There are so many types of coffee makers, and each one provides a valuable service to its owner. You should repay the machine for all the caffeine by cleaning it regularly. If you happen to have a Cuisinart coffee maker, here’s how to do it.

How often you descale your machine (or remove hard water and mineral deposits) depends on how often you use it. If you make coffee every day, do it once a month. Less than that? You can wait three to six months. Luckily, your machine will tell you when to descale it, as long as it has a “Clean” button. If it does, it will start flashing when it needs to be descaled.

First, remove the water filter and any remaining water from the reservoir, then fill it with a mixture of one part distilled white vinegar and two parts water. (You can buy 128 ounces of white distilled vinegar for $3.99 at Target, so you won’t run out.) Put it back in, then press and hold the Clean button, which will start flashing. The machine will self-clean, beeping five times when it’s done, then shut off. Empty the pot, refill the reservoir with water, and run a normal cycle, as if you were making coffee. Make sure to place your pot or some other type of container underneath to catch all the water. After rinsing, replace the water filter and you’re good to go.

If you don’t have a Clean button, simply run the vinegar and water solution through a manual brew cycle. To maximize descaling, turn the machine off halfway through and let the solution sit for an hour, then turn it back on and let the cycle complete. Rinse with plain water afterwards.