# Cleaning a stainless-steel coffee carafe

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** coffee\
**Created:** [May 10, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444 "2011-05-10T22:10:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444/1 "2011-05-10T22:10:48Z")

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Any tips for cleaning (heavy) coffee staining from the inside of a stainless steel carafe? I’ve tried soaking it with lots of dish soap, and scrubbing it with a nylon scrubber, but it didn’t make a dent in the staining. I don’t want to destroy the carafe with harsh chemicals …

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**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444/2 "2011-05-10T22:40:17Z")

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…Did you try Google? [This was the first result](http://www.ehow.com/how_4761617_clean-coffee-carafe.html).

Granted, those are for glass carafes but there are several methods there you could try.

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**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444/3 "2011-05-10T22:46:37Z")

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the lemon juice, ice, and salt method mentioned on that page works.

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**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444/4 "2011-05-11T02:07:57Z")

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I’ve done the white vinegar bit. That works too.

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**Author:** ![Old\_Eel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/977dab/32.png) [@Old\_Eel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Eel)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-a-stainless-steel-coffee-carafe/581444/5 "2011-05-11T04:32:51Z")

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Isn’t this one of those cream of Tartar things? I don’t know if this works with stainless steel, though.