• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Frugally Blonde logo
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Contact Me
  • Start Here
  • Store
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    FREE 7 DAY DECLUTTERING CHALLENGE
    jumpstart your decluttering in just 30 minutes a day!

    Home » Appliance Cleaning » Clean Your Keurig The Easy Way

    Clean Your Keurig The Easy Way

    By Julie

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

    1.6K shares
    • Share20
    • Tweet
    • Email

    Does your coffee have a funny taste? When was the last time you cleaned your Keurig? Try these easy steps to clean your Keurig.

    how to clean the keurig with vinegar

    Even though I am not a big coffee drinker, I love having a Keurig. We don't use it every day, but it is great to pull out when family or guests come over. I can make coffee, tea, or any other warm drink they would like.

    The problem is when I pull out the Keurig and it has those rings around the water container. It reminds me of my fishbowl when I didn't clean it often enough. Gross!

    Luckily you can easily clean and descale your Keurig with these simple Keurig cleaning hacks.

    Easy Ways To Clean Your Keurig

    There are 2 easy ways to clean your Keurig. You can use vinegar for a cheap and easy Keurig cleaning hack or you can use a descaling kit that is made by Keurig.

    Personally, I have used both and haven't noticed a large difference. Because it is much cheaper to use the vinegar cleaning hack I tend to stick to using it.

    But, if you would rather use a Keurig-approved kit I highly recommend this one on Amazon.

    Either method works great to clean and descale your Keurig.

    How To Clean A Keurig With Vinegar

    So, I love this easy way to clean your Keurig. It doesn't take much time and it makes the drinks taste so much better.

    clean your keurig

    Start by filling up the water container on the Keurig with vinegar. I like to fill it to at least halfway, but make sure the vinegar covers your water rings. Then let it sit for about 20 to 30 minutes.

    clean your keurig

    While the vinegar is sitting, get a cloth and pour some vinegar on the cloth. I just use a microfiber cloth to prevent lint from getting in the Keurig.

    Appliance Cleaning Printable

    FREE Appliance Cleaning Schedule!

    Keep your appliance clean with this easy appliance cleaning schedule!

    Wipe down and clean your Keurig on the outside. I usually get some buildup where the water container attaches to the Keurig. Wiping it down with vinegar helps get rid of it.

    clean your keurig

    I also recommend cleaning your Keurig inside where the k-cup goes. There is usually lots of coffee and tea powder in it so use a cloth to wipe it down. But, be careful of the spike at the top!

    clean your keurig

    After letting it sit, place a large cup below and run a large cup cycle. The vinegar will run through it and clean your Keurig out. The vinegar will probably look pretty gross.

    how-to-clean-your-keurig.jpg

    Dump out the cup and run one more large cup cycle. The second time through the vinegar looks much cleaner.

    how-to-clean-your-keurig.jpg

    Then pour out the remaining vinegar and rinse it out. Use a damp cloth to scrub out the inside. All of the water rings should be gone.

    Fill up the water container with more water and run another two large cup cycles through. This should be enough to clear all of the vinegar from the Keurig.

    how-to-clean-your-keurig.jpg

    Not only will your drinks taste better after getting all of the leftover coffee and tea off, but your Keurig will look better too.

    How To Use A Keurig Cleaning Kit

    Cleaning your Keurig with a cleaning kit is pretty easy. You can get a Keurig-approved kit at the store or grab this one on Amazon.

    To get started you want to turn the Keurig off. Remove any water filters you have in your Keurig.

    cleaning keurig with descaling solution

    Then pore the descaling solution into the Keurig where you normally add water. Refill the solution bottle with more water and dump that in too.

    Turn the Keurig back on and run a rinsing brew making sure you have a cup or mug below to catch the water. Continue to run a brew until the water light turns on.

    Once your add water light is on then set a timer for 30 minutes and let the Keurig soak. This will allow the descaling solution to sit in the machine and remove the hard water build-up and any limescale.

    After 30 minutes then dump out any remaining solution and thoroughly wash out the water container.

    Once you have washed the water container you will want to refill the container with fresh water and continue to run a rinsing brew to remove the descaling solution from the Keurig.

    Keurig recommends running 12 brews of water through after using the solution so you may have to refill your water container.

    Once you have run all the freshwater through you can replace your Keurig water filter and wipe down the outside of your Keurig.

    reset descale light on keurig

    If you clean your Keurig and you can't get the descale light to go off there is an easy trick. Just hold down the 8 oz. and 10 oz. buttons at the same time for 5 seconds and it will reset the descale light on the Keurig.

    Cleaning your Keurig is a simple task that only takes a little while. Try to clean your Keurig every few months for the best results. Looking for other cleaning tips? Check out the easiest way to clean your food processor.

    « Best Things To Buy In July
    Best Things To Buy In August »

    Julies Signature
    P.S. For more cleaning tips and decluttering hacks delivered to your inbox subscribe here!


    1.6K shares
    • Share20
    • Tweet
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alison says

      September 12, 2015 at 9:53 pm

      I so need to do this! Thanks for the great tip! 🙂

      • Julie says

        September 14, 2015 at 7:25 am

        Your welcome!

    2. Jenna @ A Savory Feast says

      September 14, 2015 at 9:11 am

      I do this to clean my Keurig and it makes such a difference! I've noticed that when the Keurig is clean there are 3 streams of coffee that come out of it. As it gets dirty, some get clogged so it comes out so much slower and doesn't make as much! Cleaning it every so often makes it work so much better and makes it taste better.

    3. Amber says

      September 14, 2015 at 1:59 pm

      Thanks for reminding me! I have the mini but I am sure its basically the same.

    4. Jenny says

      May 20, 2016 at 10:39 am

      Should I take the filter out ????

      • Julie says

        May 24, 2016 at 2:27 pm

        No, don't take anything out. Just run it through like you were using your Keurig normally.

    5. SORAYA THOMPSON says

      July 26, 2021 at 8:14 am

      Thank I need it to clean this solution to clean my keurig.

      • Julie says

        August 08, 2021 at 2:49 pm

        You are welcome! I hope it helped.

    6. Marilyn Hilton says

      August 01, 2021 at 7:51 am

      I have done this before But when I ran straight vinager
      my coffee pot stopped working and it was working just fine before
      Did I do something wrong

      • Julie says

        August 08, 2021 at 2:49 pm

        I have had this happen a few times and it is because the limescale build up is clogging the valve. I just let it sit over night and gently shook the Keurig to rattle the build up loose. Once I plugged it back in it ran fine again.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Julie! Welcome to Frugally Blonde! I’m Julie. I love sharing the best cleaning hacks, organizing tricks, & money-saving tips.

    More about me →

    Join The Challenge

    Decluttering Challenge

    Popular

    • How To Clean Butcher Block Countertops
    • How To Declutter Fast - 10 Things To Do Right Now!
    • clean the garbage disposal
      How To Clean A Smelly Garbage Disposal
    • How To Get Burnt Smell Out Of Microwave
    • Home
    • Articles
    • Contact Me
    • Start Here
    • Store

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Store

    Copyright © 2021 Julie Sellers LLC

    FREE 7 DAY DECLUTTERING CHALLENGE
    jumpstart your decluttering in just 30 minutes a day!
    TIRED OF CLUTTER?
    _________________________________________
    Sign up for the free 7 day decluttering challenge. Jumpstart your decluttering in just 30 minutes a day!
    YOUR NAME:
    YOUR EMAIL: