Should I use my slightly damp coffee machine?

June 25, 2015 2:34 PM

Yesterday morning I forgot to put the actual jug in our filter coffee machine (because, yes, it was pre-coffee) so 10 cups of coffee drained into the base of the machine. It's now 24 hours later so it's dry (I imagine). Is it OK to use it? Or am I going to electramacute myself?
posted by dontjumplarry to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

I've done this before. Twice. I didn't wait for it to dry before using it again. The first time the coffee maker continued to work as usual and I didn't die. The second time I continued to work as usual and the coffee maker died. YMMV.
posted by sacrifix at 2:48 PM on June 25, 2015 [7 favorites]

I doubt it's dry after 24 hours. That's a lot of water, and it isn't in an area that's well vented.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:55 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd rinse that puppy in clean water, first.

I would also wait longer than 24h, but I'd be more worried about the coffee crud than the liquid part. I've put all sorts of stuff with a plug on it through the dishwasher. If it's not the fancy kind with a digital display, it should be fine. I'd soak it in sudsy warm water for a little spell, and then rinse it thoroughly, and then leave it in a sunny window for at least a couple of days.
posted by kmennie at 3:17 PM on June 25, 2015

I've done this more times than I can remember. I've turned around every time and just re-made the coffee, no waiting for the machine to dry. You won't electrocute yourself. You either will or will not kill your machine. I've done it with Mr. Coffee machines, and I've done it with my Cuisinart coffee maker; the Cuisinart so far has held up the longest.
posted by vignettist at 4:27 PM on June 25, 2015

You're never going to get all the actual residue from the coffee out. There's no real point in waiting. It's either going to die, or corrosion on something will kill it later(especially because every damn coffee maker has a circuit board and a microprocessor/embedded controller now).

Worst case scenario it just dies and never turns on again. It's not going to killdeathinate you.

If its going to die, it's already in its death throes though. Waiting isn't going to do much.

Personally, if i cared enough, i'd tear it apart and rinse it out a lot with rubbing alcohol. I'd probably just turn it on though.
posted by emptythought at 5:35 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]