When you think of a cup of energy, you probably think of caffeine, not how to clean a Keurig. You may have bought the machine to avoid cleaning a traditional coffee maker, but you shouldn’t ignore it. Keurig’s are a speedy way to start the day or escape the afternoon crash, but you still need to maintain your caffeine hero. Do not wait until your coffee tastes strange or your coffee machine has buildup every time you open it.
Whether you have a Keurig K-Mini Single Serve Coffee Maker or a K-Elite with a five-cup water tank, it needs regular cleaning and disinfection to perform properly. K-Cup capsule holders are moist and gloomy. Waste. The drip tray under the coffee cup gathers water and microorganisms and debris from the coffee cups. Hard water generates mineral buildup that can damage Keurig systems. You shouldn’t have to spend all your energy cleaning a Keurig coffee maker. Quite ironic.
Keurig’s are straightforward to maintain, especially if you set a reminder to descale them. We leave you a step-by-step guidance to keep your machine clean and make great coffee every day. Let’s start find out How to clean a Keurig coffee maker.
How to clean a Keurig coffee maker
To clean your Keurig coffee maker, first take it out of the wall. Take it apart and use warm, soapy water to clean the parts that can be taken off. Use a paperclip to clean out any holes that are clogged. To get rid of mineral buildup, run a descaling solution through the brewer. Finally, run a few rounds with clean water to make sure everything is clean. After being cleaned, your Keurig will be ready to make coffee.
What is the best way to clean a Keurig?
You can clean a Keurig in three steps: clean the outside, rinse out jams and buildup, and descale to get rid of calcium deposits. Buying a Keurig descaling solution and upkeep kit, which you can find on Amazon, is the easiest and least time-consuming thing you can do. But you can use things around the house, like white vinegar and pure water, to stop limescale from building up.
Step 1
You can’t mix water and power. Before you start to clean your Keurig, unplug it.
Step 2
Take out the water tank or storage. Pour the extra water somewhere close, if possible on a plant. Cleaning the tank with warm water once a week is a good idea. Take out and put back in the water filter cartridge every two months if your Keurig has one. Scrub the drip tray’s sides with an old toothbrush to get rid of coffee residue. It can also be used to clean under the K-Cup pack holder, which is where the coffee comes out. Let everything dry in the air.
Step 3
Take care of the capsule case. To get the machine open, lift the handle and gently push the K-Cup holder from below. You may not have known this, but it comes off. This is split in two, and the tube with the coffee making needle is one of them. Make small circles inside the hole with a paper clip to get rid of any coffee residue and any jams that are stuck. You can use a toothbrush, a wet cotton swab, or even a mascara pen that hasn’t been used yet. When you’re done, use hot water to clean the funnel and K-Cup holder. Don’t forget to clean the needle for the IV. A paper clip can help you with this.
Step 4
To clean the water tank more thoroughly, use white vinegar or a descaling product to get rid of the mineral buildup. This should only be done every three to six months.
Step 5
Now, use only fresh water to start the treatment cycle. Don’t take the pill yet because you’re not going to make coffee. Do this step more than once to get rid of the vinegar or chemical used to remove scale.
Step 6
Wipe the outside of your Keurig with a microfiber cloth to get rid of water spots and make it look new again.
How can I clean the inside of my Keurig?
Empty the descaling solution into the water tank, and then fill it up with filtered water. If you need to, you can also buy distilled water, but tap water will do in a pinch. Turn on the machine again and plug it back in. Then, put the biggest cup you have under the sprout. Set the machine to make the biggest cup (8 or 10 ounces). Start the period of infusion.
Pour the solution from the cup into the sink as you go, and do this again and again until the container is empty. Leave the machine alone for about 30 minutes after you’re done so the solution can soak into the parts inside. Then use clean water to rinse the tank and start a new brewing cycle without coffee. The manufacturing directions for Keurig say that it takes about a dozen cycles to get rid of all the chemicals so they don’t get into your coffee. Last but not least, put an empty cup under the tube in case water gets out. For your morning coffee, your Keurig should be clean.
How can I clean my Keurig with white vinegar?
If you do not have any descaling product for Keurig on hand, you can use white vinegar to clean it. You need to mix water and vinegar in equal parts. Put white vinegar in half of the tank and then water until the top is full. Fill the tank up to the top with vinegar. If you do, the coffee might taste like vinegar, which is probably not what you want. Open the lid of the Keurig so that the solution can get inside. The vinegar mix can stay in the machine for up to three hours, but no more than thirty minutes.
Put your cup in place, turn on the machine, and let it brew until the tank is empty. Fill up the tank with clean water and let the vinegar get rid of the minerals that have built up. Just like you did with the descaler, run a few infusion rounds with clean water to get rid of all the vinegar. In case it leaks, leave a cup that is empty on the base.
Read More: How to unclog a Keurig coffee maker – 7 Easy Steps
Is vinegar enough to clean a Keurig?
Whenever you want to switch K-Cup tastes, like from coffee to hot chocolate, you can give the pods a quick rinse with white vinegar. You can also use Keurig rinse pods to quickly clean them. Put it in the machine and set it to eight ounces. They are going to hit! The star is your new taste choice. A rinse pod once a week will make your coffee taste like a professional bartender made it, even if you only like one flavor. To keep your Keurig in good shape, wipe down the outside with dish soap and a damp cloth.
Read More: How to clean a Keurig 2.0 easily
Conclusion
To sum up, cleaning your Keurig coffee maker is important for keeping it working well and making it last a long time. Making sure your machine makes great coffee and stays free of buildup and bugs is easy. Just do these steps every so often. Don’t forget that a clean Keurig makes better coffee.
