I believe it is placed there to catch the debris coming up from the water tank. That way the vinegar is reusable and the crud is not going into your carafe.
I don't have hard water, so I don't have mineral build-up. HOWEVER, despite my cleaning the inside of the machine, it still smells like (old) coffee grinds and I suspect the plastic has become stained with coffee just like my white ceramic coffee cup becomes stained after a few cups.... which is why I *HATE* that the machine is black!! You can't see what's stained with coffee! Now the only way I can clean my stained coffee cup is with an abrasive powder, but you can't use that on this machine, so how do I get the assumed coffee stains off of the inside of the machine and the removable cup?
I just cleaned mine using the method shown in the video (LONG overdue. Hadn't cleaned it in several months due to stress factors etc.). I think it started making me sick. Had some nasty symptoms mimicking a bladder infection. Anyways! Even after the vinegar cycle and 2 water cycles, I still had calcium deposits in the reservoir. And my Mr. Coffee model is really difficult to get into the reservoir to clean the water tank area. Just not enough space to fit my hand through and maneuver to reach every surface inside with a sponge. And deep rounded edges along the top as well, which definitely builds up nastiness and nearly impossible to clean in those crevices. I was able to get a sponge in there in an attempt to clean the calcium on the bottom of the reservoir though, and to my surprise, the sponge was just coated with coffee ground dust even after running vinegar and water through it. So, I'm tossing it and getting a new one rather than risking it making me feel sick again. Someone reallg needs to make a line of coffee makers that can be completely disassembled and easy to clean. At least to the reservoir. And with the reservoir and filter basket separated, so that coffee ground dust can't just be dispersed freely into the reservoir. Or... Maybe I just need to drop $100 on a coffee maker lol. Seems you can't buy anything consumer-friendly and of good quality under $100 anymore.
Agree that it's time they built a coffee maker that can be easily disassembled and cleaned. I've been using a Q-tip dipped in vinegar for the hard to reach spaces.@@terrapinflyer273
I just found out that if you go over the max line for mr coffee 12 cup you end up with water all over your floor. Way to go mr coffee. I don't know why they would design it like that.
