Coffee maker leaks? Try this.

I fixed a strange problem with my coffee maker this week. If your coffee maker leaks and nothing anyone else says helps, try this.

In my case, it was my filter. Yes, my filter.

How a filter can cause coffee maker leaks

coffee maker leaks
When my coffee maker started leaking, I traced the problem to my metal filter.

I’ve been using reusable metal filters for years. It saves money, and I don’t have to worry about running out one day and not being able to make coffee in the morning. The only problem is, they apparently can get clogged. I can’t say I remember having this problem before, and I’ve been using these almost 20 years, but there’s a first time for everything.

The telltale sign was when I opened up the coffee maker. I saw water pooling up on top of the coffee grounds and not getting into the pot. Not good. I cleaned out the coffee grounds, rinsed out the filter, and it was retaining water like a bowl. It’s supposed to leak like a sieve.

Since my washing the filter obviously had become inadequate, I had two options. I could replace the filter. Or I could clean it a different way. I decided to soak it overnight in vinegar. In the morning I rinsed off the filter, then wiped it down with a clean dishrag. Then I tried running water through it again. That worked. Lots of leaks.

So then I put the filter back in the coffee maker and made coffee. No leaks from the pot, and it made coffee much faster this time.

So if you use reusable filters, give them the occasional vinegar soak to clean them out really well. They’ll work much better and faster, and without causing mysterious coffee maker leaks.

I’m glad it was my filter. Filters are cheaper and easier to fix than coffee makers.

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3 thoughts on “Coffee maker leaks? Try this.

  • February 26, 2020 at 1:15 pm
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    Dave will explain in a later article that the vinegar dissolves the lime scale that deposits in a very fine layer on the filter threads.
    I read that using vinegar to clean electric kettles is not recommended and a special solution from the kettle manufacturer has to be used. Mileage might vary but on older kettles I used diluted vinegar with various degrees of success.

  • February 27, 2020 at 5:23 am
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    Thank you, great advice! I make coffee in the coffee machine all the time too. And i often replace the filter. I’ll try to clean it up and to soak it overnight in vinegar. Maybe it still depends on the type of coffee? I prefer Elevate Lungo! And what as for you?

  • March 5, 2020 at 8:38 am
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    I’ve never directly soaked the filter in vinegar, but every one to two months I do run a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar through the coffee maker to clean the whole coffee maker. I run half of the mixture through like normal, then shut off the coffee maker and let the remaining mixture sit in the coffee maker for about an hour. Then I run the rest of the mixture through and run a couple of runs of water through it to clear out the vinegar.

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