How to Clean a Keurig without Vinegar | A Complete Easy Guide

The accessories and appliances you use in your daily life require maintenance to function properly. As we all know that our appliances won’t be of great help when they’re getting a bit rusty due to overuse. The same goes for your Keurig coffee maker. Although owning a Keurig does mean you’re free from mainstream hassles that an average coffee lover has to go through, you still have to give the machine some of your time every once in a while and care for it.

Why You Should Clean Your Keurig Coffee Maker

We all love coffee, and we all dislike it when our precious morning coffee is ruined, right? Well, the same can be said about the coffee you will be drinking in a few days from now if you refrain from cleaning your Keurig coffee maker. Single-serve coffee makers are undoubtedly our peace of mind. However, the leftover water in the reservoir for long periods of time can result in the growth of mold and minerals. This also raises the question of how long can you leave water in your Keurig? The answer is that the quicker you drain it, the better. Your coffee might start to taste or smell a bit moldy if you don’t give your attention to your coffee maker’s care.

So, in this article, we will be guiding you through the cleaning process of your Keurig. We’ll be going through several methods of cleaning different parts of your Keurig coffee maker. So, if you have any queries like how to clean a Keurig without vinegar, hold tight. We got your back!

How to Clean Keurig Mini

First things first, we need to address when you should be cleaning your Keurig coffee maker. For the removable parts, it is best to wash them every week or so.  As for the internal parts, such as the cartridges, you should wash them every 2 months. So, now that we’ve cleared things up let us get right into the cleaning part.

Things You’ll Need

• Water
• A small brush
• Cotton cloth
• Soap
• Paper clip
• Vinegar

1. To start off, unplug your Keurig coffee maker.
2. Remove the external parts such as the water container, K-cup holder, pod, etc. Thoroughly wash these parts with soap and water.

Note: If your coffee maker is dishwasher safe, then don’t hesitate to avail this opportunity and head for the sink.

3. You can clean your pod holder with soapy water. As for the needle hole, try using a paper clip to get the dirt out.
4. Take the cotton cloth and slightly make it wet. Run it around the disassembled machine.
5. Use the brush to clean the area around the K-cup holder. You’ll likely find lots of trapped ground there. Scrub it all with the brush.
6. The internal parts of your Keurig coffee maker need just as much cleaning as the external ones. Use the vinegar for cleaning them.
7. After cleaning it with the cloth and brush, reassemble your machine and fill the water reservoir with vinegar.
8. Run your Keurig coffee maker with the vinegar a few times. Let it simply brew hot vinegar and circulate it throughout its body.
9. Empty the Keurig coffee maker and wash the container with water. Do the same what you did with vinegar, but this time with plain simple water.
10. After running the coffee maker on plain water, you can empty it once again and leave it till your next normal use.

Refer to our third step if you want to know how to clean Keurig needle. And that is all! You’ll find your Keurig coffee maker as smooth as new next time you brew your morning coffee. If you find the vinegar’s color becoming brownish, then rest assured your cleaning process was successful. But we’re not done yet with our guide. There are a few things to discuss. Especially for our readers who do not prefer vinegar for cleaning.

How to Clean a Keurig Without Vinegar

In case you’re not a fan of vinegar for cleaning or you just cannot get your hands on it, for now, don’t worry. There are several ways to clean your Keurig without using vinegar. Our first recommendation would be to use a baking powder and water solution since baking powder has similar oxidization properties. It also helps to battle bacteria and takes care of growing mold and minerals. Another alternative we have for you is none other than Keurig’s very own descaling chemical. The company has made its own cleaning solution to provide its customers a safe and effective cleaning process. Simply use any of these alternatives instead of the vinegar and repeat the above-mentioned process. You’ll find little to no difference between the cleaning properties of the three choices you have.

How to Drain a Keurig

Most of the cleaning problems arise when your Keurig has left-over water in its internal container. To avoid mold and minerals from growing inside, your best bet is to drain your Keurig after every use. The method is simple, and no, we won’t be draining it through disassembly.

1. Empty your outer water tank. Place a cup below the needle to catch the drained water.
2. Don’t use a coffee pod since you only have to drain the water.
3. You’ll find a movable disc in your water tank, located on its wall. Move the disc and start brewing the water inside the machine.
4. This way, you’ll have tricked Keurig into thinking that the outer tank has water.
5. Keurig will now brew out the remaining water from its inner water tank. Your coffee maker will now be drained.

Final Verdict

So that was our guide on how to clean your Keurig coffee maker. Remember, for the ideal performance of your machine; you need to give it a full cleaning session every 2-3 months. As for the prevention of mold and bacteria growth, we suggest you drain out your leftover water after every use through our above-stated procedure. This way, your Keurig will work as well as it did the first time you bought it!

For further information, you can also check out some of the best YouTube tutorials on how to clean a Keurig without vinegar.

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