As a longtime barista, I’ve heard almost every cleaning hack in the book. I’ve had people yell at me about vinegar (please don’t clean any porous components, including most automatic coffee brewers that have rubber or soft parts, with vinegar).

I’ve tested citric acid, and I’ve fallen into rabbit holes looking for the best cleaning brushes that remove tough stains but won’t scratch the lining of my coffee carafes. But I’d never heard of cleaning coffee carafes with salt and ice, so I was interested in giving it a whirl.