How to Clean a Keurig

by iupilon
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How to clean a Keurig filter? If you have a Keurig pod coffee system at home, you’re probably wondering how to keep the filter as clean as possible, to get better-flavored coffee. How can coffee lovers clean their Keurig with vinegar? Or how to clean a Keurig needle? People also want to know how to descale Keurig without vinegar. We’re going to tackle how you can keep your Keurig filter clean at home so that you can make better coffee every time.

The fact of the matter is that Keurig machines, no matter how advanced the model you have at home, will eventually develop clogs. Not only will these clogs affect the quality of your coffee, but these clogs can also eventually make your Keurig pod coffee system quit altogether. This is what we are trying to avoid, so you must know how to clean the filter as a means of low-cost maintenance.

How to clean and descale a Keurig with white vinegar?

Cleaning a Keurig coffee machine with vinegar is easy. You will only need some soap, water, white vinegar, and a cleaning cloth. The first steps are to unplug the machine. Never clean your coffee machine while it is plugged in, to avoid any electrical accidents.

After unplugging the coffee machine, pull out the water reservoir, the stand for the mug, and the K-cup holder. Wash these individual parts separately with some warm water and dish soap. You can also soak them in dishwater if you like if you want to get tougher scales and stains out. After soaking and rinsing, wipe down these parts of the coffee system and air dry before adding them back to the machine.

Before returning the removable parts of the coffee system, wipe the outside of the coffee system, and make sure you remove any stains or granules where the cup is located, stains are fairly common here.

After securing all of the parts, you have just washed, plug in your coffee system again. Fill the water reservoir halfway with pure white vinegar. It has to be white vinegar as this type of vinegar is particularly effective in cleaning coffee machines. Fill the rest of the reservoir with distilled water, if possible.

Run the system and allow the vinegar to permeate the system, plus the filter, of course. Remove the K-cup for now. Allow the mug to fill with the solution as the system runs, and remove the contents of the mug and continue receiving the contents of the water reservoir.

After running one course of cleaner through your system, the next step is to rinse it. Rinsing the system helps remove the taste and smell of vinegar from your Keurig coffee system. While the smell and taste will eventually dissipate, it would be best to rinse the system several times until the vinegar is washed off completely.

Rinsing your Keurig is easy – you just need plain water to remove traces of the vinegar. Simply fill the water reservoir with water (no soap or anything else) and run the system. Remove the rinse water and continue draining the system. Smell the water to make sure that the vinegary smell is gone.

If the vinegar smell is gone, turn off the machine, and it is now ready for another day of making coffee.

Can I use vinegar to descale Keurig?

The process we described is capable of removing scale build-up, stains, and other nasty things that can accumulate in the months that you have been using your Keurig coffee system. The manufacturer recommends that consumers descale their coffee systems every three to six months to maintain the quality of the coffee and to prolong the life of the coffee system.  

Cleaning Notes

  • Keurig does not recommend the use of distilled water or softened water for cleaning their system or even making coffee. The best type of water is spring water or bottled water if you like. The manufacturer knows best, so if you can use spring water, do it.
  • If your coffee system is not working properly, you may want to look at the entrance and exit needles and clean these out.
  • Does the water line seem clogged? Pushing air through the water line can easily remove blockages.
  • Soaking the removable parts of a coffee system is commonly done to remove stains and other contaminants easily. If you haven’t cleaned your coffee system for a long time, we recommend scrubbing these parts with a soft (non-abrasive) sponge.
    There is no need to go overboard with the dish soap, and gentle scrubbing is all you need to clean the inside and outside of each of the removable parts of the coffee system.
  • It might be a good idea to wash the water reservoir more frequently to avoid build-ups in the future. Any sitting water in the water reservoir should be removed before descaling. Inspect the cavity where the water reservoir is placed and wipe with a clean cloth. A little water and a cleaning cloth will go a long way. Do not attempt to clean the inner parts of your Keurig coffee system with soap, especially the parts that have to do with the inner plumbing. Take the opportunity to remove used pods as well, if any, is to be found.
  • Feel free to use a pin or the tip of a folding clip to clean the needle that punctures the K-cups. The entrance and exit needles are responsible for getting fluids going into the system. Simply push the metal part of the clip inside the needle until you can scrape off any grime that has built up in the system.
    Wipe away the grime from the opposite end (assuming that you are pushing from under the hood) and repeat until the needles are completely grime-free.
    If you don’t seem to be getting any grime, simply rotate the clip to free accumulation from around the inside of the needles. The needles are hollow, so the inner sections should have some grime if you have been using the system for some months now.

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