- 1). Fill the percolator coffee pot with 1 cup of white vinegar and warm water. Allow the vinegar solution to sit in the pot, with the pump-tube and basket inside, for at least 30 minutes. Vinegar naturally loosens and lifts mineral deposits left by hard water.
- 2). Empty the vinegar solution from the pot. Rinse the insides well with plain, cool water. Flakes of mineral deposits may rinse out with the vinegar solution or water.
- 3). Place 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 8 cups of water inside the percolator. Brew the baking-soda solution as if brewing a regular pot of coffee. The baking soda will clean the innards of the coffee pot and deodorize it as well.
- 4). Allow the baking soda solution to cool for a few minutes, then pour it out. Remove the pump-tube and basket from the inside of the percolator and set aside. Scrub the inside of the percolator with a damp sponge. Rinse well to remove all traces of the baking-soda solution.
- 5). Set the percolator coffee pot upside down on a clean towel and allow it to air dry completely.
- 6). Sprinkle baking soda on an old but clean toothbrush. Use the toothbrush to scrub along the pump-tube, the stand and inside and outside the basket where the coffee filter and the coffee grounds go. Rinse these parts well with warm water.
- 7). Push coffee grounds and other debris out of the holes in the percolator basket, using a toothpick. Flush the basket with water to remove all loosened debris. Dry the insides of the percolator coffee pot with a clean towel.
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