I was running low on my usual instant decaf coffee and since I had some rewards points to use at Walgreens (plus they were offering free shipping on any amount spent at that time), I decided to order my decaf from them. They were sold out online of instant decaf, so I ordered ground decaf coffee. No problem -- we have our old drip coffee maker I could use. I didn't even think about filters.
After a few days of brewing my decaf, I noticed the stack of coffee filters in the cabinet looked really scrawny. I'm used to buying store brand coffee filters at Walmart or Fred Meyer, or even from Dollar Tree. There have been no store brand coffee filters available for online shopping at any of these stores. And I wasn't about to spend double or triple what I'm used to for coffee filters, at least not yet.
So, I was wondering to myself just how many times you can reuse a coffee filter. I've scooped out used grounds and refilled a couple of times in the past, so this isn't completely new territory for me. My biggest concern is mold growth from reusing a coffee filter over multiple days. To counter that, this is what I've been doing. After I brew my coffee, I scoop/dump out the grounds, give the filter a quick rinse with water, then allow to dry until the next morning. Seems to be working.
one thing that surprised me -- coffee filter paper is relatively durable, much more so than the common college student coffee filter substitute -- paper towels. Paper towels do work in a pinch, though.
I was a bit hesitant to mention my coffee filter reuse here, as this may be a little too extreme for some folks' tastes. Then I found this article that completely backs me up. The article says that coffee filters can be reused at least 4 or 5 times. With that usage, I can make my dwindling supply last a couple of months.
