Coffee pot stains are unsightly, unpleasant, and painful to erase. Whether it’s the mark of an old pot or mug on a wood table, a blot from a cup of coffee on your favorite work shirt, or unsightly coffee rings on the inside of your coffee maker, you don’t want them there. This guide is here to teach you how to clean coffee pot stains and keep them from returning.
Unfortunately, coffee is a particularly frustrating stain to remove. If you get it on your clothes, you’re almost assuredly going to need some stain remover or bleach to get it out, even if you catch it early. The same goes for tables and coffee pots, too. Even coffee mugs can fall victim to the dreaded brown coffee ring!
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best ways to remove these stains from your favorite coffee pots. Some of them will even work for getting coffee stains off of other things! With the techniques and know-how in this article on how to clean coffee pot stains, you’ll be well-equipped to prevent these stains from plaguing your house again!
How to Clean Coffee Pot Stains
It’s not hard to learn how to clean coffee pot stains, but different recipes work well for different mediums. You wouldn’t want to clean a glass coffee pot the same way as a stainless steel one, for example, and you wouldn’t use the same method to clean hard water stains as you would coffee rings.
In the same way, a ceramic mug needs different stain removers than glass and stainless steel. In the remainder of this guide, we’ll go over the best methods for cleaning stubborn stains and rings from these items.
Coffee Pot Stain Removal with Vinegar
White vinegar is a fan-favorite at-home cleaner that’s both natural and gentle, and it’s reliable and versatile, too! With how many different things vinegar can clean around the house, it should be no surprise that it’s useful for coffee pot stain removal, also.
Vinegar Coffee Stain Removal
- 1 part vinegar
- 1 part warm water
For this method, fill your coffee pot halfway with vinegar, then halfway with hot water. If you’re using a glass coffee pot, let the equal parts mixture sit for at least 20 minutes to lift the stains away.
If you have a stove-safe stainless steel coffee pot, heat it on the stove until it comes to a strong boil, then turn the heat off and let it return to room temperature naturally. You can carefully swish both pots around during the process to help dissolve some of the stains, and you can also add a teaspoon or two of baking powder for a bit of extra foaming power if desired.
Rinse pots thoroughly with soapy water to remove the vinegar odor after cleaning, or run them through the dishwasher if they’re dishwasher safe. Let them dry thoroughly on a paper towel or soft cloth before returning them to your coffee machine.
Removing Coffee Stains from Coffee Pot with Salt and Ice
Salt and ice cubes, while not as effective as vinegar, combine to form a much less stinky solution to removing your coffee rings and stains. Removing coffee stains from coffee pot with salt and ice is a favorite secret of coffee-making professionals everywhere.
Ice and Salt to Remove Coffee Stains
- 3-6 ice cubes
- 2 tbsp salt
All you need to do for this recipe is to add the salt and the ice cubes to your coffee pot. This method is particularly useful for glass carafes, but it should work for most stainless steel ones, too. Swirl the ice and salt mixture around the pot until the coffee stains lift, then rinse it out with cold water.
If you have a glass pot, be sure that it’s cooled to room temperature before you add anything cold to it. Rinse your containers well with dish soap and clean water so that you’re not left with coffee tasting like salt the next time you use it!
Remove the Toughest Coffee Rings with Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide combine to create a genuinely potent home-cleaning solution. This recipe pairs the two ingredients with a sponge or scrub brush and a little elbow grease to get the worst stains out of your coffee carafes.
Peroxide and Baking Soda Recipe
- ½ cup hydrogen peroxide
- 2 tbsp baking soda
- Sponge or scrub brush
Add the ingredients to your coffee pot, then swirl them around the container for at least a minute. Leave the formula in the carafe for up to 30 minutes for a bit of extra effectiveness, but if you’re in a rush, you may be able to make up for that time with a bit of elbow grease. Rinse your carafes thoroughly with dishwashing soap and freshwater when finished.
How did you like our coffee pot stain cleaning guide? As far as cleaning recipes go, all of these options are rather quick and easy. Honorable mention goes to lemon juice and denture cleaner, but they weren’t fast enough to make our quick-cleaning list! These methods can help you get the coffee grounds out of your Keurig, Cuisinart, or French press, too, if needed.
If you liked our guide on how to clean coffee pot stains, please share these coffee ring cleaning tips with your relatives and friends on social media!
