is half the battle! All the finished powder, is a real ship in the garbage when you have this mortar. Cleaning is very simple (wet paper towels ...), a bit of force should have, if only for lifting the shelf. Please be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for the initial cleaning! Only scrub with water, washing up liquid and a brush, let it dry. Then 3 tsp salt (whether coarse or normal) mortars extensively. I repeated the process two times.