toss the filters

yea, the carafe for the distilled water is plastic. it is the good kind(hard) and wont stay in there that long anyway. i transfer from that into glass for storage.

dont ever use the filters.

for cleaning, i use a scotch pad, the green ones, for scrubbing it out with water after every time. once a certain amount of buildup appears, about a week or two, then i use white vinegar to let it soak full strength right on the bottom and sometimes fill with hot water and add some vinegar for the sides or scrub with vinegar. if the buildup gets too much in the heating unit, then it can effect the taste of the water.

thats it. it works great.