Specifically, do you use any cleaner and cycle through it, or just wash and rinse every so often?
Also, what about the water storage at the top? After you brew the tea, do you immediately replace the top lid, or do you let that "air out"? How do you clean that part out?
Thank you!
I do not have a triniTEA, but my family does own several (um...five?) coffee pots, and we approach OCD levels of hygiene when it comes to their cleaning.
At the end of the day or between different flavored grounds, we run a coffeeless cycle to give the machine interior a good rinse. Once a month (or once a week if any particular machine sees very heavy usage), we run a 'blank' cycle with a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water. The vinegar gets rid of any scale and gunk that will develop in the machine. After the vinegar water cycle, we run one or two with just plain water to eliminate any vinegar that may be still in the machine. Carafes and the coffee ground pop outs (don't know their technical name, sorry!) are washed with dishsoap daily. Often times, we leave the top lid open over night to allow any remaining water to dry out of the pot.
At the end of the day or between different flavored grounds, we run a coffeeless cycle to give the machine interior a good rinse. Once a month (or once a week if any particular machine sees very heavy usage), we run a 'blank' cycle with a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water. The vinegar gets rid of any scale and gunk that will develop in the machine. After the vinegar water cycle, we run one or two with just plain water to eliminate any vinegar that may be still in the machine. Carafes and the coffee ground pop outs (don't know their technical name, sorry!) are washed with dishsoap daily. Often times, we leave the top lid open over night to allow any remaining water to dry out of the pot.
I generally leave the top open (ajar) after a brew cycle to let it air out. The steeping chamber, tea basket and pot all just go into the dishwasher. Every once in awhile I'll run a diluted vinegar mix through the whole machine (followed by plain water to rinse out the vinegar), but not often. I'm not much of a "clean freak",and as long as everything seems to be working fine, I don't worry much about it (maybe I should, but I haven't had a problem thus far).
