The coffee maker we have is approximately 10 years old. It makes fine coffee, but it runs very slowly. Is there some kind of cleaning I can/should do to make it run faster? I was thinking of running a cycle with baking soda in the water or something. Other than that I’m blank on ideas.
Or I could just buy a new one for $25 at Target.
I don’t know if cleaning it will make it run faster or not, but it’s certainly worth a shot. Here’s how I clean mine: pour in one cup of vinegar, fill the reservoir the rest of the way with water. Run the vinegar/water mix through, just like you’re brewing coffee. Then run through several pots of clear water to rinse the vinegar.
It’s important that your coffee brew at the proper speed. If it brews too slowly, the water spends too much time in contact with the coffee grounds, and your coffee can be bitter. If it runs through too fast, the water doesn’t spend enough time in contact with the grounds, and your coffee will be wimpy.
You can buy (ususally in the coffe aisle at your local market) coffee pot cleaner, but vinegar is cheap, you probably already have in on hand, and it’s always worked well for me. I clean mine in this manner about 4 times a year.
I just asked my wife about it and she said her parents always used vinegar. Great minds, right? 
Anyway, vinegar sounds like the ticket, but I might try baking soda once only 'cause it do not stink like vinegar.
I dunno. Do you like your in-laws?
Of course you should clean it. My wife does so once a month. The formula can vary. Some pot-mfrs require a half and half mixture of vinegar and water; some all vinegar. After the pot has cooled off, you usually follow with a second douche of just water.
Get a good pot - one with a water filter.
A few months ago we did just that. a Cuisinart for around $100. It was worth it. Coffee now tastes like the memory I had of it.
And we wash the pot and change the filter monthly.
The innards of a coffeemaker should be cleaned every month, more often if you make more than a pot a day. I use liquid DipIt, which is stronger and less stinky than vinegar. If you have a Bunn-O-Matic, the shower-head unscrews for cleaning, and it has a length of spring to ream out the feed tube.
Baking soda won’t do anything useful.
You need something on the acidic side to dissolve the hard water deposits that are insulating the heating element and/or clogging the tubing.
Vinegar works pretty well, but yes, it smells awful.
Vinegar it is, then. Thanks for the quick info.
My wife got me one for our anniversary. It is wonderful.
Where do you get the filters? Are they in stores, or do you have to order from Cuisinart? I only use water that has gone through our Brita filter, but I’ll eventually want to change it.
Living with a well with really high lime content, I go beyond vinegar.
I mix CLR® (brand name for “Calcium, Lime, Rust” remover, usually found with the kitchen and bath cleaners, gray rectangular container, yellow label with white, green, and orange bands) at a ratio of 1 oz CLR® to 8 oz of water. Run the solution through once, then pour the solution back through a second time. Then I run about three or four pitchers of pure water through to clear out the CLR. (I think the CLR directions call for either one or two water runs, but I don’t want to poison Deb. I don’t drink coffee, myself.)
My husband swears by the CLR as well, Tom. We have extraordinarily funky water and we get the build-up in a matter of 6-8 weeks. Hubby thinks the CLR is swell.
Get a French Press, trash the drip-machine and never have that problem again. Plus you get better coffee.
Screw the french press.
Get an ibrik and have some real coffee.
An ibrik is usually a work of art. But a French Press makes superior coffee.
I’m a simple man with simple tastes. I just read up on an ibrik and a french press, and I didn’t see a timer on either of them. Me and my Mr Coffee will still stay together I think. But thanks for the head’s up.
One, your coffee will taste much better if you use filtered or bottled water. Brita filters work just fine. Or, have 2.5 or 5 gallon jugs delivered to your home.
Two, clean the basket with soap between brews. There are bitter oils released by the grounds that stick to the basket. If you have one of those gold mesh filters, swish that in hot soapy water, too. And while you’re at it, clean the carafe. Of course, rinse all of them well.
Three, get a coffee maker that uses a thermos carafe, not a glass pitcher on a hot plate. Failing that, get a thermos serving carafe. The last thing you want to do to a good pot of coffee is ruin it by slow cooking it.
Four, don’t skimp on coffee. Make your coffee good and strong, and then if you like it milder, add hot water to your cup. Brew it weak, and you draw out the most bitter, unpalatable essences from the beans.
Five, brew quickly. For the same reasons. The faster your coffeemaker brews, the more coffee you will need.
As for coffeemakers, there are two basic kinds. The most common are those that heat the cold water you just poured in, like a Mr. Coffee, or Braun. They brew relatively slowly, and I find that a heaping tablespoon per two six ounce cups works good for most roasts of coffee.
Then there are the kind that keep a reservoir of heated water ready. The cold water you pour in displaces the hot water, which goes into the brew basket to mingle with the coffee. You find these a lot in restaurants and food service places. The only common brand of this type I know of that sells home models to consumers is Bunn. These brew a pot of coffee very quickly, and since the water remains in contact with the grounds for less time, requires more coffee beans. But fortunately, you don’t need as high a quality of bean. We use one of these at the office, with tap water run thru a Brita filter, and Folger’s or Yuban make a fine cuppa.
Six, grind your beans appropriately. The slower your coffeemaker works, the coarser the grind you want. That’s why espresso grinds are like powder, and perk coffee grounds are like kosher salt.
Seven, store your beans in an airtight container. You don’t need to refrigerate or freeze your beans. Just store them airtight. If they needed refrigeration, then the beans would be refrigerated in Starbucks or on the gourmet coffee bean aisle in your grocery store.
Aha - bulk gourmet coffee! An oxymoron. Avoid expensive coffee that is stored in bins – these are not airtight. Get the coffee in the sealed bags with the little dime sized check valve in them.
Once you open a bag or can of coffee, transfer it to an airtight container. Folded bags and plastic coffeecan lids are not airtight. Jars with rubber seals and wire clamps are. Screw lid jars with rubber seals are. Cookie jars are not.
Eight, grind your beans right before brewing. I violate this rule myself, preferring to grind my beans at the store. I hate the noise of coffee grinders first thing in the morning. But the canon is that you shouldn’t grind a bean until you’re ready to brew it.
Nine, do not buy flavored coffees. Add your flavors to the coffee after its brewed, or in certain cases, during brewing. Roasters add flavor to lesser quality coffees to cover up its suckiness, and then sell it at premium prices. Buy a good bean of a roast you like, and add flavorings when you prepare and serve it.
Ten, don’t skimp on Decaf. If you absolutely must drink decaf, then search out a premium label that charges significantly more for its decaffeinated blend. Don’t just go buy the decaf version of a standard caffeinated bean. The decaffeination process is so expensive that to break even while keeping the price point near that of the regular coffee, many roasters start with a far inferior bean for their decaf. Don’t pinch pennies - go for the premium stuff and you can enjoy decaf without suffering poor flavor.
Cites: “Good Eats” coffee episode, and thousands pots of personal experience.