Death of the Zojirushi Air pot

I've had my air pot unplugged for a few weeks. I noticed some black flecks in the water & unplugged it. Today I finally busted out the steel wool and CLR - hoping to clean up a bit of rust or hard water build up, but after 20 minutes I deem the airpot unsafe and beyond repair. I tried, but it was in vain. Alice gave me that air pot when she left to NYC. This all happened a while ago and with a little work it was back to new. I thought about getting a new one back then, but then I discovered that they are really stinkin' expensive. Maybe we'll be able to find a cheap one in Hong Kong. That airpot had a long & useful life and will be missed...until I get used to the reclaimed counter space that is.