ON COFFEE POTS MOLD & BACTERIA:
I work in a laboratory, in a clean room environment. I'm constantly seeing all these online posts people make about using vinegar as a disinfectant/bacteria and mold killer/cleaner. My one word personal answer for this: ABSURD!
I just competed my own personal experiment, on my own coffee maker that we use every day to make our own coffee. Several months back after finding black mold in our coffee pot I decided I'd never again own a black colored coffee maker so I could see just when the pink mold I'm use to seeing every day at work starts to grow and I could then eradicate it so it isn't getting in any of my coffee.
So I tossed the black coffee maker and bought an identical white one a few months ago. Well about 2am yesterday morning I noticed the very familiar pink mold streak beginning in the bottom of the water bin, that I see in our white water bins at work in the lab. So I thought to myself I'm going to try this vinegar cleansing thing! So I poured straight vinegar into my coffee makers water bin and I waited and waited and then swished it around... NOTHING HAPPENED! Just as I've always suspected would be the result. So trudging forward I got a paper towel to wipe it by hand in the vinegar... STILL THERE! So I opened a new tooth brush and attempted to get it out... STILL THERE! I dumped the vinegar and rinsed the coffee maker out, unplugged of course, with 165 degree water. STILL THERE! The pink mold was still in the bottom of the coffee maker water bin. Even if some of it had come out it is still in the bottom of the water bin and would be impossible to wipe, scrub or spray completely out to rid the coffee maker of all the mold.
SO NOW: Plan B, which has always been my Plan A until today; Which is now going to ALWAYS BE my PLAN A, got set into motion around 4:30 yesterday morning.
Off to the laundry room, got some bleach, poured a little into the bottom of the bin and before I could even get the water turned on to fill the bin... ALL OF THE PINK MOLD WAS GONE! INSTANTLY! I then filled the bin, with water, rinsed it out, ran the coffee pot several times with straight water and now I'm finally at 5:30am I was drinking my first, long awaited for, cup of coffee.
SO, IN CONCLUSION:
Vinegar DOES NOT work, for cleaning your coffee maker.
If the military, special forces, survivalists, laboratories and others still use bleach and have for a vey long time, just as I have for 30 plus years now, to clean and disinfect... YOU SHOULD TOO, unless you like drinking mold, which causes lots of respiratory issues.
I want to take this a bit farther... DO NOT MIX BLEACH (CLOROX) & VINEGAR TOGETHER in order to make a better cleaner. Use them separately, if you insist on using both.
Bleach + Vinegar = Toxic Chlorine Gas. While the combination does create a good disinfectant, these two common cleaning agents should never be used at the same time. Why: Adding any weak acid to bleach will release toxic chlorine and chloramine vapors.
Vinegar does work to decalcify coffee makers, pots and kettles. Maybe some people have mistakenly thought it would also sanitize them. The internet is a wealth of information, but it is much richer in disinformation.
YOU WILL WANT TO EITHER PUT THE VINEGAR IN THE POT AND RUN THE WATER THRU THE COFFEE MACHINE INTO THE POT OF VINEGAR OR JUST PUT A SPLASH OF VINEGAR IN THE WATER CHAMBER WITH THE WATER AND RUN YOUR COFFEE POT , THEN DO JUST A WATER RUN THROUGH TO REMOVE VINEGAR.
This is a great article. Thanks for posting. I have to agree. If you need to tak care of mold whether its in a coffee maker or on wall bleach is pretty much the only way to go.
I'm thinking of rinsing or soaking my new mocha coffee maker periodically in bleach water. 1 Cap full of bleach per gallon of water. Once a week to prevent build up of mold and to disinfect.
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