Now that you’ve put all your time and energy into building your perfect home coffee station, you’re going to want to maintain it! A big part of maintaining your coffee bar is cleaning it. But the thing is, no one really seems to talk about it.
Everyone loves showing off their stunning coffee stations on social media, especially Pinterest. And we all love reposting and saving those pins (me included). But maintaining the cleanliness of your coffee station is just as important as keeping it decorated and stocked!
In this post, we’re going to give you all of our best ideas on how to clean your home coffee station the right way, and keep it clean! From daily tasks to what to do every month, we try to hit all the important timeframes for you.
And if you enjoy this post, then you should definitely check out this one, which is all about coffee mug storage in small spaces.
Why Keeping Your Home Coffee Station Clean Actually Matters
Before we get into the lists of how and what (basically why you’re here), let’s talk a little about why keeping your home coffee station is so important.
The first thing is that coffee buildup can be a pretty big issue for taste. Over time, it really affects how your coffee would taste. Let’s be honest, buying coffee grounds or beans isn’t cheap these days. You want your coffee to taste good for the price that you’re paying, so that means you really need to ensure that you’re keeping your coffee station clean.
Secondly, let’s get into the health part of it. Not cleaning your coffee station can lead to bacteria and mold growing in your tray, which can absolutely make you sick. They can grow in water reservoirs, pod drawers, and more if you’re not careful.
And lastly, just like a car, a better maintained coffee machine will last longer. And after all the money that you most likely spent on the machine, all the coffee accessories, and more, you want to make sure this coffee machine lasts. Descaling and regular cleaning will help prevent your coffee machine from needing any expensive maintenance or having to replace it way sooner than you would like.
What You Need to Clean Your Home Coffee Bar Station
1. Microfiber cloths
Microfiber cloths are seriously the BEST. If you haven’t bought some yet, I would suggest you do so. Side note, my husband and I use these cloths around the house for many different things.
We use them for any spills, drying the dishes, washing the car, cleaning the house, and even drying off our dog after a particular rainy day. They really pull double, or triple duty around our house. Especially if you want to be a little more environmentally conscious, these are a fantastic option.
2. White vinegar or a descaling solution
If you don’t want to buy a specific descaling solution for your coffee bar, you can also use the white vinegar that you may have lying around the house. If you don’t have white vinegar, you should grab some. There are endless uses for white vinegar for all types of cleaning!
3. Dish soap
You probably have this around the house. This is great, of course, for cleaning all of your coffee utensils and mugs.
4. Toothbrush
A small brush or an old toothbrush works great for scrubbing off any built up coffee grounds. My family loves buying a big pack of toothbrushes at Costco when they sell it to use for cleaning purposes, or when you have a house guest that may have forgotten their toothbrush.
5. Cotton swabs
Cotton swabs are perfect for getting into all of the smaller crevices of your machine.
6. Non-toxic cleaner
A lot of people are interested in more non-toxic cleaners these days, and it makes sense, so we added this to the list. Others can continue to use Lysol wipes or whatever brand you like to clean your surfaces with.
7. Paper towels
If you don’t want to purchase any microfiber towels, even though my husband and I are big fans, then go ahead and use the paper towels that you probably already have in your home.
How to Clean Your Coffee Station Daily
1. Wipe down the exterior
Just quickly wipe down the exterior of your machine with a damp microfiber cloth (or paper towel) before it hardens. We’re looking for fingerprints, coffee splatter, or random drops of whatever you use in your coffee.
2. Empty and rinse the drip tray
This is one of the most important ones not to forget. Some espresso machines will have a little indicator on when you should dump your drip tray because it measures the amount of leftover liquid. If you don’t have one of those, it is important to remember!
These trays collect a surprising amount of liquid and other coffee-related substances quickly. Go ahead and dump the water AND give it a nice rinse and wipe down. This is, admittedly, my least favorite part because I always spill a little while walking to the sink.
3. Wipe down area under and around your coffee machine
Take your microfiber cloth (or paper towel) and wipe down the surfaces around and underneath your machine. Depending on your surface, coffee has the ability to stain if you leave it on for too long.
4. Put away any refrigerated items
Ensure that you put away any refrigerated items that you might leave out for two reasons. One is that you want to make sure that you’re keeping the space around your coffee machine clean and neat. But the other reason is that you don’t want any of your items to go bad! Coffee items and accessories can be expensive so make sure you take care and put them back if needed.
How to Deep Clean Your Home Coffee Bar (Weekly and Monthly Tasks)
Weekly
1. Descale your machine
Descaling your machine is probably the most important one on this list. You need to run a descaling solution (or your white vinegar) through your machine once a week to prevent buildup.
2. Wash your coffee canister
Remove your beans or grounds from your coffee canister and set it aside. Give your canisters a good wash and dry before adding your coffee beans or grounds back into them.
3. Wipe down your display area
Wipe down your coffee space one more time if you didn’t do it well enough on your daily cleaning.
4. Wipe down all coffee accessories
Either wipe down or clean and dry any coffee accessories that you may have used this week. Not only can your machine get buildup, your coffee accessories can as well. No one wants to use a gross whisk.
5. Check your pod storage area for any broken ones
Lastly, if you use pods, then go ahead and ensure they’re all still intact and not making a mess. This comes from personal experience. We didn’t realize that one or two of the pods had ruptured somehow, and we sadly realized when they were the last pods in our container. No coffee for us that day (yes, it was a rough morning).
Monthly
1. Deep clean of your machine
Okay, here’s where I hope you’re not one of the people who like to throw out instructions immediately after buying something. If you did, that’s okay. You can absolutely look it up online (thank you, Internet). But you want to deep clean your machine per your manufacturer’s instructions. Whatever it says on the instruction manual, or online, that’s the process that you follow.
2. Clean the wall behind your machine
We all know that coffee can splatter, especially if you use an espresso machine. Take a look at the walls around your coffee machine and see if you can wipe them down.
3. Dust or clean any decor around your machine
Just like your coffee machine and items need cleaning, the decor around your machine also needs a little love. Dust or clean any signage or decor that you have placed around your space. You don’t want any dirty or grime ending up in or around your coffee machine or items.
4. Reorganize and declutter
Now that you’ve cleaned everything, you can take a minute to assess what you have in your coffee station setup. Is it looking a little cluttered? Did the seasons change and you want to change up your decor? Whatever it may be, you should take a little bit of time to see what you can do to better your coffee station setup!
Your Home Coffee Station Can Look This Good Every Single Day
This list may seem overwhelming, but we promise that it’s so much easier when you take it day by day or week by week. You don’t have to be perfect when it comes to cleaning. It can really take just 5-10 minutes out of your daily routine. But if for some reason, you can’t get it done one day, just try to get in there the next day.
You put all of this hard work into turning this space into your perfect coffee corner, we want to help you keep that up. You deserve to have nice AND clean things! We want you to enjoy your space, just as much as we enjoy our own. That’s why we wanted to show you how to clean your home coffee station.
Personally, there are some days or weeks that get ahead of us. We don’t freak out or panic about how much we may have forgotten to do. My family likes to keep a schedule pinned up somewhere in the kitchen with all of our to-dos. You could also try something similar. Good luck and happy cleaning!
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