How to Descale a Keurig Coffee Maker

Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about How to Descale a Keurig Coffee Maker and hope the blog can help you.

Is your morning cuppa tasting a little funky? Removing mineral deposits that have built up inside your Keurig can improve your the taste of your coffee and prolong the life of the machine.

Whether your daily drink of choice is a frothy latte, creamy hot cocoa, or an old-fashioned cup of Joe, the Keurig can help satisfy your caffeine cravings in record time, all without leaving pesky spills behind. But after serving up buzzworthy beverages around the clock, even a no-fuss, no-mess coffee dispenser like the Keurig requires a routine cleanup to keep up with your coffee habit and keep out the most unsavory of intruders: limescale. Learning how to descale a Keurig can put your beverage ritual to rights again in a jiffy.

What is limescale, and why does it build up in my Keurig?

Limescale—or calcium carbonate—can form on the inside of any heated appliance when hot water evaporates and leaves behind solid white calcium and magnesium deposits. Limescale is particularly prone to developing in areas with hard water, due to its high mineral content. Hard water develops when rainwater travels over rocks, and picks up tiny mineral particles along the way. If left untreated, the chalky culprit can diminish the look of a coffee maker and produce a bitter aftertaste in your morning Joe, and even prevent your Keurig from heating properly.

Fortunately, even stubborn limescale breaks down when exposed to the acetic compounds found in a commercial descaling solution or the household equivalent, white vinegar. The descaling process is the same, whether you opt for Keurig’s Descaling Solution or white vinegar, and the results are similar. The main downside to descaling and cleaning with vinegar is that the Keurig company could potentially void the machine’s warranty if users have descaled with non-Keurig branded cleaning solutions.

Use your preferred solution when you follow these descaling instructions for how to clean a Keurig coffee maker, and follow through with the routine every 3 to 6 months. For those who have one of the company’s newest coffee makers, the machine may even remind you to descale with an alert. Done regularly, you’ll not only improve the taste of your brewed beverages but also extend the life of your Keurig coffee machine.

How is a Keurig different from a drip coffee maker?

Keurig machines differ from standard drip coffee makers in that they use pods filled with ground coffee rather than a standard coffee filter, into which grounds are poured. While a Keurig’s mode of operation may be different, the cleaning process for Keurig and drip coffee makers is relatively similar.

Both drip coffee makers and pod coffee makers need to be cleaned and descaled regularly in order to ensure that coffee continues to taste great. Keurig machines and drip coffee makers both typically have cleaning cycles, which makes the process simple and user-friendly.

Before You Begin

How do you know when your Keurig machine needs to be descaled? Some new models have an indicator light that will alert you when there’s limescale buildup, but older models don’t. Signs that a machine needs descaling include:

• The coffee is dispensing more slowly.
• You see chalky white residue in the machine’s interior.
• The machine continues to drip after the coffee has been dispensed.

Before you start the descaling process, begin by preparing the machine. Unplug the Keurig from the electrical outlet, empty the water reservoir, and remove any K Cups that are in the machine. Have a large mug at the ready, too—you’ll need it when draining out the descaling solution.