The instruction book for my percolator says to wash with dish detergent. I am worried about the after taste. Is there anything else to use that may clean it better? Once again thanks for your input.
By araucano
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I use powdered Dishwasher Detergent, about 4 or 5 Tbps. and fill with hot water to the top. Stir alittle to dissolve and let sit over night. Rinse out real good wiping with a wash cloth and hot water,may need repeated depending on how dirty your percolator is. May use cheap Dishwasher Detergent. Hope this helps! Works like a charm on mine. I also clean my basket, lid & stem with it to.
I worked in a restaurant for many years and the only method we ever used was salt and ice cubes. Use enough salt to cover the bottom and several ice cubes swirl around a bit should get it clean.
We did the same as you at the restaurant I worked at,clean as new when your done.
This question made me smile as I recalled a series of childhood memories. My folks had one of the old CorningWare electric percolators all through the 60's and 70's and playfully argued about how to clean it for, literally, decades. Dad's parents had a restaurant in the 40's and 50's and dad insisted that a coffee pot should never be cleaned with any kind of soap or cleaner. Mom agreed that the soap might taint the flavor of the coffee, but couldn't stand the thought of never trying to clean her stained coffee pot. So . . .
Without ever telling dad, (and telling me, the oldest, to keep it a secret between us) mom would "brew" a pot of 50% water, 50% white vinegar and probably a tablespoon or so of table salt, dump it out and "brew" another pot of 100% water (to rinse) about once a week. In hindsight, I'm sure dad knew, that mom knew, that dad knew she had done "something", (as he made the occasional pot of coffee) but it was never an issue because there was absolutely no change in the taste of the coffee!
Food for thought as this might work for your percolator. Regardless, thanks for jogging such a simple, fond memory of my long passed parents! :-)
Both KansasCindy and Msburny's suggestions work great! I use vinegar and water to clean mine now but I used to work at a restaurant for extra money now and then when I was young and we would sometimes add a little juice from freshly squeezed lemons to the salt and ice cubes.
Try boiling water, tablespoon Bicarbonate Soda (UK) tablespoon white vinegar. Leave to soak overnight.
Vinegar! Periodically i take pure white vinegar and fill my coffee pot and "brew" a pot of it. Dump out the vinegar and "brew" a couple pots of just plain water to rinse the vinegar out. You'll know when it's rinsed well because the vinegar smell disappears. This works wonderfully.
For daily cleaning I use a vinegar and water mixture I keep in a spray bottle around my kitchen. I simply squirt my coffee pot with this a few times, let sit for a minute and rinse before I make my first pot. My coffee pot is always clean! Remember, vinegar is a disinfectant and is a good non-toxic replacement for bleach.
There is a product called "Dip-it" that works well.
Personally, I think washing it with detergent should be ok, as long as it gets rinsed well. After all, you use it on your dishes and silverware. Has there ever been a taste from it?
Dip it, worked amazing, and my grandparents used it for decades and I used it since I had my first place. Unluckily, the company was bought out by lime away and they stopped making it. They still make dip it, but it's a liquid and made for auto drips. There's a similar idoduct called Kaf Zan that works almost as well, if not as well as the old dip it.
DIP-IT is for stain removal of a well used perk. You can use vinegar, CLR or even unsweetened koolaid will clean the lime out. The dishwashing detergent is the sink type. As you rinse all dishes you wash, this is the same. Do not use dishwasher detergent as it contains other stronger chemicals that are meant for the machine use, where it is quickly diluted, washed then rinsed.
There is one thing I do every few days. I use a percolator brush to clean the stem where the water/coffee goes through. A percolator brush is a long small brush that will go through the center tube in the pot, using soap and water will remove the oil that collects in the pot.
There is one thing I do every few days. I use a percolator brush to clean the stem where the water/coffee goes through. A percolator brush is a long small brush that will go through the center tube in the pot, using soap and water will remove the oil that collects in the pot. Then I also use white vinegar too to remove the mineral deposits.
It really depends on whether your percolator is made of aluminum or steel. Aluminum (the old-fashioned Italian one with the black plastic handle): really only rinse out with water and let it air out after each use. The coffee oil residue makes the coffee taste better after a number of uses (all Italians swear by this including myself). If you haven't used it in a while and/or there is mold just clean with dish washing liquid, and brew a couple of times with coffee which you then DO NOT drink.
Steel: this you can wash like any steel pot. I've never seen anyone clean the actual pipe beyond just rinsing it through.
Try not to overdo it, it's just coffee and boiled water in there and unless it molds there is little there to harm you! they are supposed to look "browned" with age too!
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