How to Clean Commercial Coffee Brewers

Commercial coffee makers run from pod brewers, grind and brew, to airpot and shuttle brewers. Each group has to be cleaned a certain way both daily and weekly or bi-weekly depending on its use. All cleaning should be done with the hottest water possible, which brings a word of caution for possible burns and a note this job should be done by professionals.

A prime example of this is the pod brewer. If a pod brewer is used more than twice a day, then it needs to be descaled once every three months. Regular descaling of not only the pod brewer but all commercial brewers will prolong the life of a brewer; it will also guarantee optimal brewing results for a long time.

Step one to clean a pod brewer: Fill one-fourth of the water reservoir with white vinegar, then fill with clean tap water up to the maximum line.

Step 2: Place a 32 ounce container on the cup grate to catch the vinegar/water cleaning solution.

Step 3: Activate the manual prime feature. Press and hold down the Brew button until about 9 ounces have been dispensed from the brewer.

Step 4: Repeat this set two more times, making sure there is enough solution in the reservoir each time.

Step 5: The unit will then heat up normally and the brew button will turn green, indicating that the water has reached brew temperature. One minute later the button will turn yellow. Step 6: Wait ten minutes, this allows the solution to sit in the tank at brew temperature.

Step 7: Refill the water reservoir with cool, clean, tap water to the maximum line.

Step 8: Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 using the water that you add in step 7, to purge the cleaning solution from the system.

Step 9: Refill the water reservoir to the maximum indicator line and the unit will be ready to brew coffee or tea.

Grind and Brew coffee systems require daily cleaning of the cabinet and the warmers. The outside of the machine can be cleaned with a damp cloth, a household dusting spray or a stainless steel cleaner depending on the exterior of your grind and brew system. Do not ever use any abrasive as it will mar the finish. The warmer plate will maintain its appearance if cleaned regularly with a damp cloth for coffee stains. A detergent or sanitizer may be used for heavy deposits. For weekly cleaning, the slide valve under the cabinet hood should be wiped off with a clean dry cloth. Using finger tab open the slide valve with wipe the ground coffee from the inside of the spout, seal and slide valve. Use commercial grade urn cleaner as directed by manufacturer to clean the brew basket, airpots and decanters.

Commercial brewers that brew into a decanter or airpot should wash the brew funnel, decanter or decanters by hand. Never use a dishwasher as it may cause breakage of the decanter or brew funnel. Clean all plastic and stainless steel surfaces whenever necessary with a damp cloth and mild soap. Rinse the items thoroughly and wipe dry. Be sure to avoid any strong cleaners which my adversely affect the plastic parts. Remove stains on stainless steel parts with a Scotchbrite pad. Never use steel wool as it will mar the finish. Remove the sprayhead with a nut or the sprayhead itself once a week to prevent lime build-up and clogging of the holes in the sprayhead. If the sprayhead has extra build-up, use a soft brush like a soft toothbrush to clean if needed.

Shuttle brewers need to be cleaned weekly or bi-weekly depending on their use. To clean, fill the shuttle with a gallon of hot water. Pour the recommended concentration of urn cleaner into the shuttle liners. Do not overload as this will attack the stainless steel. DIP-IT and Oxylite are most recommended. Scrub the liner interior with a plastic bristle brush. Remove the knurled nut at the top of the gauge glass and clean the glass with a small bottle brush. Pour out the contents of the shuttle. Remove the handle assembly of the shuttle faucet by unscrewing the plastic bonnet. Gently wash the faucet shank with a bottle brush. Clean the warmer and bottom of the shuttle surfaces. These surfaces must be clean for proper heat transfer. Polish the exterior of the brewer with a stainless steel cleaner. Use the appropriate cleaner for brass, copper or vinyl if the optional finishes are present on your commercial brewer.

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How to Clean Different Commercial Coffee Urns

There are many different kinds of commercial urns that need to be cleaned daily and weekly or bi-weekly. Daily cleaning for most of them remains about the same. The number one rule about cleaning urns: Never use chlorine bleach in any coffee urn. This will chlorine will eat at the stainless steel and the silicone gaskets. Also, whether you are doing a daily cleaning or a bi-weekly cleaning never use soap, scouring powders, or abrasives of any kind to clean coffee brewing urns.

Automatic coffee urns must be cleaned daily after the last batch using the following steps:

1 - Drain the urn; then, run a brew cycle with just very hot water. After spraying hot water into the liner, thoroughly brush the entire urn with a long-handled brush.

2 - Drain the water and repeat step one.

3 - Wash the wire brew baskets with urn cleaner and rinse thoroughly. The same process is required for the double or triple urns after they have been used.

Automatic urns must have a special scouring once a week. Scour the urn by first filling the urn and heat to maximum brewing temperature. Fill the liner with several gallons of water and add at least 1? to 3 ounces of coffee urn cleaning compound. Set the thermostat to high; then, run a brew cycle of hot water. Allow the solution to remain in the liner for at least 30 minutes. Scrub the inside of both the liner and the cover with a long-handled brush. Drain the cleaning solution from the liner. Rinse by running several brew cycles with the sprayhead centered over the liner. Be sure to drain the rinse water after each brew cycle.

To clean the gauge glass tube, turn off the power and turn off the water line to the urn. Use a long, thin gauge glass brush to clean the coffee gauge glass. Use the same brush to clean the fitting at the bottom of the liner and into the pipe that is connected to the coffee faucet.

It is an absolute necessity that Chinese hot tea urns, pour-over urns, midline and barista series urns need to be cleaned thoroughly at the end of each day. After spaying hot water in the stainless steel liner, thoroughly wash it with a soft brush using the hot water. Add one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda to each gallon of water or you may use commercial urn cleaners. Commercial cleaners are not recommended for this type of urn. These urns should be turned off before each gauge glass should be cleaned with a hard bristle brush. Faucets should be taken apart and cleaned properly until fully clean. Daily cleaning for Midland urns and Barista series urns need to run through the brew cycle with hot water, brush the liner, drain the urn water again and repeat the process again. Wipe the liner covers and fill the liners with about one gallon of hot water to prevent coffee-oil burn-in.

Weekly or bi-weekly urn cleaning depends on the amount of use. For regular use, the Chinese hot tea urns, midline heat exchange and pump urns and Barista Series require somewhat the same method. Where it varies for one urn, it will be noted at that step.

Step 1: Fill the liners with about a gallon of hot water. For midline urns and space saver urns leave the thermostat on "Brew."

Step 2: Pour into the liner the recommended concentration amount of urn cleaner that is recommended for that particular urn. An excessive amount of cleaner will attack the stainless steel causing deterioration of the coffee urn. Use cleaners which have been used successfully: DIP-IT by Economics Laboratories, OXYLITE by Avril, Inc., Syndet Division and TEMP-KLEEN by Caddy Corp. of America.

Step 3: Scrub the liner interior with a large plastic brush, rinse and drain the liner. For midline and space saver urns follow Step 3a: Clean the gauge glasses with a long narrow brush.

Step 4: Rinse with the liners empty and the electricity off, remove the coffee faucets by unscrewing the large plastic wing-nuts which fasten the faucets. Scrub from the opening into the center of the urn with a long brush.

Step 5: Unscrew the top of the faucet from it body and scrub it thoroughly. Clean the silicone seat cup with a soft cloth and soapy water.

Step 6: Reassemble the faucets. Fill the liners with hot water and drain until the liner and make sure all parts are completely rinsed.

High speed brewing urns require a separate cleaning process because of the outer jacket.

Step 1: When cleaning a high speed brewer, be sure the outer jacket is full of water.

Step 2: Turn on the heat and fill the urn liner three-fourths full of water and use only urn cleaning compounds like those mentioned above.

Step 3: Mix thoroughly and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Step 4: Clean the gauge glass, faucet pipe, plugs etc. using a long-handled brush. Be sure to clean the "lug nut" in the base of the liner.

Step 5: Rinse the inside of the urn three to four times with hot water and scrub the urn each time you rinse.

Step 6: Rinse all the parts well.

Step 7: Leave a gallon or more of water in the urn. The amount of water depends on the size of the urn; the larger urns will need more water. Leave the cover partly open until the next use. If you used cold water, allow the urn to cool to prevent cracking the liner.

Step 8: Clean urn baskets by dipping them in a solution of cleaning solution and then scrubbing them with a stiff brush.

Step 9: Rinse thoroughly and let dry. Each Sprayhead should be checked to see that all holes are open, if not, scrub with a stiff brush until all holes are open.

These cleaning steps for commercial urns came from different manufacturers. Check your manufacturer for more specific details.

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