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Coffee from our new coffee maker tastes bad.

by Greg
(Sacramento)


QUESTION:

My wife and I are on our 4th new coffee maker and we cannot get rid of the plastic/chemical taste that the new coffee makers produce. Oddly, we can get a good pot from time to time. We did not have any taste problems with our old coffee maker (it broke). Any suggestions on how to make our new coffee maker "old" or broken in so that we can get back to the good taste we are searching for? Please help!

ANSWER:

I'm sorry to say, I don't know the answer. I know that new plastics and other synthetic materials "gas off" for a while, whether you buy a new car, have carpeting installed or buy new furniture.

If anyone reading this knows the answer to Greg's question, then please use the comment box and let us know.

The only thing I can think of is to buy a coffee maker cleaning product and try that. I'm not sure it would help, because such products are designed to descale. But it might be worth a try.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Comments for
Coffee from our new coffee maker tastes bad.

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Jul 03, 2010
 Krups is worth the money
by: Anonymous

We have experienced the plastic taste and smell too and finally splurged on the more expensive Krups brand. We have never had a problem with Krups and from now on will only buy Krups when a new one is needed.
Jun 15, 2010
 Green deodorising
by: Torontonian

I have a Cuisinart and I used a mix of 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a carafe of room temperature water and filled the reservoir.

1. Let the water SIT in the reservoir for 10 minutes so it could absorb the plastic odour.
Turn on the machine and let it run its cycle.

2. Let the machine cool back to room temperature and run a carafe of clear water through.
------
If you need more cleaning cycles of baking soda/water then clear water, always let the machine cool off after each use.

It may be a time consuming process but at least you're not using anything that's toxic or harmful.
Jun 06, 2010
 coffee maker taste
by: Monie

I just bought a new coffeemaker. I wanted one that was NOT programable, and with not clock. I wanted a plain coffee maker with no frills. They had none at Wal Mart or Target, but I found one at K Mart. It is a Proctor Silex and it cost $14.99. The directions did say to run vinager through it the first time, but I decided to just run water through it and then make a pot. It tastes just fine. No ickey taste at all!
Jun 06, 2010
 How do we know it is not poison
by: Polly

This disgusting smell, taste, can not be solely the result of the pot being new.

I have had many new pots and there has never been a foul chemical taste.

If I knew how, I would get the FDA involved to see what is going on at the outdoubtedly Chinese coffee pot manufacuring plant.
May 15, 2010
 That coffeemaker smell is REAL!
by: Mama G

This past March I bought a new coffeemaker Cuisinart DCC 1200 Series and could not wait to try it the first time. Well to my surprise it smelled like a chemical plant giving off it's fumes. I had to waste the first couple pots before I wised up to washing it with vinegar a couple times and it reduced it 99%. I'll continue to clean it again and hope to get the 1% out. The manufacturers should tell us consumers what to expect. They owe us not for the maker only but for the wasted expensive coffee we had to toss out. In closing there have been so many recalls of products you have to be careful what you consume or wear these days.
Jan 12, 2010
 Coffee from new coffeemaker tastes putrid
by: Monie

We bought a new Cuisinart coffeemaker. To our surprise, the coffee smells and tastes awful. May daughter gave a good name to it: PUTRID. I had my sister come over and taste it, and she was baffeled also. Someone said we need to use it a lot before it tastes good. But, how much coffee do we have to waste? I decided it is just as bad as putting some rubbing alcohol in it and trying to drink it. Just thinking about it makes me gag. I called the store where we got it, and they said we could bring it back. But, what kind of coffeemaker should we get instead?
Oct 22, 2009
 get rid of plastic taste in coffeemaker
by: Phyllis

I too had this problem with my new cusinert coffeemaker and was told to fill up with LEMON JUICE instead of water and run thru once..and than of course run about 3 times with water. well to my surprise it worked....no more plastic tasted in my coffee......hope it works for you..
p.s. I left the lemon juice sit in the water well for about 15 minutes before I turned it on...
Oct 06, 2009
 Is it the can?
by: Anonymous

I've had this problem with a 4 year old Cuisinart coffee maker lately. I'm wondering if it's the new plastic coffee cans, specifically I'm using Folgers. I've never noticed this issue before when coffe came in metal cans...
Oct 01, 2009
 Stainless still interior?
by: Looking for SS

To the person who said they went for stainless steel, could you tell me what make/model you got. There are loads out there with stainless steel exteriors, but I have yet to find anything with stainless inside.
Sep 03, 2009
 plastic taste
by: Lydia

Try running thru a pot of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar. Follow that up with a full pot of water mixed with a few spoons of baking soda. Then run 2 pots of plain water. It seemed to help my Mr Coffee which also had a plastic taste.
Feb 07, 2009
 Remove the Plastic Taste from a New Coffee Maker.
by: Anonymous

If the recommendations below do not work then return the unit or get a unit with an interior made of stainless steel.

Use the old home remedy by filling to maximum cup level one half white vinegar and one half water, run through the brew cycle to clean the pot and also remove the plastic taste. For less expensive models it may require several cleanings due to prolonged outgasing by the cheaper plastics.

Dip-It coffee cleaner was also suggested to me as an alternative by Farberware. I eventually opted for stainless steel.
Apr 10, 2008
 Solution to your problem
by: Anonymous

I have had this problem when I used my coffee machine the first few times. It is advisable to just let the water run through the machine a few times (the same way as when making coffee but don't put the actual coffee in the filter). the plastic taste will be gone soon.

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