How to Sterilize a Coffee Pot

Over time, your coffee can turn from robust to repulsive if you don't clean your coffee pot regularly. Heat and moisture will cause bacteria to grow in your pot, and water alone won't disinfect it. You will need to use a cleaning agent to sterilize the inside of your pot. Good Housekeeping suggests using vinegar during a brew cycle as a suitable and safe disinfectant. Distilled white vinegar is ideal for disinfecting, as it is a common household cleaner that is natural and nontoxic. Sterilize your coffee pot with vinegar weekly to prevent bacteria growth.

1. Pour 1 cup of distilled white vinegar into the coffeemaker's reservoir.

2. Fill the rest of the reservoir with water, set the coffeemaker to a full pot, and turn it on to start the brewing cycle.

3. Pour out the vinegar and hot water from the coffee pot, and run another brewing cycle with the coffeemaker using only hot water.

4. Pour out the hot water to rinse out the coffee pot.