How To Clean A French Press

The french press is that coffee making machine that you can always count on to make a personal, amzing cup of coffee.

It is easy to use, portable, efficient, and reliable.

How to clean a french press? This is a quick guide to clean your french press the right way.

Click here to see my top reviewed french press coffee makers.

How To Clean A French Press

What Is A French Press?

Before anything else, it is important for a certified coffee enthusiast such as yourself to know what french press is (skip down to the next section if you already know!).

The French Press is a simple, yet a french press is one of the most effective coffee brewing devices in making a variety of coffee drinks.

Your french press can be used for both hot and cold brewing methods.

The French Press is basically made of two major components – the pot and the plunger.

The coffee pot is a beaker that can either be made of glass, ceramic, plastic, or metal that accommodates the brew base. The plunger on the other hand, has a lid and a metal rod with a metal filter at the bottom end.

When using a French Press device, ground coffee is set to steep inside the beaker. How long you steep coffee in your french press depends on the specific type of coffee you are planning to brew.

The plunger is then pushed steadily but consistently downwards in order to extract the oils and flavors of the coffee grounds, while leaving the undissolved particles behind.

The French Press device requires medium to coarse ground coffee beans.

Learn more about how to grind coffee beans at home for every kind of brew with my easy coffee grind size chart [click here]!

French presses come in various sizes, from individual servings (2-3 cups) to large (10-12 cups).

​Is It OK to Wash Your French Press?

It is perfectly fine to wash your French Press device with dish-washing soap and water. And actually, please do! Don’t be that nasty person that never cleans their coffee machines.

You do not want to know the molds that build up when you don’t clean your coffee machine…Moldy coffee, anyone?

The good news is that you can get away with not cleaning you french press every time…

For those who are fond of bringing their French Press devices with them in their workplaces, a hot water rinse after every use is ok, but at minimum, make sure you clean all of the parts of your french press once a week.

For best tasting coffee, clean your french press with soap and water every use…

​How To Clean A French Press Step-by-Step?

To easily clean your friench press, get these cleaning tools:

  • sponge
  • bottle brush
  • spatula

Instructions for how to clean a french press

  • Easy Instructions For How to Clean a French Press
  • If you’ve recently used your french press for hot water brewing, you must first let the beaker cool down before cleaning it up.
  • Empty the beaker with the coffee grounds that were filtered from your base brew. For deeper beakers or for those with larger hands, a spatula can be a reliable tool in digging out those coffee grounds without the mess.
  • Pour a mixture of soap and water into the beaker.
  • Push down the plunger like when you are brewing your coffee, but this time with a full set of repetitions (5-6 times). Do this until the beaker is fill with fine soap bubbles.
  • Scrub clean all the sides of the beaker including the bottom part and the lid using a sponge.
  • Use the bottle brush to clean out hard to reach areas of the pot.
  • For a more thorough cleaning, it’s best to disassemble plunger particularly the filter and the metal disk from the rod. This way, you’ll be able to efficiently scrub both the metal disk and the filter clean and free it from coffee ground deposits that have accumulated over time.
  • Unscrew the filter and the disk from the rod. With the use of the soft side of the sponge, gently but consistently scrub away those coffee deposits.
  • Rinse with tap water and screw them back altogether.

How To Remove Mold From A French Press?

​Let’s say you’re among those busiest individuals ​and you forgot to do at least a quick hot water rinse with your French Press from the last time you used it.

And then you set the machine aside and haven’t used it for a couple of days… NASTY!

​Here comes the day when you feel like your system needs a refreshment with your caffeinated elixir.

And just when you’re ready to make that nice hot brew, you’re shocked to see that mold has already beaten you to it.

But don’t you worry. There’s a quick fix!

What you need is a white vinegar and baking soda combo solution.

Both white vinegar and baking soda are effective home remedies in killing a spectrum of mold species and work great for your french press mold.

How to get rid of mold from your french press

  • Mix equal parts vinegar, baking soda, and hot water
  • Soak your french press in the solution for 15 minutes
  • Scrub clean
  • Rinse with hot water
  • Proceed to clean your french press normally (with my above instructions!)
  • …And tadaa! You have a mold free, ready to use french press. Good as new!

​Final Thought

​We’ve already established the fact that you love coffee and the French Press is your most reliable go-to device to secure a nice cold/hot brew.

But you’re French Press can only endure so much and it’s only capable of yielding the best cup of coffee if you take care of it!

Clean your french press and get brewing!

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