try 2 denture cleaning tablets with hot water. leave overnight. should be spotless. if not, do it one more time.

A few drops of bleach and hot water, and let sit a few minutes will do the trick.

I used a Cascade ActionPac (we use it for the dishwasher) and boiling water in my Cusinart Thermal Carafe. The inside had been coated with coffee residue that we had not been able to get out. Left it overnight and in the AM the inside of the carafe was perfectly clean. It was amazing! Cost (insignificant); effort (minimal; results fantastic.

OK folks here is THEE all time solution for cleaning your Stainless Steel Carafes of ALL coffee stains, no matter how old they are !!!

Take 1/2 cup of Cascade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent. It matters not what flavor it is !!! Pour it directly into the carafe. Boil a tea kettle full of plain ol' water. When it boils pour the boiling water into the carafe with the Cascade in it. Let it sit/stand for 1 hour, or more if you wish, and pour it out. Rinse it thoroughly and take a look at your NEW carafe. It will SPARKLE shine !! I guarantee it !!!

Kevin's method totally rocks!! I just tried it on my Cuisinart stainless steel carafe which hasn't been cleaned (has been washed though) since I bought it. Absolutely amazing!!!

Hi, I had printed the eHow instructions for removing coffee stains from thermos bottle (see link).

In my case, I have baked in hard-water/calcium deposits on bottom & sides of 8-cup stainless-steel Stanley thermos.

Thing is, they sometimes require scrubbing with a bottle brush.

I don't have a bottle brush ..so was wondering if there's any that's at least, say, 13" long and has a 3m/metallic scrubbie tip??

Cuz frankly, how the heck can just a brush remove baked in hard-water deposits?

Wouldn't hard water deposits within a bottle require at least a scotchbrite/metallic type of scrubbie on the tip of cleaning brush?

Here is a link that might be useful: eHow remove coffee stains from thermos bottle

I would think that vinegar would eat up any hard water deposits. I know that it will eat that up on my shower head. Just pour some in there and let it sit for a while, couple hours should do the trick. As far as not having a bottle brush...just "McGyver" you one using a scrubby and something with a handle. You can rubber band it on there or just put the scrubby down in there and use the stick handle to rub it around good.

I'd be too nervous using a makeshift scrubbie, in case i can't retrieve it, since the Stanley is tall, has a narrow mouth, and my arm isn't as thin as a noodle.

I don't see how a scrubbie could possibly get caught inside that? Can't you hold the thing upside down and shake it to where you can reach it? Apparently my vision of a thermos must not be what your thermos looks like because I can't imagine something being stuck in there and you couldn't get it out? *scratches head*

OK, you have a point. Maybe if the scrubbie were cut tiny enough, it could work, rubber-banded onto a rod (I'd have to figure out which type of rod to use though.

I still just wish I could find something like that at a store, all ready made, for a few bucks - washable/reusable.

My primary question is - whether a bottle brush would work just as well, even if it's merely nylon bristles & not metallic/scrubbie.

OK here's what you do, you can google search how to clean bottles and use their hints(gravel or rice) or go to Amazon and search for Sigg Water Bottle Clean Tablets, they even have a brush for these water bottles. They have a lot skinnier lid than a thermos does! This should do the trick.

Personally if it were me, I'd just soak it in vinegar to eat the lime scale and then dump some rice and dish soap and shake it really good until it gets clean. You can use small pebbles but you have to throw them out and be sure not to let any get in your pipes or disposer. Or keep them for the future. Rice is a lot more common in the house than gravel is though...HA! Hey I bet that denture tabs are the same as those Sigg tabs are!

TBSP of Bar-Keepers Friend, a sponge & TBSP hot tapwater
Scrub until the tinge turns sparkly!
(I do this on my stainless sink & both percolators every week)

Instead of rice or pebbles, visit a pet store and buy some "gravel" they sell for the bottom of fish tanks. It works best for cleaning anything you can't get your hand in.

Cascade dishwashing (gel) and boiling water, left overnight, completely cleaned my stainless thermos, which we use for coffee every day and had disgusting flaked gunk all over the bottom. In the morning I poured out sludge, and the result was a sparkling clean thermos. Thanks, everyone!

I cannot believe my eyes. I tried the dishwasher detergent soaking method and within 1/2 hour it is almost all gone. I used an electrosol tablet, put it in the coffee pot, and ran water through the pot, filling it with hot water. AMAZING!

Before I tried this, I spent about an hour with a SOS pad and barely made a dent in the black stuff in the bottom of the pot. I have the same Starbuck Barista coffee pot as the original post with the stainless steel pot. Thank you so much for this tip.

This TOTALLY WORKS! I put in about 3 TBS of cascade dry detergent added boiling water to the top and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Swished it around and dumped out water. WOW it ow looks like new.

Yay! So glad I found this page. I'm one of those people that thinks, this sounds good but it won't work for me...but I was desperate and tried it anyway and it worked even better than I thought because I didn't realize how dirty my traveler coffee cup was! It's blindingly bright now, after less than an hour.

I am also soaking my stainless steel vitamix 4000 container that had raw cacao powder residue on the inside and no amount of vinegar or baking soda and elbow grease could make much impact (a little, but very painstaking) and it is now coming right off. Not QUITE as easy as the coffee, but I tested it with just a rub of a non-abrasive scrubbie, it is back to it's stainless self. I'm going to let it soak longer (it's only been an hour) in hopes of making it even easier.

I did use boiled water, so not sure if this would work with just hot tap water. Also I used a tablet of Finish dishwasher detergent, so for those wondering if those work, they do.

YAY! I love clean shiny things!

Thank you....thank you :). My coffee pot was disgusting and so black on the inside, so I surfed the web for a cleaning tip and found this site. I just put in a scoop of Cascade dishwasher powder and then filled the pot with boiling water, I then waited less than a minute and ran my dish brush around, with no pressure I might add, emptied the pot and it looks brand new!!!!!

Would one of those Cascade Complete gel pacs work? That's all I have.

Answered my own question. I put a Cascade Complete pac in my filthy stainless carafe along with boiling water and the inside looks like new! Could not believe the color of the water when I poured it out. I did take a cloth a wiped off the inside before pouring out the water.

WOW

After years of using a brillo (SOS) pad...I was very...very skeptical of the Method described. Using automatic dish washing packet...and boiling water.

WOW

I had to come back and thank everyone. I googled the question..(how to clean stainless steel coffee carafe). And this was the first site to pop up. So thanks to the site as well!

People...it really works!

I followed one suggestion. I used about 1/4 cup of Cascade and boiling water. I put it the soap then poured in the water. In 2 hours it was SPOTLESS. WOW

I only use glass coffee pots and cleaning it is no problem, soap and water does the job. I worry about the effect metal has on our bodies. I won't even us a tea pot to heat water, because I can't see how clean it is.

used the hot water and baking soda tip and it worked like a charm! Clean in just a few minutes!
Thanks!

Long ago at the local ''greasy spoon'' cafe the waitress would put crushed ice in the coffee pot and slush it around. Have you heard of this? Did they put something else in with the ice?

Gee! This discussion has been going on for 6 years...1907..good information. I agree to wash the coffee pot/carafe out each time you use it.

In the future, use a product called "Dip It" (the powder, not the liquid) available in the coffee section of your local supermarket. Fill your coffee pot with boiling water, add the Dip It powder (more for larger pots, less for smaller ones) and let it sit for a while. Rinse well. Dip It is also very good for burnt on food in pots -- just add to water in the pot and let it boil gently on the stove for some time. Most of the burnt stuff will be removed and you can follow up with a Brillo pad if necessary.

Did the Cascade and boiling water thing and my Cuisanart ss carafe is blindingly clean! I'm going to go to sleep right now just so I can wake up and have a cup of coffee in my "new" coffee pot. Thanks!

I read somewhere that using denture cleanser tablets works & I have found they do! I buy at Dollar Tree & use every couple of weeks. I immediately rinse out my stainless steel carafe & let sit in plain water for awhile & then rinse out & give it a "sniff test." If I can smell coffee, it's time to use a couple of the denture tablets, let soak for a few hours & then thoroughly rinse w/cold water. I put my carafe screw on top in dishwasher & the the thing that holds the coffee filters. Since I don't use dw everyday, I usually just rinse both thoroughly in cold water, give a "sniff test," & if I can smell coffee, into the dishwasher they go.

Many years ago I worked as a waitress in several different diners that served lots of coffee and in various restaurants. One of our daily tasks was cleaning the stainless steel coffee pots. We poured regular table salt into the bottom of each pot and added ice cubes. We then swished this around for several minutes allowing the ice cubes to hit the sides of the pot and then rinsed it well. It kept the pots clean and shiny on the inside and out.

I still use this method to quickly clean my coffee pot.

this really works- cascade liquid detergent at the bottom of at the stainless steel coffee pot - just enough to cover the bottom of pot and fill will boiling hot water - wait an hour and it comes out sparkling clean - just did this the other day and I was really impressed.

OMG CASCADE dishwasher detergent Started working in seconds. Amazing Thanks for the tip.

I only used hot tap water and it worked like a charm

I have discovered that Cascade Complete Gel does not work for cleaning the inside of my coffee pot (doesn't clean the dishes well either). I went back to using regular Cascade Gel, and it worked beautifully.

Not too familiar how to comment but drop an open packet of dishwasher detergent into the pot, add boiling water. Shake it up a bit and a few hours later the urn is SPOTLESS. So easy and works wonderfully.

I put a little OxiClean powder in mine and fill with hot water. Clean as can be. Rinse well.

Peroxide and baking soda also works if you let it soak for several hours or overnight. My go-to solution, though, is the dishwasher detergent with boiling water. Both methods leave the carafe sparkling clean. I've done this for years with DH's stainless steel coffee cup that he got more than a decade ago from Starbucks. He said that the Starbuck employees are always asking how he keeps it so clean and bright. He used to say he'd have to ask his wife, but now he knows what I use so he can tell them.

I'm a homebrewer, and they make a product for cleaning stainless kegs, pots, and glass and plastic bottles called PBW (powdered brewery wash). My understanding is that it's pretty much oxi clean and TSP. It's awesome stuff.

question: I use Finish Quantum. Can I put this in the coffee pot? Should I open it or just put in as is & add the boiling water?

Before you spend a lot of time or money on suspicious products, try a Magic Eraser. Coffee stains just wipe right out of our cups and glass coffee pots. You can get several generic Magic Erasers at the dollar store for...a dollar.

I just came across this post when trying to find out how to clean my seemingly hopelessly blackened stainless steel coffee carafe.

I used Cascade Complete powder and boiling water. A few hours later, the pot that despite all the vinegar and baking soda and scrubbing I'd tried before had remained stubbornly black was now as shiny as new.

Just did the Cascade Gel and boiling water. In a hour the coffee carafe and 2 travel mugs were sparkling clean. The sludge in the carafe was quite disgusting ... I just thought it was stained but there was definitely a layer of ick there. Beautiful now. Thanks!

This solution will provide amazing results and is so easy. I placed a "finish" powerball inside my Melitta stainless steel carafe, filled with boiling water, and let sit for the day. To my surprise it removed every bit of residue. The inside of my carafe is sparkling clean and looks brand new!

Yesterday I used this method with generic powered dishwasher detergent and almost boiling water in my stainless steel coffee carafe, letting it sit for about 4 hours. I rinsed it out and it was sparkling clean.

Okay, I used the Oxyclean (2 scoops or 1/4 C) and it is amazing. I think the Cascade might do just as well but haven't tried that yet. Might give it a go next time just to check it out. But I am basically lazy and avoid scrubbing at any time and with the Oxyclean I can do that Ta-dah!!!

I have used a product called 'Dip It'. I have also used vinegar without success! I have used a 'dishwasher' pack in boiling hot water, which works fine. If I wait too long in between cleanings, I sometimes have to go through the process again! Best of luck to you! JoAnn

I DO NOT recommend cleaning the stainless steel carafes with automatic dishwasher detergent of any kind as I tried this method with soaking it with boiling water and dish washing detergent overnight and my coffee carafe had a terrible taste and odor of the dishwashing detergent for several weeks thereafter. And yes, I washed and rinsed it out thoroughly afterwards to remove the detergent slime residue. Researching alternatives I decided to try the Oxi clean method since it is made from natural ingredients. Also, I achieved total success in a few minutes with no scrubbing or soaking, it was literally like magic! Here's what I did: first I put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Then while waiting for the water to boil I filled my carafe with the hottest tapwater available at my kitchen sink to preheat the carafe. Once the kettle of water reached boiling I emptied the tap water out of the carafe poured in 1/4 cup of Oxsee clean powder into the carafe then immediately began pouring the boiling water from the kettle into the carafe. Important this must be done in the kitchen sink or over the sink. As I was pouring the boiling water into the carafe, The Oxi clean began to foam so much so that it began to overflow out of the carafe and into my sink. It was nothing short of a science experiment! I observed the foaming action and streams of brown gunk were coming out with the overflowing foam. I happened to have the carafe lid in the sink so I allowed the overflowing foam to pour on it and into its innards where the coffee flows through and dark brown solution came out the opposite ends of the lid so I knew it was getting cleaned as well. A minute or so later The foaming began to subside and I noticed the carafe was only about a third full and it looked pretty clean and so I put my dish wand (one of those sponges on a stick you can buy at a grocery or big box store) inside and swirled the solution around to insure complete coverage. I poured the remaining solution through the carafe lid to further clean it then I rinsed the carafe with water and it was amazing. Perfectly clean and did not smell like soap or anything. I did give it a wash with the usual mild dish soap just to make sure any residue was washed away. I was absolutely amazed at the results and I even was pleased that I could get the innards of the carafes lid clean throughout where the coffee flows through. No soaking or scrubbing was necessary. My carafe was a medium brown color inside to begin with and I wonder if this method might need to be done twice on those that have so much buildup that they are almost black inside. In any event, I'm sure this will help any situation and best of all there is NO detergent smell or taste left behind to ruin future coffee flavors. I do recommend using potholders when pouring the boiling water into the carafe just in case the hot Oxi clean foam gets on your hand while holding the carafe you don't burn yourself. This is SO MUCH better than using automatic dishwasher detergent of any kind.

SIMPLE!!! SIMPLE!!! Fill stainless steel pot with BOILING water, and drop in a dishwasher tab, any brand. Let sit one hour, then rinse. Works EVERY TIME!!

Used Just Jon's method (OxiClean), worked fine

Some in this thread mention the use of ice in a glass pot. When I was a waitress many, many years ago that was the process we used. But it weakens the pot and can cause it to crack on you when you have hot coffee causing an unsafe condition. Not recommended for cleaning glass pot with ice.