We at ServiceMaster of Wake County love our coffee; in fact we call it “productivity juice” because it keeps us productive and pushing through the hardest tasks. Many offices and workplaces, like ServiceMaster, offer coffee to their employees with either traditional coffee makers like Mr. Coffee or other brand OR their use single use (pod coffee systems) coffee makers like Nespresso or Keurig. The problem with either coffee maker is that they usually aren’t cleaned as often as they should be and this can lead to build up, mildew and foul tasting coffee.
Traditional Coffee Makers
There is a pretty good chance you already throw out the filter and wash/rinse the carafe after the day’s use, but an overlooked everyday cleaning task for traditional coffee makers is cleaning the filter in additional to throwing out the used grounds and filter. Use a damp rag to clean out the filter area where the grounds go and water is poured in. As far as cleaning the machine itself goes, this is rarely done in most businesses, but truly needs to be done at least once a month. If your office has hard water, do it more often. There are commercial products that are available, which you can purchase at most stores or online or you can use good old kitchen vinegar. Typically, the coffee machine cleaning products are a liquid that is poured into the tank just as you would pour water into it to make coffee. You then have to turn the machine on and allow it to pump through. Make sure that you also run at least one or two full cycles of fresh water through the machine after you have used these products to ensure that there is no chemical or vinegar residue left over. If you do opt to use vinegar, it cleans the machine just as effectively as the commercial cleaning products, but it doesn’t require the use of harsh chemicals to do so. Simply pour the vinegar into the tank, turn the machine on and allow it to brew just as it would at any other time. After the coffee machine has cooled, run water through it a couple of times (just like you would when making coffee). After cleaning it and running a few cycles of clean water through, you are good to go to brew a fresh cup of joe!
Pod Coffee Systems
Pod Coffee System machines often get more daily use than traditional carafe style coffee makers and they can develop clogs that can cause the system to quit completely. Proper and regular cleaning is vital to the taste of your coffee and cleanliness of your machine. Similar to the traditional carafe system, vinegar makes for a great (non chemical) cleaning agent. You will want to refer to the manual for your machine for the best process to descale and remove buildup, calcium deposits, from your machine.
If you regularly clean your coffee maker, your coffee will continue to taste great and your staff will keep smiling because they have their “productivity juice” to keep them pushing through the morning and entire day.
