How to Clean Your Keurig Machine

Wondering the best way to clean your Keurig machine? Look no further than these simple steps! You’ll be enjoying your cup of coffee from a clean Keurig machine in no time!

Keurigs have made making coffee (or tea) so easy since they stormed the store shelves a few years ago. I love that I can customize everyone’s cup of coffee (or tea) to their preferences without much of a hassle.

And there are so many awesome Keurig flavors out there to treat all of our taste buds. But, so many people tend to overlook the fact that there are cleaning and maintenance to the Keurig that has to be done. To keep every cup tasting amazing it is important that you clean your Keurig regularly.

Why Clean Your Keurig?

Even with regular use, your Keurig will acquire mineral buildup in many places. If not properly cleaned, your Keurig could also grow mold in both visible and nonvisible places within the machine.

Along with the mold issue, you can also start to taste a difference as well as notice that the machine isn’t functioning as smoothly. In order to keep everything running top-notch, cleaning your Keurig is a must.

When to Clean Your Keurig

Keurig themselves suggests cleaning your Keurig Machine every 3-6 months. The determining factor here is really what type of water you use in your machine. If your Keurig Machine tends to build up limescale quickly then it is best to do it every 3 months. If you are using a filtered or purified water you should be able to go 5 to 6 months between cleanings.

If you notice that your coffee doesn’t taste as good as it normally does or your Keurig doesn’t seem to be working as well as it did it is time to clean your Keurig Machine. That is one of the biggest clues!

The Best Ways to Clean Your Keurig

Cleaning your Keurig Machine is also commonly referred to as descaling your Keurig. Here are some simple tips on descaling Keurig with white vinegar and other commercial cleaners.

Vinegar

Your regular white distilled vinegar is all you need to clean your Keurig machine. You will need just enough to fill your water reservoir about halfway.

Commercial Cleaners

You can buy commercial cleaners for your Keurig both online and in many stores. These cleaners are meant to give your Keurig the best clean possible.

If you choose to use the natural cleaning methods but there is a clog you just can’t get out, this commercial Keurig cleaner would be the next step.

Commercial cleaner doesn’t have to be your second step. If you prefer to use the commercial Keurig cleaner as your first (and only) step that is fine too.

How to Clean A Keurig with Vinegar

Remove the water reservoir and the lid, cup stand and wash them in warm soapy water
While the other pieces are drying, wipe down the outside of your Keurig machine
Don’t forget to wipe around the nozzle where coffee and tea granules tend to build up
Use your vinegar and fill your water reservoir about halfway full
Fill it the reservoir the rest of the way with water
Place a cup or bowl on the cup stand to catch the water
Run your brew cycle like you normally would
Dump the cup or bowl as needed between brewing cycles
Continue to run the brew cycle until the reservoir is empty
Refill the reservoir with plain water
Run the brewing cycle as many times as needed to once again empty the reservoir while dumping the cup or bowl as needed
You may need to run the plain water cycle a couple of times to remove any leftover vinegar taste.

If you like these cleaning tips, check out these other posts as well:

How to Clean Your Keurig without Vinegar

Remove the water reservoir and the lid, cup stand and wash them in warm soapy water
While the other pieces are drying, wipe down the outside of your Keurig machine
Don’t forget to wipe around the nozzle where coffee and tea granules tend to build up
Pour your bottle of descaling solution into the water reservoir
Refill the bottle with water and dump into the reservoir
Place a cup or bowl on the mug stand
Run brewing cycles until the reservoir is empty, dumping the cup or bowl as needed
Let your Keurig Machine sit and rest for 30 minutes
Rinse the reservoir out and refill with plain water
Run the brewing cycle 12 times to rinse out the remaining cleaning solution

Tips for cleaning a Keurig machine

Before you start any sort of cleaning process for your Keurig be sure to unplug it. Once your Keurig Machine is wiped down, it is safe to plug your Keurig Machine back in.

It’s super easy to forget to grab the items you need from the store when it comes time to clean your Keurig Machine. It is for this reason that I always keep what I need on hand so I can clean my Keurig Machine whenever the time comes. In just a few short minutes you will have that wonderful cup of coffee (or tea) again. Not to mention keeping up on the cleaning of your Keurig Machine will help your Keurig last longer.

Because one of the worst possible scenarios is to wake up and not be able to have your cup of coffee or tea!