Coffee, caffeine, morning boost, or whatever you call it, we all drink it and love it dearly.
It’s the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning; the best excuse you use to meet your friends and the easiest way to save some money on a date (coffee date).
The beginning of your day determines the rest of it and without a cup of hot and freshly brewed coffee, you just don’t get that jolt you require.
But if your mug of coffee brings about a smug expression on your face these days, or the taste isn’t as crisp anymore, and you just never have the time to figure out why; perhaps the time has come.
The time has come to descale your coffee machine. We all hate maintenance, it encourages the procrastinator inside ourselves, and we like to avoid it for the longest of times.
But the longer you avoid descaling your OXO coffee maker, the more mineral deposits clog up in the pathways and begin to settle in. You’d despise knowing how stubborn they get. And it’s not just scale that builds up, it’s the coffee oils as well.
These oils begin secreting from the coffee beans right out of the roaster, and they are not exactly greasy and fatty. Instead, they tend to form white rings around the glass, plastic, and other materials on the equipment like an unpolished mirror. Soon enough, your coffee loses its crispness, becomes bland and watery, the milk isn’t thick, and overall your morning’s ruined.
So what can you do to get your beloved OXO coffee machine back to its best? Give it a rough and tough cleaning walkthrough, like the weekend car wash for your Prius (we’re not judging).
Method Uno: Lemon Juice
Lemon juice kills two birds with one stone. The citric acid in lemon juice is an effective killer of water deposits and coffee oils, moreover, your coffee maker will come out smelling aromatic.
How to:
- Before you begin the descaling process, make sure your coffee grinder is clean. Pour out any leftovers and rinse the equipment with warm water.
- Now create a mixture; one portion of lemon juice with two portions of water and pour in the cleaning agent in the tank. Give it an hour, browse the internet.
- For this part, run a normal cycle like you would when making coffee (minus the coffee), and your OXO machine should begin descaling. Once the cycle ends, repeat it a couple of times.
- Finally, since you don’t want your coffee tasting like lemonade and milk, run two to three cycles with boiling water (as many times necessary) inside the coffee maker. Your coffee machine should come out of this process smelling neutral.
Method Dos: Descaling Powder
Descaling powders are widely accessible and quite effective at getting the job done. But make sure you read any specific instructions that come with the particular powder you’re using, and more importantly if it is compatible with your OXO coffee machine.
How to:
- Boil a liter of clean water. Mix in the descaling powder (use as mentioned in instructions) and allow it to dissolve.
- Pour in the water and powder solution into the coffee tank and run a normal coffee-making cycle.
- Once the cycle ends, discard the brewed residue and fill the reservoir with fresh water and run another cycle.
- If the tank still smells of the descaling powder or you notice white spots, repeat the water-brewing step once or twice again.
It is also advisable that you clean the permanent filter with dishwashing liquid or soap and water. It will enhance the next cups of coffee you’ll be having exponentially.
Ending with Advice for the Long Run
A thorough cleaning of your coffee machine is a great weekly chore to inhabit. It keeps the coffee maker running smooth and the brew tasting energetic and perfect. But it is just as important to give the OXO coffee maker a breakdown wash every once in a while.
There’s a popular myth regarding the use of vinegar to wash your coffee maker. Yes, vinegar is effective at breaking down stubborn gunk and water deposits, but it does you no good when it comes to cleaning coffee oils.
Moreover, vinegar easily settles in on the metal and glass walls of the container leaving a stench in your coffee you certainly don’t want. Therefore just stick to the OXO descaling solution at your disposal.
Scrubbing and cleaning every small part of the equipment, making sure the water is clean, keeping it scale-free, and you will keep having motivated beginnings to your productive days throughout the calendar year again.
