Home / Cleaning / Try This Old Restaurant Cleaning Trick
coffee carafe before after cleaning with salt and ice

Try This Old Restaurant Cleaning Trick

/15 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Have you ever left the coffee pot overnight to wake to a blackened, disgusting, burnt-on mess? Can’t get rid of the gunky build-up in your favorite carafe or thermos—stuff you can see, but not reach? Try an old trick perfected by wait staff in restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops everywhere to get it sparkling clean.

friendly smiling waitress offers a choice between regular or

Dear Mary: I have a big stainless coffee thermos. The opening makes it impossible to get in and clean. I have tried baking soda and vinegar, but that hasn’t worked to dissolve and remove the build-up of coffee stains. I can look in and see stuff I’d rather not see. How can I clean inside my thermos? Karen

Dear Karen: I have the perfect solution: Crushed ice, and salt. Fill the thermos about 1/4 full of crushed ice cubes (give large cubes a whack or two with something heavy). Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of ordinary table salt depending on the size of the thermos. Apply the lid. Now, shake it up baby!

Swirl it round and round, first clockwise then counterclockwise; upside down, up and down. The salt will begin to melt the ice allowing the pieces to move freely. You’ll get a good workout, too.

The salt acts like little non-abrasive sanding blocks. You may have to do this for a few minutes if you have a nasty build-up, repeating as necessary. Rinse well with cool water.

This old restaurant trick works with glass coffee carafes and glass-line thermoses, too. Just make sure the carafe has cooled to roo temperature and crushed iced vubes. It‘s so much fun I almost look forward to a burned-on mess in the bottom of our office coffee pot so I can amuse and amaze myself.

coffee carafe before after cleaning with salt and ice

Dear Mary: My husband contributes 8% to his employer’s 401(k) plan. Would it be wise to temporarily stop that contribution in that we have about $50,000 unsecured debt? Debbie

Dear Debbie: Yes, but only to the amount of a match, if any, the employer is making, and only until your unsecured debts are paid.

Let’s say that of the 8% he contributes, 3% is matched by his employer. That’s free money he would be foolish to leave on the table. So in that case, he should reduce his contribution to 3% only.

Putting your hard-earned money at risk is while you are carrying high-interest consumer debt is not wise. No matter how you cut it, money in a 401(k) is at risk. But investing in your debt carries no risk and offers a guaranteed rate of return. Here’s how that works:

Let’s say you have a $10,000 revolving credit card balance at 18% interest. Each month you are paying $150 in interest ($10,000 x 18% / 12 = $150). Great Aunt Gertie dies and leaves you $10,000. You can either pay off the debt or invest the money.

Let’s say you choose to invest the ten-grand in traditional stocks and bonds. Things don’t go well and you lose some or all of it in the stock market. You still owe that $10,000 on the credit card and you’re still paying $150 interest each month.

Now let’s say you go the other way and use the money to repay the $10,000 debt in full. Every month you get to keep the $150 you were sending to the credit card company. That is your guaranteed 18% return on the $10,000 “investment” you made in your debt. It’s a sure thing regardless of what happens with the economy. Now that’s a good deal!

Caution: Even though you stop making contributions for a season, do not cash in his 40l(k) account. The penalties and tax consequences are too severe. And the minute that debt is is paid in full, unpause the 401(k) contribution and go right back to where you left off.

Dear Mary: It takes about two weeks after I mail my mortgage payment for the check to clear my bank. My sister says my lender is making me pay more interest by delaying depositing my check. Is it true? Mary S.

Dear Mary S: No. Your sister may be confusing your mortgage, which is a “closed-end contract” with an open-end contract like a credit-card account. The law treats the two differently.

A closed-end contract has a fixed payment schedule. The interest portion of your monthly mortgage payment is the same whether you pay it early or at the last minute. A credit-card or revolving open-end contract works differently. Making your payment early allows more of it to go to the principal because interest is figured on the average daily balance.

Federal law stated in The Fair Credit Billing Act requires open-end lenders to credit all payments on the date they’re received, unless no extra charges would result if they failed to do so. But with your mortgage payment, it doesn’t matter on which day during the month it is processed, provided of course it gets there by the due date.

Hope that helps!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from Everyday Cheapskate

Best Coolers for Camping, Road Trips, and Beach Days

Best Coolers for Camping, Road Trips, and Beach Days

home decor

10 Everyday Items You Never Think to Wash (But Should)

a lit sparkler with an american flag in the background 4th of july hacks tips and recipes

34 Fourth of July Recipes and DIY Hacks for a Stress-Free Holiday

wooden die spell july with patriotic decor in background

7 Best Things to Buy in July for Huge Summer Savings

Grilled Peaches with Balsamic and Blue Cheese

Summer Grilled Peaches with Balsamic and Blue Cheese

Homemade Laundry Stain Paste That Works for Pennies

a rustic wooden christmas tree in the sand on the beach

Christmas in June? Try This Amazon Prime Day Gift Guide

why does my ice taste weird soda tea lemonade juice

Why Does My Ice Taste Weird? Here’s the Answer

a single car garaged with beautiful flowers along landscape beds things ruined by heat in the garage

25 Things Summer Heat Can Ruin in Your Garage



Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines



Caught yourself reading all the way 'til the end? Why not share with a friend.

15 replies
  2. Joan McGowan says:

    I fill the pot with hot water and pour in a good amount of cheap automatic dish washer powder. Stir and let sit. You can see the old coffee come off the glass. Rinse well.

    Reply
  3. Lija Wills says:

    I’m wondering if the glass carafe was hot when you put the ice in it? It has to be at room temperature to avoid extreme temperature changes.

    Reply
  4. Debbie says:

    I use denture cleaning tabs in my Husband’s thermos to get it clean. Add two or more tablets add water, let sit for a good while, shake up, down, all around, rinse, and enjoy a clean shiny thermos. Works on anything you can’t get to to clean.

    Reply
  5. Carolyn Chua says:

    instead of ice and salt, try crumbled eggshells and baking soda. The eggshells are a gentle abrasive and baking soda, a tried and true cleaner. My mom used it on her big thermoses and this combo really works when water leaves thick lime scales on the surface.

    Reply
  6. Emily Booth says:

    I drink decaf and tea. I can’t comment on the glass carafe. I don’t have one. I can say that Barkeeper’s Friend is great for cleaning the tannic acid stain on my tea cups and saucers. It leaves the cup & saucer bright and shiny clean. I use a bottle brush for cleaning items I can’t get my hand into like my thermos and water bottle. I haven’t figured out how to get the bottom of the thermos top entirely clean of tannic acid stain. It has small nooks and deep encircling ridges to prevent leaks.

    Reply
  8. Charlene says:

    “Back in the day” I was taught like-cleans-like in the restaurant business. Burned on coffee? Put fresh hot coffe in the pot and swirl it around! Voila, clean. Burned on soup, same thing. Of course, in a restaurant they have more than one coffee pot . . .Can’t wait to try the stainless ideas.

    Reply
  10. Catherine says:

    Use a denture tablet for a coffee thermos clean out! Mine was super gross and it took 2x, but was sparkling clean! Works great in narrow vases, too.

    Reply
  11. Joyce Pachorek says:

    Cuisinart customer service says to use dishwasher pod in very hot water in my coffee caraf. Let soak about 15-30 min. I use a bottle type brush and it whisks it away! Then I pour the liquid into my thermos. Like new shiny clean! When done can pour liquid into your dishwasher to was your dishes! Triple duty from one pod! I even soak my coffee maker basket and carafe lid to clean inside. Try it! You’ll never go back to standard cleaning methods.

    Reply
  12. Laurinda says:

    Filling with warm water and a tablespoon of OxiClean type powdered cleaner and letting it soak also works. Adjust this amount for larger vessels. I learned this by checking what the contents of the cleaner used by the commercial coffee services are. I use 1 tsp per qt of cool water to run through my home coffee maker to clean followed by clear water rinse.

    Reply
  13. Karen says:

    I’ll have to try the ice and salt idea for cleaning glass containers. I have used rice and water in a similar fashion to clean water bottles. I used to have a problem with mold growing in the bottom of my water bottle over time until I started using 1 drop of lemon essential oil every time I fill it. No more mold and it stays clean longer.

    Reply
  14. Jane Weisbrot says:

    For coffee and tea pots that you can reach your hand into, magic eraser sponge is the way to go!! No scrubbing at all. Wet sponge, wipe and done!! It works miracles on soap scum too!! And you can buy them online at a fraction of the cost of Bald Guy’s!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ask Me Anything: Best Robot Vac, Denim Dye Transfer, Medicare HELP! and Mor...Multi-ethinic arms outstretched to ask questionsA close up of a handMoney Leaks That May Be Draining Your Wallet Dry