How to Clean a Coffee Thermos

Everyday Cleaning

General care for your coffee thermos is important. However, sticking your hand inside of it isn’t very doable. Instead, you want to follow a specific daily cleaning routine. Here’s our go-to: 

Materials

• – Bottle scrubber
• – Microfiber cloth
• – Mild dish detergent
• – Towel
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Instructions

Cleaning a thermos is easy. Ensuring you clean it after every use will avoid hard to remove stains. Follow these five steps to clean your thermos after using:

1. Fill up your thermos with warm water and add some dish detergent.
2. Let it soak for 5 minutes. This will remove any coffee residue.
3. Wrap the microfiber cloth or dishrag around the bottle scrubber and gently scrub the inside of the container. If there is food stuck inside that’s hard to remove, use the bottle scrubber alone.
4. Rinse your thermos with warm water.
5. Wipe the inside with the towel and let it air dry.

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If you’re a heavy coffee drinker, chances are your thermos has some stains in it. Sometimes these stains can’t be removed with water and dish soap.

Instead of buying yourself a new one every few months, learn how to thoroughly clean it. The best part is you can clean your thermos using the same ingredients that you already use to clean out your brewing devices. All you need are some basic supplies and a few minutes of your time.

1. Baking Soda Solution

Combining baking soda and vinegar is a tried and tested method used to clean and disinfect. It can be used anywhere to eliminate stains, rust, or mold. In this case, we will go over how to remove the stains from your coffee thermos.

Materials

• – ½ cup vinegar
• – 2 tbsp baking soda
• – Warm water
• – Towel
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Instructions

1. Pour the half cup of vinegar into the thermos followed by the baking soda.
2. Fill the remainder of the cup with very hot water.
3. Let the mixture sit overnight or several hours without the cap.
4. Empty the thermos and rinse thoroughly.
5. Dry out the container as much as you can with the towel and set out to air dry.

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2. Salt and Ice Method

You can also scrub away any grime or stuck residue from a stainless-steel thermos by following these instructions.

Materials

• – Ice (crushed works best)
• – 2 tbsp of salt
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Note: The right amount of salt depends on the size of your coffee thermos. For small models, 2 tablespoons is enough. For larger ones, use three.

Instructions

1. Fill your thermos half full with ice. Bagged ice from your local grocery store works great.
2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt. The amount depends on the size of your coffee thermos.
3. Tightly secure the cap on the thermos and shake it.
4. Check the stain to see if it’s gone every 3-5 minutes. The ice will begin to melt slowly and become slushy. At this point it will be pretty ineffective.
5. Pour out the mixture.
6. Rinse your thermos out and dry.

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3. Denture Tablets Method

This method will literally fizz away coffee deposits and residue while giving it a bacterial clean out too.

Materials

• – 2 denture tablets
• – Bottle brush
• – Hot water
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Instructions

1. Pour hot water into your thermos and fill it up halfway. Let it soak for two minutes before putting in the tablets.
2. Place the thermos in the sink before placing the tablets in. The ingredients will cause a bit of a chemical reaction so expect a little bit of an overflow.
3. Let the thermos sit for an hour without the lid.
4. Scrub the inside of the thermos with a bottle brush and empty.
5. Rinse a few times to get all the leftover denture cleaner out. Set out to air dry.

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Additional Tips 

You need to care for your stainless steel thermos or you could damage the liner. This will result in corrosion over time and even cause the thermos to crack. Here are some tips on what NOT to do:

• – Avoid using bleach at all costs. This will only damage your thermos and can be hazardous to your health if it’s not all properly rinsed out.
• – Don’t wash your cup in the dishwasher. The washing process and detergent will be too abrasive for it. 
• – Always use a gentle approach when cleaning since stainless steel items can be quite delicate.
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Conclusion

Cleaning out your coffee thermos regularly will avoid buildup and prevent it from staining. The best way to clean coffee thermos are listed above. If you have some stains you need to get rid of, any of the methods mentioned will do the trick.