In this article, we will discuss the top methods to descale a Keurig. Many coffee machines including Keurig get a limescale over time and this can affect the machines’ performance along with the taste of the coffee as well. Descaling the coffee machine is the only solution to get rid of this problem. You can try various methods to descale the machine. Vinegar is one of the cheapest and most effective solutions to descale a Keurig. However, you can also use a commercial cleaner or lemon juice as well.
Best Methods to Descale a Keurig:
1. Preparation for Descaling
Before starting with the ingredients to clean the Keurig, it is important to prepare the coffee maker for descaling. This will help to remove all the waste and dirt from Keurig thoroughly and give you effective results.
Steps to Follow:
- Leave the cup holder or the funnel inside. This will help to clean the Keurig effectively with vinegar and other ingredients. This will guide the cleaning solutions to the exit spout and prevent any sort of mess.
- Take a reservoir ( water filter), set it aside and empty the water into the sink. Keep the reservoir at the side.
- Before starting the process make sure the coffee maker system is turned off.
- Keep the cleaning solution in the Keurig coffee maker for a longer period. While doing so switch the brewer.
2. Descale a Keurig with Vinegar
This is one of the easiest and convenient ways to clean a Keurig coffee maker. For this, you will need vinegar and water. However, avoid using apple cider vinegar as it tends to damage the parts of the Keurig.
Steps to Follow:
- Fill the water reservoir with distilled white vinegar. You should use one part of white vinegar and one part water. Well, using the undiluted vinegar can damage the inside of the machine.
- You should avoid using apple cider vinegar in the machine. There is no problem in using ACV to descale a Keurig but you will need to do some extra rinse with fresh water in order to get the entire flavor out.
- Alternatively, you can use lemon juice instead of using white vinegar. You need to fill the water tank half way with lemon juice. You would only need to fill one-third if the build-up is not too bad.
- Fill the machine reservoir which is left after pouring vinegar or lime with water. Make sure you do not overfill it. The water is quite necessary to dilute the vinegar and make it safer for the Keurig.
- Now, place a ceramic mug on the tray under the spout. You should choose something that holds about 300 milliliters so that you do not get any spills.
- Brew one cup of hot water and then transfer the water out into the sink. The white vinegar will flow through the coffee machine and dissolve any lime scale build-up. Keep on brewing and dumping the water out of the machine until the reservoir is empty.
- Allow the leftover vinegar to rest in the reservoir for three hours. Once the reservoir is empty, the machine will indicate then stop the brew cycle and let the Keurig sit for three hours again.
- Put remaining vinegar into a sink and wash it well. Your main focus is to get all the vinegar out of the reservoir. Now, fill the reservoir with fresh water to flush any remaining vinegar.
- Finally, brew a cup of hot water and it is normal if you notice a strong of vinegar. With each cup of hot water, the smell will start fading.
Methods to Descale Keurig without Vinegar
If you do not find vinegar effective, follow the below-listed ways to clean Keurig without vinegar. These methods are simple and the ingredients are easily available as well.
1. Citric Acid and Water to Clean a Keurig Coffee Maker
This method is quite effective in descaling a Keurig. You will need two tablespoons of citric acid per one liter of water. You can easily find the citric acid in the grocery stores. It is not necessary that the packet label citric acid some packet label it as “sour soda” instead.
Steps to Follow:
- Mix the citric acid completely in water before using it to descale a Keurig.
- If you have a smaller, single-cup brewer, such as a K130 Brewer or K10 Mini Plus then use one cup of liquid citric acid instead.
- You need to simply pour the citric acid solution into the machine reservoir. The citric acid will efficiently dissolve any lime scale build-up inside your coffee machine.
- To avoid any spills you need to place a mug beneath the drainage spout. The size of the cup should match the brew size. You can also use a larger cup instead.
- You need to follow the above-mentioned step for citric acid as well. Simply brew hot water as it will flow into the Keurig and dissolve any build-up inside. Repeat the step when reservoir gets empty.
- Turn off the machine just when it begins to brew if it is small Keurig such as the K10 Mini Plus or a K130. Let it sit for half an hour.
- Once, the reservoir is about to empty, refill it using cool water to flush out the remaining citric acid. This step is quite important as if you skip this step then you will experience a bad taste of coffee.
- Do not quit brewing cups of hot water until everything flushes out from the reservoir. For the smaller brewer, you will need to run the water through it about five times.
2. Keurig Cleaning Solution to Descale Keurig without Vinegar
If you do not find any of the above method effective, simply use a Keurig cleaning solution. Such solutions are designed according to the need of the Keurig coffee maker.
Steps to Follow:
- Fill the machine reservoir with one part cleaning Solution and one part water. Then, place a large mug under the dispenser.
- Brew a cup of hot water, and then pour the water out of the machine. Lift the handle and wait five seconds, then lower the handle.
- Now, if you have one of the Rivo Brewers then there is no need to wait till twenty minutes. Simply proceed to the next step.
- Rinse the reservoir by filling it with fresh water. Once the reservoir has no cleaning solution pull it out and rinse it well.
