Resources: Note on Drip Coffee Makers
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Woodblock by Naomi Bossom
Resources: Note on Drip Coffee Makers
After You Use It, Refill It with Water
For years, I’ve been using my Technivorm Moccamaster drip coffee maker every morning, and for years I never bothered to descale. The machine functioned well, but a few months ago I went to refill it and noticed a moldy smell originating in the hidden, water-heating portion. Online sources suggested that descaling was the place to start. I ignored the warning on the Moccamaster site to use only a particular brand of descaler. Instead, I followed advice elsewhere and made a 50-50 white vinegar-water mix, filled the machine and let it sit for half an hour, and then turned it on, so the liquid would pass through, and then ran plain water through twice. According to various sources, to avoid mold a coffee machine should be completely emptied of water between uses, to let it dry. But if you make coffee every day, the hidden parts will never dry. Mold, in order to grow, requires both air and moisture, and therefore it can’t grow underwater, so it makes much more sense not to leave the reservoir empty but to refill it after use. I began to do that. The improvement was immediate; there was only a small smell when the reservoir was empty. And because vinegar kills mold, I continued the vinegar-water treatment roughly once a month. Unfortunately, a moldy smell is extremely difficult to get rid of — think of books stored in a damp place — but three or four months later, the odor has almost disappeared.● From issue 112By Edward Behr
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