Going Green: To Clean a Coffee Pot

If you already know how to clean your coffee pot, you have permission to go frolic in the nearest fields and feel fancy free that you are a wonder-person (I'm all inclusive here). If you do NOT, however, know how to properly clean a coffee pot, you should hang your head in shame, look at your sad pot, and tell it that you will soon be a much, much nicer owner.

Confession: I didn't learn this skill until about a year ago. I had always just stuck my pot in the dishwasher once a week. Okay... once a month. Okay... if I remembered.

Anyways, my mom, The Queen of All Things Green, taught me these two neat tricks that I now use once a week or once every 2 weeks. If you drink as much coffee as we do in the Preston house, your pot probably needs this TLC right away!

Next confession: This is my dirty coffee pot -

Gross! Stains, residue, blech! 

So here's what you'll need:

A dirty coffee pot

Salt (don't you love my homemade label? We're not fancy here, folks)

Distilled White Vinegar

First, I like to get the stains off the pot. To do that, I put about 1 Tablespoon of salt in the pot and some water. Just enough to get the salt moving freely in the pot. Swirl around.

Before with stains:

After... no stains!

See the difference? The salt acts as an exfoliant, if you will, to the stains and gently rubs them away.

Next, to clean the internal workings of the coffee maker, you'll need to pull out the trusty vinegar. I mix about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to maybe 6 or 8 cups of water. It's not an exact science.

Pour into the water tank of the coffee maker and let it percolate. The vinegar runs through the maker and cleans out the pipes, so to speak. Make sure to run a second pot through of WATER ONLY as the last step. You want to make sure you get all of the vinegar taste out of the coffee maker before you brew coffee. Then wash the carafe as usual.

Happy Cleaning!

Going Green: Soft Scrub

For most of these "green" products, I have to give a big shout-out to my fabulous mother, Jan:

She has her own "green only" cleaning business. So, basically... she is a professional and a genius. Trust me.

This is her recipe for a "soft scrub." I use this in the shower, toilet, and sink areas. She only likes to use it for the shower. However, I have this weird tendency to want to know that something was "scrubbed" really well in order to be clean. Just make it and see how you like it, but definitely try it on the shower! I used it this morning and it even took off the soap scum from the awful glass doors we have on the master bath shower.

You'll need:

1 & 2/3 C baking soda

1/2 C water

1/2 C Castille Liquid Soap (I used unscented)

2 Tbsp white vinegar

A few drops of an essential oil (I used tea tree oil because I like its disinfectant quality)

Bottle to hold solution (I used a 20oz recycled Coke bottle)

Directions:

Mix baking soda, water, and liquid soap together in a bowl.

Add the vinegar. Don't be alarmed when it fizzles!

Stir together well and then add drops of the essential oil. Add however much you like - you may like a stronger scent than I do.

Give it one last stir, pour into whatever container you like and close the lid tightly. Done!

When you are ready to use this, you may notice that the scrub has gotten a little stiff. Give it a good shake or add a few drops of water and another good shake. It'll loosen up and work its magic on your shower. I use an old washcloth turned rag and just scrub away!

Happy Cleaning!