Why does my coffeepot overfill the filter basket and spill over?

[AlienGirl]

Seriously, why does my drip coffee maker overflow like that, sending a torrent of coffee and grounds all over the kitchen counter?

I just got rid of one coffeemaker that did that constantly, and now the new pot did it too! :cry: There is obviously something wrong with my coffee-loading technique. I was raised with good old-fashioned percolator-style coffeepots, so maybe I just don't have the hang of these newfangled drip machines. It is just so annoying when I wake up desperately needing my daily dose of coffee and doomy news stories!

Tucker

[anarch]

1. mine was doing that when the bottom of the filter basket got clogged

Because I spilled a bunch of coffee grounds outside of the filter, into the basket itself.

:shrug:

[Aiptasia]

2. Wash out the filter basket

First, make sure you're using the right type of coffee filter for your filter basket. They do come in different sizes and thicknesses. Second, make sure the coffeemaker is set to fast drip and not slow drip if it has an adjustable soak rate. Third, wash out the filter basket in your dish washer at least once a week.

If your local tap water has a lot of mineral deposits in it, it might also be good to soak the water well, basket and carafe in a product like lime-a-way overnight, then thoroughly rinse and dry everything out before using it again.

[AlCzervik]

3. same thing here every morning, i now underfill the water compartment by

about an inch, seems to work.

[asthmaticeog]

4. You could be using too much.

I used to have a roommate who took his coffee like mud, and he'd fill the filter basket damn near all the way with grounds, which in addition to being wasteful and making revolting coffee, left no room for the grounds to expand when they swelled with hot water, so it overflowed. Maybe back off on the grounds, and if that doesn't work, there might be a mechanical problem with your machine.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Maybe your coffee is ground too coarsely and is clogging the

little hole at the bottom of the filter basket.

An overly large ground getting stuck has always been the cause on those rare occasions when my coffee maker has overflowed.

[Blue Diadem]

6. We just went through that with a couple month old coffee maker

Check the holes where the heated water comes through to the filter. On ours, the middle holes became plugged (we have hard water that we pay through the nose for) and all the water poured in around the edges and created an overflow.

[NewWaveChick1981]

7. I have hard water here too, and I have to keep the coffeemaker

clean to prevent buildup. Diluted white vinegar works well, as does chemical coffeemaker cleaner.

[Blue Diadem]

8. for some reason it didn't stop it

We only use the coffee maker on weekends and do the white vinegar once a month. I was surprised it didn't help. DH went out and bought another one and threw that one away.