JeffPersson Senior Member Joined: 11 May 2008 Posts: 107 Location: Goodyear, AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bialetti Moka Pot Grinder: LaSanMarco SM-90A Vac Pot: Yama 8-cup Drip: VP17-2 Roaster: Poppery I
Posted Tue Jul 1, 2008, 12:30pm Subject: How Do You Clean a Moldy Aluminum Moka Pot?
A couple weeks ago I took my 12-cup Moka pot over to my brother's house to show him how it works and let him have some really good coffee. After I was done I emptied the grounds and set it aside to dry, and when it came time to leave assembled it and out it back in the box to bring home.
Fast forward to today. The 12-cup has been in the box, in the garage, since that day. I've been using my 6-cup Moka and Yama vacpot for home coffee and hadn't needed the 12-cup since then. Someone in another thread was trying to get the diameter of the basket, so I went and grabbed it to take a measurement. When I unscrewed it I realized the inside was apparently not dry when I put it back together as there was a significant amount of mold and discoloring in the waterpot and the basket.
Since the aluminum Moka pots are not supposed to be washed in the dish washer, what is the best way to clean the pot up and get it back to a usable state.
Posted Mon Jul 28, 2008, 5:38am Subject: Re: How Do You Clean a Moldy Aluminum Moka Pot?
I don't have an aluminum moka pot, so take this with a grain of salt.
I have had excellent results cleaning out pots, cafafes, etc., using denture cleansing tablets. It is gentle, non-toxec and seems to get everything spotless.
If you have cleaned the pot by brewing, which generates above-boiling temperatures, and your problems remain, what remains is not mold. Mold would be destroyed by the process.
What remains is probably aluminum oxide, which is a grayish color, along with some pitting or hard water scale. My preferred solution for this is to replace the pot with a stainless steel one :-D <ducks flying rotten vegetables>. Honestly this was what turned me off to the aluminum moka pot, as the smell from the remaining water in the bottom was unpleasant.
I don't really have anything else to offer in way of cleaning it, except to note that in my experience the inside won't ever be bright aluminum again unless you scrub the oxide off. However, many others have experience with cleaning it, and as long as the taste is okay then I wouldn't worry about it.
calbear01 Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 2 Location: New York Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Jul 28, 2008, 6:33am Subject: Re: How Do You Clean a Moldy Aluminum Moka Pot?
Thank you both for the advice! Denture tablets and a stainless steel pot are next on my shopping list.
Another coffee fiend friend (who owns 3 of these aluminum pots) told me, "Duh, that's not mold. The black spotting is normal."
But, I also wrote to the Bialetti company and received the following reply (presumably from the company that Bialetti outsources its customer service to):
"One thing you can do is fill up the bottom container with water and put about 3 tablespoons of baking soda in it and bring almost to a boil and turn fire off and stir the soda and let sit for about 30-45 min or so. This will loosen the mold and any corrosion or hard water deposits. You can brush if needed. To keep these aluminum pots lasting for years you need to rinse after use and towel dry. I store mine apart so no condensation stays in the pot because they will mold. Take the filter plate and gasket out and you can also soak the filter plate and the coffee funnel in the same mixture in a large sauce pan. If the top needs the same treatment just make a paste of soda & water and spread it on the inside and under the upper chamber where the tube goes up and after it soaks use a tooth brush to clean the tube and around the threads. Let me know if this helps, it works quite well unless the pot is to far gone. The pot will normally get some pitting and discolor from the coffee but that is fine. Just if it gets the crusty stuff and water deposits you need to clean like this. Hope this helps."
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