolator cool down with boiling water left inside, then rinse with fresh hot water to ensure all residue is cleaned out of the corners and crevices where dirt likes to hide.
5. Optional: You can now use a few tablespoons of white vinegar to clean and disinfect all parts and remove any stains left from the baking soda or dirt. Then fill with fresh water to rinse again before plugging in your percolator for another use!
Euro Cuisine PER04 Electric Percolator 4 Cup Stainless Steel
Method 3: Vinegar and salt
One of the best combinations to clean stainless steel is a mixture of salt and vinegar. You will be amazed at how well these two simple household items work to remove stubborn coffee stains from your percolator.
Steps to Clean Percolator with Salt and Vinegar:
1. Scrub down the inside of the percolator while it’s empty. Again, a simple toothbrush can be used.
2. Add 2 parts iodized salt with 15 parts vinegar and fill your percolator around half full.
3. Add ice to the mixture to fill percolator to top. Leave until all ice has melted, for stubborn stains, let solution sit after ice has melted.
4. Rinse with fresh hot water to ensure all residue is cleaned out of the corners and crevices where dirt likes to hide.
5. Optional: You can now use a few tablespoons of white vinegar to clean and disinfect all parts and remove any stains left from the salt mixture or dirt. Then fill with fresh water to rinse again before plugging in your percolator for another use!
Stanley Camp Percolator w/ Silicone Cool Grip
Bonus Method 4: Baking soda, Toothpaste, Salt
This is an alternative method you might want to try. Scrub with baking soda, toothpaste, and salt. Afterward rinse thoroughly with hot water.
Conclusion
Cleaning your stainless steel coffee percolator is important to keep it looking nice and functioning well. The three methods we’ve outlined are simple, affordable, and use ingredients you probably have in your home already. We recommend trying Method 1 (vinegar and water) as it’s the most straightforward and easy to follow. If that doesn’t work for you or if you have a really tough stain to remove, try one of the other two methods. Be sure to rinse with hot water thoroughly after each method to get all the cleaning agents out so your percolator will be ready for its next brewing session!
Have any additional methods on how to clean a stainless steel coffee percolator? Let us know in the comments below.
FAQ
How often should I clean my coffee percolator?
As often as you think it needs cleaning! How often you clean your percolator depends on how much coffee you drink, how often you use it, and the quality of water that passes through it. If water doesn’t pass through well or if there is a residue left behind, then you should clean your percolator to ensure it functions at its best.
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I personally clean my stainless steel coffee carafe after each use as I cannot stand stains building up. It only takes a few minutes and extends the life of the coffee carafe.
Percolator Vs Drip Coffee Maker: What’s The Difference?
The introduction of the coffee percolator was a significant advance in the art of brewing coffee. Coffee was traditionally brewed by decoction, in which water was added to coffee grinds and then steeped (1).
The percolator was invented to produce a cup of coffee that was devoid of grounds. It’s a little bit like French Press coffee in that respect.
Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Electric Percolator Coffee Maker
As a result of the drip coffee maker’s advent, many believed the percolator’s time had come to an end. There was no room for human error or distraction because of the design’s automation of the process.
Drippers and pour-overs are based on the same principle yet the end product is vastly different. Slowly drizzling hot water over the ground coffee creates a moderate yet flavorful cup of joe.
How to Clean a Stovetop Percolator
It is possible to keep your percolator in excellent condition by following any of the cleaning methods outlined in this article.
How to Clean an Electric Percolator
Any of the methods we describe in this article can be used to keep your electric percolator in top shape for years of use and consistent, and flavorful coffee productions.
Always make use of a soft rag or washcloth. Using a plastic scrubber or dish brush will help you remove tough stains and residues. Your percolator will rust or stain more easily if it is exposed to harsher elements, which will remove the protective covering.
How to Clean a Percolator Basket
In many cases, you only need to clean your percolator’s basket, not the rest of it. This is the most heavily used and, as a result, most heavily soiled section.
A lot of time is saved by not having to thoroughly clean your percolator.
Using a mixture of hot water and vinegar, soak your percolator basket. Spend at least two hours, if not overnight, letting it soak in the solution.
Make sure to rinse thoroughly afterward and run a cycle with water to remove any vinegar odor.
How Do You Clean an Aluminum Coffee Percolator?
Much like cleaning a stainless steel coffee maker, you can clean an aluminum percolator in the same way. The percolator would benefit if you had the same instruments and a new chemical that wouldn’t leave any scuffs or scratches. Aluminum is less durable than stainless steel.
Baking soda and cream of tartar are the two most important ingredients in this recipe. You may get cream of tartar in your local store, it is a byproduct of the fermentation of grapes. If you’re looking for something a little less abrasive than the baking soda and white vinegar mixture, you can use the combination of the two.
