In Spain the Mocha pot is never cleaned, only rinsed-- at least the inside. The theory is that the coffee residue buildup helps preserve the flavor of the coffee. Whether this is true or not is debatable I suppose.

That being said, I'd clean the outside with soap and water, but there comes a point when these things are just stained.

I've heard you can boil it in a solution of vinegar and water, but I've never done this myself.

We use ours regularly, and while I've never worried much about cleaning the outside, I've always wondered if there's more I should do to clean the inside? We just scrub it out well with a brush (or wipe with a paper towel) and water, never any soap. I've wondered about the vinegar technique, but always worried about a lingering vinegar taste/smell... And definitely keep an eye on the rubber gasket, when it starts to get cracked/crumbly we replace it (you can buy them at houseware stores).

Although as I said I don't bother with cleaning the outside much, I imagine scrubbing with Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend (or maybe even just baking soda?) would work well...

A shopkeeper that sells them once told me to use vinegar. I have never tried it, but it is simple enough, I suppose.

I also have been using a brush to scrub pots and pans and dishes and it seems to help a lot. I got a handful of the brushes at IKEA for about 50 cents apiece. They are great!

We have a similarly hard time keeping a small aluminum sauce pan we have shiny. I had just resigned myself to it being dull. But then I made simple syrup in it once, and where the syrup dripped down the side (a large area - I was in a hurry) it got all sparkly again. Bizarre! I have no idea why; I've been meaning to experiment to see if I could somehow clean the whole things with hot syrup. Just putting it out there...

I have used a baking soda paste on mine where there are stains but just once in awhile, mine is still pretty new so I don't know if this would work on something that aged.

I'd advise against using vinegar to restore metal - I've tried it on steel, and while it'll cut through grime fairly well, it also leaves the most obnoxious residue imaginable. The baking soda paste others have recommended is not too bad, but if you don't mind the chemical approach, any household metal polish will do the job - I've used autosol and brasso, the latter being my preferred noxious substance of choice for cleaning metal to a shine.

However, it goes without saying that either of these are not optimal for culinary items - you need to be especially vigilant cleaning and wiping the surface after using either, although I've found ordinary soap and water, combined with a thorough rubbing dry, removes any harmful residue (I should mention that I use this technique to clean up a mild steel eating knife I use for re-enactment events, and it's not killed or poisoned us yet!)

The core of the problem with any metal object is of course oxidisation - with steel and iron we see this is as rust, and stainless steel is designed to resist rusting. Aluminium "rusts" too however, that dull patinia caitlin mentions is the aluminium oxide layer forming over time and the process is accelerated further by heating.

Sadly, mine went through the dishwasher once but I have used Bon Ami on it and it looks brand new again without scratching.

I second Ingdesign's suggestion: Bon Ami for everything!

I've always used baking soda to clean inside and out. It works! Doesn't need to be done everyday just when it looks like it needs a good scrubbing.

Mine always look bad (they get heavily used) -- I don't let it stress me. Since they can be had for only $7 (at Zabar's), buy a new one for display.

Everything I've ever read says that soap should NEVER touch the pot. If you put soap on the outside, it will discolour the aluminum and if you put it on the inside, supposedly it will leave a soapy taste that is very hard to get rid of. Personally, I give it a good rinse in boiling hot water from the kettle or very hot tap water. It took some getting used to because we're so obsessed with being clinically sanitary here in North America (it still irks me not to use soap on my cast iron pan), but that's the way it's done in the countries that use these moka pots for their coffee.

I think that you can buy aluminum polishing compound at auto supply stores - people use it for car wheels.

Bon Ami!!!!!!!!
On EVERYTHING is right. The stuff is cheap and works wonders on everything. I've used Bon Ami on the outside of our mokka pot and it is all nice and shiny on the outside now.

As much as I hate that my moka doesn't have a pristine new look. I guess my Italian friend kicked me hard into the habit of simply rinsing the moka. No scrubbing, no soap, etc. From what he always told me, they believed it helped capture more flavor for future use.

I've had mine for so many years its my camping coffee maker...I just fill up the sink with hot water let it soak and wipe clean.

I don't know if this applies exactly, but I have had great success cleaning the residue off the insides of thermoses this way: 3 t baking soda, and then fill with boiling water. All the gunk comes off almost immediately. Repeat if necessary.

I noticed the pot in the picture has a melted drip on the bottom of the handle, just like mine. Any tips on preventing the handle from getting so hot while still keeping the pot itself over the flame?

Just posted on the other thread. Jewelers Rouge is the way to go. Search for "jewelers rouge dremel" or just jewelers rouge on youtube for tips. Steer clear of the ones with large power tools which most don't have on hand and aren't polishing an entire mack truck big rig! http://youtu.be/Asd7GAio00s

re: how to prevent handle melting: make an aluminum foil skirt by doubling a sheet of foil over and cutting a slot and a hole in the middle, then pinching/folding all the edges to keep the two layers together. you can then wrap it around the waist of the moka pot when you put it over the heat. it protects the handle (and your hand) and helps transfer more of the stove's heat to the bottom chamber rather than allowing it to pass quickly up the sides of the pot.

If you want to restore the shine to the exterior you will need to buff it out. If you have a Dremel tool with a buffing wheel that'l work. You would need some buffing compound for aluminum of course.