Q&A for How to Clean a Keurig

If you use hard water to brew, the vinegar rinse described above may break down water scale clogging the machine. Otherwise, your exit needle is probably clogged. Prime the keurig to clear it out.

The vinegar rinse described above cleans it a little by circulating vinegar throughout the whole system. If you haven't used your keurig in a while, run three brew cycles through the machine without a K-cup to rinse out the system with hot water.

Unplug the machine to stop this. Then consider returning the one you have, as this is a design fault and the retailer should either fix it or produce a new one for you.

Perhaps disassembling and deep cleaning the machine would help. This has fixed similar issues with my machine in the past.

Part of the pod holder pops out to clean it (the part that contains the needle pops out by carefully pressing it up from below). Once it is out, try using a dry toothbrush to brush out the dry coffee grounds. Or you can wet it with warm water, brush it lightly, and let dry. I sometimes wrap a tissue or paper towel around the toothbrush if it needs a more thorough cleaning or drying. Sometimes a pipe cleaner is needed for the REALLY hard to reach spots.

The feeding needle (the bit that pokes through the K-cups on top) may be clogged with coffee grounds. The suggestion of a paper clip or hot water rinse may help.

Personally, I have to run several tanks of clean water through the cycles before my coffee tastes OK. It takes awhile to get the vinegar taste out.

Officially, you're not supposed to (just store it upright). But if you're careful you can drain most full-size Keurig models as follows: Unplug the coffee maker. Remove the water reservoir, and detach the drip tray where the coffee mug sits. Remove the screws on the side or base of your model to detach the outer panel. Pull off the plastic hose inside and drain it *and* the pump it was attached to by tilting them over the sink.

Apple cider vinegar is usually less filtered, and may contain small particles of residue. It is best to use distilled vinegar for any cleaning purposes.

Not sure where you got that, but no. You should not leave water in it while you're storing it.

If you live in an area where tap water is safe to drink, then yes, you can use tap water. If your tap water contains a lot of minerals, you may need to descale your machine more often or use bottled water instead. There is also a filter in the reservoir of the machine itself.

Daily cleaning wouldn't hurt, but is not necessary. Weekly washing with soap is sufficient.

Follow our detailed instructions to prime your machine . If that doesn't work, check the area around your water reservoir for loose or broken parts.

It is the catch-all for the machine telling you that something is wrong. Not very specific.

You can let warm vinegar rest in the reservoir, then wash and rinse it out with a drop of dish soap and warm water. Rinse until it is completely soap free, and wipe dry before refilling.

No. Keurigs have a sealed internal water heater. If you put dish detergent into the system, you will never get all of it out, as the new water going in only dilutes the existing water in the system by about half. Vinegar is the only way to go, as vinegar is not harmful to people.

You don't remove it. Use a small paper clip to go up the needles. There are 2 or 3 openings and you jiggle the opened paper clip around. It should go up about 1 inch.

Sure. Just remove the flapper on the bottom (the part that holds the water in the system). Wash this part by hand and put the tank in the dishwasher.

Run the machine without a k-cup. It will cleanse the internal brewer and the k-cup holder.

People have suggested this. It does make sense, honestly. I'm considering doing this as well.

Run a complete tank of water through the Keurig and there should be no residual vinegar taste.

You may leave it in for a day or two tops. Any longer and you should empty it.

I would check the chamber that holds the pods. We've had the same issue before; we cleaned out the whole chamber holding the pod, and it was good as new!

My first Keurig lasted about 2 years with about 3-4 cups a day of daily use. It stopped working and did not dispense anything, but lit up. I then bought a more expensive model which has lasted me 4 years so far. Try cleaning your Keurig, and refer to manufacturer instructions for troubleshooting.

Mine did that. I called Keurig and the rep said it probably needed de-scaling. I didn't realize a short portion was a sign of that. This fixed the problem for me. (Apparently, if you use the machine very frequently, you will also need to de-scale more frequently.)

Remove the filter before adding the vinegar. If it is fairly new, then just put it back. If it is older, then replace.

It pops up and snaps back in. Push up on funnel, if necessary, to remove. (Don't try to shoot the thing across the room.) I then soak them in cup overnight in 75% vinegar 25% water soak. Removes built-up coffee and old coffee odor. In morning I dump baking soda into the vinegar. It removes vinegar odor from parts.

You need at least two tanks of water after the vinegar treatment.