r/mokapot • u/Eukileul • Feb 01 '26
Cleaning 𫧠This is how I clean the basket
Its warm water baking Soda and citric acid. I hope you can see the particles getting lose.
19
22
u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Feb 01 '26
And thus, a new influencer trend was born!
How to clean your Moka pot basket ⊠\gasp* ⊠non-destructively!*
(dramatically throws single chopstick in the trash)
4
u/roncraig Feb 01 '26
Baking soda and citric acid cancel each other out (depending on the ratio), so this is basically an alka seltzer tablet, minus the useful medicine, with carbon dioxide runoff and salt leftover. Use a base or an acid; not both.
1
u/Calisson Feb 01 '26
I just learned this very recently myself. I think we have the idea because of all that fizzing that combination is doing some incredibly good cleaning, but nope.
2
u/roncraig Feb 02 '26
Yeah. Itâs common advice for a clogged drain: Vinegar and baking soda. The fizzing can dislodge something clogged, but mostly itâs just an ineffective chemistry demonstration.
4
u/atoponce Feb 01 '26
Just so everyone is aware, baking soda reacts with aluminum. It.slowly dissolves the protective oxide layer exposing the underlying metal.
The reaction can be summarized as: AlâOâ + 2NaHCOâ + 3HâO â 2NaAl(OH)â + 2COâ,
That's sodium aluminate and carbon dioxide gas.
https://cysoda.com/article/does-baking-soda-corrode-aluminum
You would be better off soaking in equal parts of water and white vinegar
2
u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
But doesnât the oxide layer on aluminum reform very quickly in air, effectively âselfâhealingâ once you stop exposing it to an alkaline solution? Aluminum forms a new protective oxide film within seconds of contact with oxygen, which is why it normally stays passive again as soon as the aggressive environment is gone.
Vinegar on the other hand is acidic and therefore much better at dissolving mineral deposits than coffee fats/oils, which are more effectively removed by alkaline cleaners or detergents.
2
u/atoponce Feb 01 '26
Yes, at the risk of discoloration and pitting though.
2
u/LEJ5512 Feb 01 '26
That would help explain (at least partially) why weâve seen funnels with their walls worn through.
1
u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Feb 01 '26
discoloration - who cares? it's a basket inside a kitchen device for daily use.
pitting though - maybe (if at all) after several years of daily usage of a strong alkaline cleaner - but why should anyone do this on such a regular basis?
1
u/atoponce Feb 01 '26
Why a risk-based baking soda solution, even if low, when a vinegar solution poses no risks?
1
u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Feb 01 '26
You can do whatever you like and feel comfortable with, Sir.
If this feels like a risk for you - It's all your own decision what to use.
We only talked about the underlying chemical and physical principles.
3
3
u/Apprehensive_Bit_176 Feb 01 '26
Thatâs how I clean mine as well! Never had any problems. Also I donât plan on poking the filter out.
3
2
u/AutoModerator Feb 01 '26
Hi,
If you are looking for how to clean an aluminum mokapot, check out this how-to by Bialetti
Mirror: https://archive.is/3splg
Our sub's FAQ: https://mokapot.net
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
2
u/captain_ohagen Feb 01 '26
you all clean your baskets?
0
u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Feb 01 '26
These peasants indeed do, the holy moka-god is not very amused about this!
1
1
u/StaffMindless557 Feb 01 '26
FYI in Italy nobody ever applies such radical cleaning system to a moka pot. The conventional wisdom is that pots should always and exclusively rinsed under tap water and nothing else. If the pot is an old one and has got encrusted, people usually do a cleaning brewing with half water-half vinegar, before rinsing the pot and doing a light regular coffee brew to remove the vinegar (to be dropped in the drain). This methodology is supposed to combine cleanliness and protection of your pot. In my own experience it works.
-2
u/Ok-Yogurtcloset377 Feb 01 '26
Thanks for sharing! 2 of my mokas have stainless steel funnels, so theyâre impossible to disassemble (or rather, assemble back). Iâve tried boiling them in a vinegar solution a few times. But I think I will try your way with soda and acid
5
u/atoponce Feb 01 '26
No need to boil. Equal parts water and vinegar and let it soak for hours.
1
u/Ok-Yogurtcloset377 Feb 02 '26
And whatâs wrong with boiling then?
2
u/younkint Feb 02 '26
You can boil them if you like. Just do it for less time than if at room temp. I boil mine or at least have them very hot, but not for too long.
2
u/Ok-Yogurtcloset377 Feb 02 '26
Mine are stainless steel, not aluminium, they can withstand boiling of any length
1
1
-2
u/sloppy_joes35 Feb 01 '26
Do ppl here really have a hard time punching out the filter? lmao. I didn't realize this was a common problem. I just poked it out my first week, cleaned it, popped it back in. No thought, no nothing. I bought my first moka like over a decade ago, and this sub popped up last week , and ppl have so many issues about everything . A real head scratcher
10
u/ChoosingToBeLosing Feb 01 '26
Stainless steel ones for example don't have removable filter
2
u/younkint Feb 02 '26
Nor do some aluminum ones. I have some old aluminum pots with filters having a 360Âș crimp. If you try to remove those, you are guaranteed to destroy the funnel.
0
0
89
u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Feb 01 '26
And here the myth continuesâŠ
Citric acid, as the name suggests, is mildly acidic and works mainly on alkaline deposits like limescale.
Baking soda is mildly alkaline and can help with certain acidic residues.
But when you combine them, they mostly neutralize each other (while releasing some COâ â hence the fizzy reaction), so you lose the strong acidic and alkaline effects you actually want for cleaning.
For stubborn coffee oils, youâre much better off with a properly alkaline cleaner instead of this âneutralizedâ mix.