Hi there! It’s Christine from First Home Love Life, and I’m back at the cottage today to show you how I clean my most beloved and hardest working kitchen appliance; my Keurig coffee maker! Learning how to clean a Keurig will make your coffee even better.
Keeping this machine running smoothly and making great tasting coffee is an absolute must for me, and it only takes a few minutes to do. Here’s how…
First, remove the drip tray and clean it out with warm water and dish soap. Then remove the water reservoir and dump any water inside. Remove the filter as well and check to see if it needs to be changed.
Next, Open the lid where you put your Kcups. Take something long and pointy like a toothpick or skewer and find the Kcup piercer on the underside of the lid, be careful it’s very sharp! You should see a small hole in the middle of the piercer, put the skewer/toothpick into the hole and wiggle it around to loosen any clogged coffee grounds.
Once that’s done, remove the Kcup holder- clean it out, and give that area around it a good wipe down with warm soapy water and a cloth.
Continue to wipe down the outside of the machine, as well.
Now, fill your water reservoir that we removed earlier up with good ol’ distilled white vinegar.
Get out a cup and let the vinegar run through the Keurig a few times to clean it out, you’ll be surprised what comes out of there…
Empty the remaining vinegar out of the reservoir when it runs clean into your mug, then wash out the reservoir with water and soap. Add your charcoal filter back in, fill with water and let the clean water cycle through a few times to get rid of the residual vinegar taste…
Then pop in your favorite Kcup and enjoy a nice hot brew of fresh coffee out of your almost new again machine!
Cleaning your Keurig once a month like this will prolong its life and keep it running great, and let’s face it…a day without coffee is…well…a very scary thought! 😉
I love sharing cleaning and organizing tips like this over on my blog where you can find tips like…
How to make your own disposable cleaning wipes
Or how to make an organized mail/bill paying center in your home!
I’d love it if you followed along…
Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +, and Twitter
Talk to you soon friends, take care!
XO-Christine
Carol in the Land of Oz says
April 18, 2014 at 8:29 amI like to take the coffee mug with vinegar water and let it cool a bit. Then stick it in the microwave and set for 1 minute. When the buzzer goes off, let it sit in there a little while, then open the door and wash down the microwave too. Get two uses of that vinegar!!
Kristy @ Kristy's Health Revolution says
April 18, 2014 at 10:02 amI’ll be doing this this weekend!! Thanks!
Carrie @ The Birtch Bunch says
April 19, 2014 at 10:21 pmGina – it’s like you’re reading my mind! I was thinking today about doing this today – seeing as it’s just been over a month since we jumped onto the K-Cup band wagon (and we’re not looking back!) I was going to go dig out the owners manual, instead I’m printing your post and taping it to the inside of my kitchen cupboard. Thank you!!!
Wendy Schultz says
May 1, 2014 at 5:29 amThanks for sharing these tips! The Keurig has been a bit tricky to clean. These seems really easy though!
Marlene Parker says
May 17, 2014 at 3:40 pmHow do you know if the charcoal filter needs replaced, how often should they be changed and where do you purchase them??
Thanks,
Marlene
Jackie Sheahan says
July 1, 2014 at 10:21 amI used a pipe cleaner to clean the cup piercer. It was easier and a lot more efficient. It went all the way up inside and the bristle did a through job.
Cleaning my Kerurig made a big difference in the amount of coffee my husband was getting in his cup. Since I don’t drink coffee I didn’t realize it wasn’t working right. I,m glad I ran across this site.
Thanks so much.
Jackie
judy says
October 31, 2014 at 9:29 amWhere is the filter?
Gina Luker says
November 10, 2014 at 1:00 pmYou will have to refer to your manual cause each one may be different
Debbie says
January 16, 2015 at 11:57 pmDon’t waste the vinegar! When I clean my Keurig I also liberally sprinkle the bathtub with baking soda. I add some blue Dawn to the first cup of hot vinegar and sprinkle it over the baking soda in the tub. I pour each cup of plain hot vinegar onto the baking soda and then let it sit several hours before I scrub and rinse the tub. The hot vinegar really makes a difference with the Dawn and baking soda.
bigjava.org says
March 14, 2015 at 2:53 amI hate leaving the “good post” comment cuz it looks like I am trying to spam you, but…good post!
Michelle Noel says
May 8, 2015 at 10:36 amThank you so much for this! I got a single-cup brewer for my dorm and this is so helpful. Gosh. <3
Deb Austin says
May 12, 2015 at 10:44 pmTo Marlene Parker about a year ago. I just happened to see this. The recommended # of times to fill the reservoir before changing the filter is about 60. You can keep up with the fills or what I do is I know on the average how many times a week I refill the reservoir. (3) For us that is about 20 weeks or 5 months. Use your judgment, however. If you have hard water and your coffee is not as delish as you usually make, go ahead and change it a little early. If you are using filtered water to fill the reservoir, then I wouldn’t waste the money on another filter unless you feel that your coffee is better with the second one added.
Happy Podding.
* Use those pods to start your seeds early before you plant them outside *
Thelma says
November 27, 2016 at 10:47 pmIt would be nice of you showed where the filter is. Thanks
Gina Luker says
November 30, 2016 at 12:25 pmThelma, it depends on which model you have , go to their site and you should be able to see for your model 🙂
Mark says
January 13, 2018 at 12:06 pmThanks, Rock Star! We just got a model K455 for Christmas and have been overworking it daily! I’m gonna make one more double hot cocoa then get to running the vinegar through like I always did with the old Cuisinart carafe machine. I’m only going to use 1/2 part vinegar to 1/2 water though.
Gina Luker says
January 15, 2018 at 3:16 pmGood for you Mark!
Lisa B. says
July 25, 2018 at 3:28 pmI had just descaled my Keurig with vinegar and done a deep cleanse of the reservoir and replaced the filter 2 days ago when I noticed that biofilm had already grown in the water reservoir. There are only 2 of us in our household, so the machine gets fairly light use. It made me wonder what might be growing INSIDE the machine though. So, I ran a 50/50 solution of bleach and water. OMG what came out was bleach water the color of dark coffee. It was so full of suspended fine black particulate matter that it clogged the needle. After cleaning the needle, I dumped out the remaining bleach water and ran a reservoir of full strength vinegar. This time the vinegar was the color of tea. I faithfully descale my machine, and the vinegar has never been remotely this filthy. After completing the vinegar descaling, and 3 full reservoirs of cold water later, the water finally ran clear. I’m sure the manufacturer doesn’t recommend this method, and I did it at my own risk, but what have we been ingesting from machines that we presumed were clean? Bacteria? Mold? From now on, I plan to run a half reservoir of a more diluted bleach solution through my machine on a regular basis.
Gina Luker says
July 26, 2018 at 9:58 amYikes Lisa, that is scary! Thanks for sharing, makes me feel the need to go clean mine again!!!
eva says
March 22, 2020 at 1:32 pmI did exactly what you did with the same results! I was shocked. I don’t think I can use a Keurig again.