I love my french press, but like everyone else, I hate the clean up of it after I’ve used it…
With some practice though I’m starting to get quite quick at it, but I was looking at my dishwasher and wondered…
Are French Presses Dishwasher safe? I’ve long thrown out the box of mine so I can’t just check so I did as you did, I took to the internet and did all the research I could, for every make and every type of French press, here’s what I found.
Parts of the French press are dishwasher safe. If your french press has a glass carafe you can remove then you can put it in the dishwasher, on the top shelf. BUT there is a chance it’s going to break while it’s in there, the spout in particular is not the strongest and you could end up with a broken french press needing to get replacement parts. And the plunger is dishwasher safe but the metal filter could get deformed in the dishwasher.
And if the carafe is built into the handle you probably shouldn’t put that in the dishwasher because it seems to be about a 50:50 split of those you can and those you can’t.
Besides, you can’t put a lot of coffee grounds through the dishwasher or it will get blocked up so you need to empty it and rinse it off anyway.
I’ve also found that the dishwasher can leave behind a weird smell in the carafe so you likely need to rinse it under the tap after it comes out. Scott the other author on this site doesn’t put certain mugs in his dishwasher for this exact reason.
And there’s an easier way…
Easiest Way To Clean A French Press
You need to take apart your french press and clean it every day, but you don’t need to deep clean it every day and the whole daily cleaning process should take about 30 seconds max.
Do this immediately after you’ve poured your coffee.
Step 1. Empty the grounds by shaking it over the garbage can to get 90% of the grounds out, take care because it will be hot, use a spoon if they get stuck to the bottom.
Step 2. Rinse out the beaker with leftover boiling water from the kettle, pour it in and swill it around before pouring all the leftover grounds down the sink. Then rinse under the tap, you can use soap if you’re feeling daring but I honestly just do running water and give the inside a wipe round with my hand.
Step 3. Unscrew the Plunger and rinse each section to remove any trapped coffee grounds, again I just use water for this, soap is for the deep clean. And you’re done! Leave it to air dry and screw it all back together later now go enjoy your coffee.
It’s so easy and since you have to unscrew the whole thing to put in the dishwasher anyway you might as well just rinse it under the tap and remove all risk of breaking it.
Then you can give it a deep clean every so often, maybe once a month or once a week if you like things super clean. It’s a similar method just more thorough.
Step 1. Again empty the grounds by shaking it over the garbage can to get 90% of the grounds out, more if you can but a few down the sink should be fine and not cause blockages.
Step 2. Add a little soap and fill up the beaker with the leftover boiling water and leave it to soak while you clean the plunger.
Step 3. Unscrew the plunger into the 4 pieces and put each one in soapy water in your sink, scrub each one back and front with a sponge and rinse off the soap afterward with running water.
Step 4. Empty out the beaker and submerge it in the sink and give it a good sponge down.
Step 5. Leave it to dry and you’re golden.
The deep clean is pretty much the same process and you could do it every time if you wanted, it only takes a few minutes longer. I’m not even sure the deep clean is necessary since it gets boiling water poured over it so regularly but a little soap to clean something is never a bad thing.
Why You Should Clean Your French Press After Every Use
So I’m sure you’re wondering why you should take apart your french press after every use to clean it right? How often do you need to wash it? Why not just rinse off the plunger without taking it apart?
Well there are two main reasons for this: bad coffee, and mold.
Bad Coffee
You’ve heard the phrase the bad apple spoils the bunch? Well it’s true with coffee too, it doesn’t take much old used coffee to get into your fresh brew to alter the flavor and leave you with a more bitter less tasty cup.
And I’ve tried to clean it with the plunger on, making sure to get right underneath the filter and pulling down each side to get all the coffee grounds put. But as soon as I do that and then unscrew it more coffee grounds fall out, every single time.
But that’s if you use your french press close to every day, if you’re leaving it in the cupboard for a long time it gets worse…
Moldy French Press
If you’ve got organic matter that’s a little damp and sitting in a cupboard one thing is going to happen… mold.
And those coffee grounds you didn’t get underneath are going to start doing exactly that, going moldy. Scott who co-runs this site goes to a holiday home every year, and every year he has to take apart the french press in the cupboard because it’s either gone moldy or it smells a little funky, because you just know no one is washing that thing properly.
And if there’s one thing to ruin your appetite for coffee it’s a green fluffy coffee filter… Yuck.
So clean it! With soap is preferable if you’re going to store it in the cupboard for longer but even a thorough rinse with hot water should do a good enough job to prevent mold. And if mold does happen, well read on to find out how to clean the mold out.
List of specific French Presses and Whether they’re dishwasher safe
These are all based on the manufacturers recommendations, I think you shouldn’t and should do the above method but I thought this was worth including.
Bodum French Press – The gold standard of french presses and yes every make and model is dishwasher safe. The plastic, the silicone, the glass all can go happily into your dishwasher according to the manufacturer.
Ikea French press – Again from what I could see all Ikea french presses seem to be dishwasher safe, all current ones for sale are anyway.
Bialetti French Press – Yup, all of the current models of Bialetti can go in the dishwasher.
Bonjour French Press – Yes dishwasher safe but they recommend washing by hand with dish soap, glad to have someone back me up!
Frieling French Press – Yes dishwasher safe with no dissassmbling required, even though they are stainless steel. But I would still take the filer apart…
Espro French Press – Yes, top rack dishwasher safe or you can hand wash it.
F.A.Qs
How do you clean a French press with vinegar?
Vinegar is an excellent stain remover and can help breathe new life into an old french press and leave it that little bit sparkling. Simply mix 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts boiling water and fill your carafe with it. Place the plunger in on top and push down so it’s in the solution too. Leave to soak for 5 minutes then rinse thoroughly so you get all the vinegar taste out.
How do you get mold out of a French press?
You get some seriously disgusting french presses, and if it’s too far gone with mold it might be worth just throwing the whole thing away if you ask me… But if you’re determined to clean it then this is what I would do.
Step 1. Pour boiling water over the whole thing, lots of it to rinse away as much of the surface mold as you can before you touch it.
Step 2. Into hot soapy water and scrub scrub scrub. Clean it up, empty the water, scrub it again.
Step 3. Into the dishwasher. Yes I said I’m against this but here I think it’s necessary for that deep hands free clean. Take it apart and put it in the cutlery compartment.
Step 4. Wash it again. Once more for luck and I would consider getting a replacement filter.
Final Thoughts
So it seems that every french press can go in the dishwasher, but I’m positive that as soon as I say that someone will come and contradict me, so I’m going out on a limb to say that 95% are.
But you’re actually better off washing by hand, it doesn’t take long once you’re in the rhythm of it and it lowers the chance of it breaking considerably.
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