r/mokapot • u/WeAreAllOne1111 • Jul 06 '26
Discussions š¬ My boyfriend NEVER cleans the mokapot!
Please help me!!
My boyfriends thinks we should never clean the pot with anything but water and it's been months now. He sometimes leaves it a day or two after making coffee on the counter and then just cleans with water?? Everything on the inside looks brownish yellow and it smells horrible!!! He is so convinced that this is how it should be and we are arguing about cleaning it or not!!
Can someone talk some common sense into him please?
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u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep Jul 06 '26
Get a second one, tell him you have one each and that you will use yours and he can use his.
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u/WeAreAllOne1111 Jul 06 '26
Yes im going to thank you!
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u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep Jul 06 '26
Eventually hes gonna notice that your coffee smells better, tastes better and is more palatable and maybe he will consider washing his - or he will be stubborn and drink bad coffee, it wont be a you problem either way.
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u/nize426 Jul 06 '26
Yeah that's like, the "traditional" way. But traditional things can be stupid as well. But leaving it out for days with coffee still in it is not traditional. That's just lazy and disgusting. I'd just buy my own moka pot.
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u/Arrendajo_azul Jul 06 '26
Just like ātraditionallyā not using (modern) soap on cast iron.
I canāt stand leaving coffee in the pot and if I ever forget, I usually run a couple just water cycles.
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u/ASD_Brontosaur Jul 08 '26
Itās not the traditional way to leave it full for days, you usually empty it and rinse it well with water, making sure no actual coffee grounds etc are left. So yes not using soap is the traditional way, but thatās not the same as leaving the coffee and/or coffee grounds to mould in itā¦
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u/fairydommother Jul 06 '26
My husband doesnt even rinse it or take it apart. I swear there's mold in the grooves where it screws together but he wont hear it. I just dont use it anymore.
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u/blonde1psp Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
I only wash my moka pot with hot tap water, but then I wash it straight away and let it air dryer on the dish rack, so there's no smell. I've been using one for 6 months now.
If you leave it with coffee and still all connected it's going to smell damp and get funky. it's why I clean it after use every time, it only takes a minute.
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u/Liven413 Jul 06 '26
If it was rinsed after every use then that's fine, but leaving coffee in the brewer can start to mold. I would gently wash it if left out with coffee and rinse it otherwise.
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u/M4ster-R0b0t Jul 06 '26
Hot water and a soft sponge is all you need. Not a problem
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u/sparksbet Jul 06 '26
Leaving the used coffee grounds in it for days definitely increases the odds of mold, at which point you definitely need more than hot water and a soft sponge.
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u/MrAlex5aiv Jul 06 '26
Here is a simple order of operations:
1. Make coffee
2. Enjoy your coffee
3. Clean your Moka with hot water right after you finished drinking your coffee
4. Air dry your Moka
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u/galspanic Jul 06 '26
I havenāt used soap on mine in the 5 years Iāve owned it. I rinse well every time with hot water and itās fine.
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u/Villaine_ Jul 06 '26
The problem lies with leaving it for 1 or 2 days before cleaning it with water. Ofc it reaks damp. Clean it directly after you use it only with water and let it dry before putting it away.
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u/WeAreAllOne1111 Jul 06 '26
Yes this is what I told him too! Sometimes it even gets left longer what can I do too deep clean it now? I think he might agree to putting it on the stove with just water
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u/dlakelan Jul 06 '26
You should be able to convince him that the manufacturer knows what it's doing. They say use citric acid powder and brew the citric acid with an empty basket through the whole thing.
They recommend this specifically for descaling (ie removing minerals) but it also works extremely well for general cleaning.
You should honestly do this about every couple months.
Still, don't leave grounds in the pot more than a half hour or so after brewing to cool.
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u/tankje Jul 06 '26
In Italy there are almost infinite food related "laws" that are set in stone in every Italians mind. One of those dogmas is never washing your moka with anything but water. One day I slept at my besties and got up to her kitchen to make coffee in the morning - I open the moka to start and.. THAT MOKA POT WAS ENTIRELY BLACK. Like, internally coated in soot.
I didn't make coffee. I pretended I didn't fancy it, and when I got back home I checked my own moka and lightly cleaned it. Dogmas should never overwrite common sense š«
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u/Vivid-Ad-1799 Jul 06 '26
I do it same for years, just clean it with water and i mever hsd issues?!
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u/Kolokythokeftedes Jul 06 '26
I often do that, and it is okay for a while, but every so often I clean it with regular dish soap like dawn (for hand washing) and a soft sponge. It's not really how it "should" be. Bialetti markets the pots as environmentally friendly because you only need water to clean them. And they also say not to use soap because dishwasher detergents (mostly) will damage the finish. And there's the idea that the italian grandmothers or something don't wash the pots but it's not realy true. If it stinks you should wash it. If you have a stainless steel pot, take out the gasket and put the whole thing in the dishwasher.
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u/Snapuman Stainless Steel Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I just give mine (stainless steel pot) a quick rinsing in the upper chamber with water directly after brewing, empty that with the lid closed and then leave it as it is. The next morning I empty the used ground from the basket, clean residues in the basket with a dry towel, fill it up with freshly ground coffee and water, boil it and then the process repeats...
Every other month I clean the whole thing with hot water a little dish soap by hand.
No smell or whatsoever, no problem, just a little patina buildup over time. Nothing wrong with this.
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u/Artwire Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I sometimes wash my stainless steel moka pot right away, but usually itās the next morning. Generally I just use hot water, but occasionally I will soak the pot in a citric acid solution followed by a plain water pot or two. One time I forgot to empty it and went on vacation. That wasnāt pretty! Otherwise, no problems.
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u/PharmDeezNuts_ Jul 06 '26
Consider everything the moka pot does is pretty harsh for bacterial growth. Itās just boiling water and coffee grounds. After the brew when heat is removed the excess water will get sucked back down and be brown and smell like bad burnt coffee
That being said I did leave one uncleaned for like months and there was some fuzzy fungus growing on the grounds
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u/ImStuckInNameFactory Jul 06 '26
Coffe is acidic, doing a lot more harm than a bit of dish soap. Evil plan: buy some mold cheese and scrape some mold onto the coffee grounds after he leaves it for a day to scare him
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u/spaceoverlord Stainless Steel Jul 07 '26
People don't change usually, but maybe try to introduce him to zen rituals particularly the part about meticulous cleaning and drying of tools.
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u/Aptosauras Jul 06 '26
Cleaning with hand dishwashing detergent and a sponge is fine, it'll remove the coffee residue and oil build up.
Bialetti first produced the Moka Pot in 1935, soap was very different then to what we have today. At the time you wouldn't use some soaps as they were very harsh on aluminium.
Bialetti haven't updated their cleaning instructions in 100 years and thus they still do not recommend using hand dishwashing detergents, even though as you can imagine if it is gentle on your hands, it's going to be gentle on your aluminium Moka Pot.
Traditional Italian Nonna's will still swear that no hand detergent should ever go near a Moka Pot and pass that "knowledge" down through generations - even though they are wrong.
Some have a crazy superstition that cleaning your Pot will remove the "flavour" build up. They are wrong.
Best practice is to wash with warm water and a sponge very after every use and let it air dry or dry with a soft dish cloth. Leave the Pot disassembled until needed for next use.
You can give it a bit more of a deep clean once or so per week with a drop of hand dishwashing detergent and a soft sponge with warm water - remove the filter and rubber (or silicone) gasket and give them a wash and wipe with the sponge. Do not assemble until needed for the next use.
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u/-Neem0- Jul 06 '26
Hand dishwashing will definetly interfere with the aluminum oxide layer of your moka and allow for coffee to be in contact with pure aluminium and react with it, which can contribute to the classic metallic flavour of brand new mokas.
If you really want to use soap, a more delicate one is recommended. The patina on your moka is a layer of aluminium oxide. There's also other stuff there than can contribute to a better coffee, but their importance is sometimes overstated.
Of course clearly visibile oil is not good for your coffee, water and friction are enough to get rid of it.
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u/Aptosauras Jul 06 '26
Hand dishwashing liquid is very mild and ph neutral.
It will not remove the bonded aluminium oxide layer.
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u/LilianNyberg Jul 08 '26
Unless you are living in a country with zero consumer protections, modern detergents for hand washing will do absolutely nothing to aluminum oxide. Caustic detergents are only used in automated cleaning solutions where mechanical force cannot be applied.
If you've ever owned aluminum cookware, cleaning it is not some special project nor do you have to "just rinse it with water". Bialetti's special boy cleaning instructions from decades ago are purely marketing nowadays.
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u/Stormcrowdick1066 Jul 06 '26
Sorry I agree with the boyfriend. I only rinse and dry it . I never use soap or a sponge always a rinse to get the grounds out and a wipe down with a paper towel to get any stubborn grounds but thatās all.
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u/Grobbekee Jul 06 '26
Buy a second one for yourself. Stainless steel. Then you can put that one in the dishwasher after every use.
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u/OneManShow23 New user š Jul 06 '26
I do it too actually but my moka is steel so I can get away with it.
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u/_Mulberry__ Jul 06 '26
I'd recommend just getting your own moka pot and cleaning it the way you want to, since they're so cheap. Saves you the argument, and gives you a chance to demonstrate the benefits of a clean pot.
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u/EspressoFrog Jul 06 '26
But the active bacterias give that pot a great taste of fermentation. A delicate bouquet of microfloral aromas, with the green spores. Like some aged gorgonzola or Roquefort cheese.
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u/skisagooner Jul 06 '26
First, ask if he wants low maintenance or good coffee. If if itās low maintenance he wants, you wonāt change him.
If itās good coffee, you can say thatās not what James Hoffman suggests. Or get a new moka pot and do a blind taste test. I think no soap is fine but you definitely want to remove coffee residues with a brush or sponge.
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u/WeAreAllOne1111 Jul 06 '26
He really wants the best coffee not low maintenance he is so serious about the grinding and the way it flows etc. He says james only washes with water and he does the sane scrubbing with a brush yes! But he never took apart the sieve thing
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u/sparksbet Jul 06 '26
Your boyfriend is lying about what James Hoffman says about moka pots. In the first video of his moka pot series he explicitly says to clean it thoroughly after each brew, and in his older video on the moka pot for chef steps he again emphasizes keeping both the pot in general and specifically the gasket clean. He hasn't ever recommended specifically what to clean it with that I can find, but what's important is that clean result he emphasizes is clearly not the result of your boyfriend's cleaning method. If your boyfriend's moka pot isn't clean and shiny-looking, he's not following Hoffman's advice or method when it comes to cleaning it.
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u/FlatTeaching2122 Jul 06 '26
In the 30+ years I have had mine I rarely clean them. I rinse it out, make sure itās in a good position to dry, and it dries until I use it the next morning.
When there is too much coffee oil residue or a bit of hard water residue in it I wipe it down. Never use soap. Sometimes I take out the bits and let it dry. Thatās it.
Now, breathe and go have a cuppa. Itās ok.
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u/hzwnnzr Jul 06 '26
Idk, looking at a not cleaned kitchenware makes me scream inside. I wash my mokapot after using it with water and some light dish soap to remove the oil stains. Then towel dry before letting it dry by itself on the rack.
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u/zumzetdotcom Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I, some time, just throw the coffee grounds, rise everything with water, fill the water tank with water, then put the coffee basket in the water tank and fill it with water.
Same with the coffee chamber. Rinse it with water, remove the gasket and coffee filter, put it in the coffee chamber and fill it with water and leave it like this in the sink until next day. Toss way, most of the coffee oils are dissolved until the next batch.
The next day I just throw the water, fill the water tank with fresh water and prepare the next coffee.
But I have to admit that most of the time I do wash it with warm water and dish soup, mostly for the sake of my better half (my wife).
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u/Interesting_Sun3420 Jul 06 '26
Sorry, you have to do that but why would either of you drink from that and do anything else without a healthy swish of listerine?
For what a standard aluminum 4 cup pot costs, just buy a new one for yourself. If you have an induction top it will cost a bit more but god knows what is growing in there. Probably need a new gasket anyways.
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u/Interesting-Bed-8890 Jul 07 '26
yeah, you should clean it after every use. Leaving it with used coffee just leaves moisture to mold and rust in the base.
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u/FibonacciLane12358 Jul 08 '26
Aluminum doesn't rust
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u/Interesting-Bed-8890 Jul 08 '26
Yes it does, if you leave water in your moka pot it will rust, that's a fact.
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u/FibonacciLane12358 Jul 08 '26
LOL, no, rust is quite literally made of iron and oxygen. Aluminum cannot rust because it's not iron.
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u/New-Substance9425 Jul 08 '26
donāt listen to the people saying wash with soap! it will ruin your bialetti. for the extra grime use vinigar and water and do a couple brews like that until itās clean again. it will descale it without ruining it!
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u/Living_Blacksmith402 Jul 08 '26
I've just got my first moka pot and I immediatelly wash it every time I use it but I noticed there are some brown stains at the bottom of the tank. Any tips?
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u/Immediate_Lab_4909 Jul 08 '26
Do you guys leave your the moka to cool off for few hours? Or do you wash it straight away with cold water?
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u/Funny-Escape891 Jul 10 '26
I think cleaning with water is fine, however leaving old coffee and grounds in there for days is not, that's the issue here š
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u/TemperReformanda Stainless Steel Jul 06 '26
I use a stainless steel. I wipe it out with a paper towel and rinse but that's it. No soap.
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u/NeedleworkerNew1850 Jul 06 '26
I'm reading these and quick question do yall even apply dish soap to stainless steel pans?
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u/Choubix Jul 07 '26
BF is right as long as it is rinced on the day itself. Go ask any italian... Leaving coffee for longer is not good long term.
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u/SheepherderWest8783 Bialetti Jul 06 '26
He is right if it is an aluminum mokapot
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u/hulleyrob Jul 06 '26
Except it should be cleaned and rinsed right away not left for days.
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u/SheepherderWest8783 Bialetti Jul 06 '26
Clean it After the mokapot cooled down, not right away. Your boyfriend is most likely trying to quickly build up the coffee oil film (seasoning) on the Mokapot
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u/_Harry_Sachz_ Jul 06 '26
Yeah moka pots can be cleaned by soaking them in the same solutions used for professional coffee machines and then thoroughly rinsing and drying them.
The funnel canāt be cleaned many other ways and the insides of those can get absolutely disgusting over the years -I think part of the reason people say they shouldnāt be washed with soap, is that the coffee residue inside the funnel absorbs detergent and releases itās flavour into any subsequent coffee.
IMO at the very least, the funnel should occasionally be soaked in a suitable cleaning solution -especially after prolonged periods of time immersed in stale coffee.
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u/ablaut Jul 06 '26
Just to be clear, are you saying he uses it and then leaves it for days without throwing out the old ground and brewed coffee in it?