When your coffee maker stops making coffee, don’t throw it away until you check that the cord and plug are not bad. Then give it a good cleaning. Coffee makers get clogged with mineral deposits in water, just like steam irons. If anything else goes wrong, there’s little you can do. So inspect the plug and cord, and then follow the cleaning steps. Repeat them several times if necessary. And if the coffee maker doesn’t work after several attempts to clean it, get a new one.
If you know the coffee maker is getting the power it needs, and it still isn’t working well, it may be clogged with mineral deposits from water. Here’s how to clean it up:
Pour full-strength white vinegar into the water reservoir.
Turn on the appliance and let it go through a full cycle.
Turn it off and rinse out the vinegar thoroughly.
Put some fresh water into the reservoir again.
Run through another full cycle.
You may have to do this two or three times. If the coffee maker is still clogged, go to Step 6.
Turn the coffee maker upside down.
Remove the screws holding the base plate. Check the legs, too, to see whether a screw is hidden in the middle of one or more.
You’ll see a tube that goes from the base of the coffee maker up to the basket.
Push a long, narrow wire through the tube.
Reassemble everything.
Use more vinegar for another cycle to clear out the debris you’ve loosened with the wire.
Don’t forget to rinse with a cycle or two of water.