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How To Clean And Descale A Keurig 2.0?

By Home Kitchenary | Last Updated: January 6, 2020

How to clean and descale keurig

First questions first, when was the last time when you actually checked and cleaned your Keurig coffee maker? If you never did since the date you bought it, then probably you should check it now because perhaps you might find some of the colonies of bacteria resting right under your machine.

Sounds ew? Well, probably then it’s the best time that you should descale and clean your coffee machine and should check your Keurig maintenance cup by using Keurig maintenance accessories.


Table of Contents

  • Things Required For Descaling Keurig Coffee Maker
  • Things That Need To Be Done On Regular Basis
  • Cleaning Keurig with Vinegar
  • Cleaning Keurig with Lemon Juice
  • Cleaning Keurig with Descaling Solution
  • Descaling solution Vs Vinegar
  • How often should you clean your coffee makers?
12 Best Keurig Coffee Maker Fixes, Troubleshooting Tips & Solutions

Read the Keurig B60 manual that comes with the machine and read Keurig descaling instructions within your manual. For keeping your machine away from bacteria, you should know a couple of things about it. For example:  ‘How to change Keurig filter?’ ‘In Keurig where to put water?’ and all other such things that can keep your machine running for a longer span of time.

Check out HomeKitchenary’s Best Coffee Makers with Grinder

Along with that, you should also have an idea about the Keurig 2.0 parts and make sure that you get yourself familiar with Keurig 2.0 needle maintenance too in order to keep your machine clean and tidy.

We are going to discuss three methods for descaling and cleaning our Keurig 2.0:

  • Keurig Descaling Solution
  • Vinegar
  • Lemon Juice

Things Required For Descaling Keurig Coffee Maker

  • White Vinegar/Lemon Juice/Descaling Solution
  • Water
  • Any kind of brush
  • A towel
  • Paperclip
  • Dishwasher and all-purpose cleaner
  • A mug

Things That Need To Be Done On Regular Basis

  • Remove the water reservoir.
  • Remove the K-cup holder and the funnel.
  • After that, remove the drip tray along with the drip tray cover.
  • Clean all these external parts of the Keurig machine by using a towel, a dishwasher or all-purpose cleaner.
  • Clean and remove any of the clogs around needles by using paper clips.
  • Keep the reservoir void of water when it’s not being used.

clean keurig with venigar

Cleaning Keurig with Vinegar

  • Attach the Keurig water reservoir with the machine.
  • Fill it up with the vinegar and the water equally.
  • Use filtered water instead of tap water. It ensures that there are no bacteria in the water.
  • Place a large sized mug on the stand.
  • Run the brew cycle without placing any K-cup.
  • Empty the mug each time after it gets filled with water.
  • Keep repeating the same process until the Keurig water reservoir gets empty.
  • Wash the machine thoroughly three to four times until you don’t find any taste of vinegar in the water

descale keurig without vinegar


Cleaning Keurig with Lemon Juice

This method includes the same steps we discussed above and you can even descale Keurig without vinegar.

How To Drain A Keurig?

You’d need a lot of lemons for extracting lemon juice or else invest some money and buy some lemon juice from your nearest supermarket so you can easily go with cleaning Keurig mini without vinegar by applying this method.

Directions:

  • Firstly, fix the Keurig water reservoir with the machine.
  • Now, after attaching the water reservoir, fill it up with lemon juice and water by keeping the ration 1:1 in mind.
  • Put a large-sized ceramic mug on the drip tray.
  • Make sure that there is no K-cup while brewing the cycle.
  • After the water is run and the mug gets filled, clear it up.
  • Repeat the same process until the entire reservoir becomes void of water.
  • Lastly, wash the machine enough times with the water until you get it cleared from the after-taste of the lemon juice.

clean keurig with descaling solution

Cleaning Keurig with Descaling Solution

Before we delve into the directions, the first thing to know is where to buy Keurig descaling solution from? Check out the below products on Amazon:

Directions:

  • First off, attach the water reservoir after washing it off properly.
  • Repeat the same process as was done in the previous two methods of filling the reservoir with half the water and the other half with the descaling solution.
  • Again, put a large sized mug on the stand or a drip tray.
  • While you brew the cycle, make sure that you have detached the K-cup from the Keurig coffee maker.
  • Clear the mug up whenever it gets filled till its brim.
  • Repeat step 4 and 5 until the water reservoir gets empty.
  • Wash the machine externally and internally so that no remnants of the solution are left unwashed.

Descaling solution Vs Vinegar

In our opinion, descaling solution is better than vinegar. Vinegar, if not be properly cleaned out of the machine, can give a very bitter taste in your next couple of coffees. In such cases, it’s better to invest some money and buy a descaling solution for washing it properly.

How often should you clean your coffee makers?

One of the things that most of the coffee lovers neglect is that their coffee makers need some cleansing every now and then too. The debris of the coffee beans and hard water remains inside after brewing each cup of coffee. For cleaning that detritus out, it is essential to clean your coffee makers once in a week. If not that then once in a month at least if you desire to have some fresh java cups.



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Comments

  1. Shirley Theis says

    February 20, 2018 at 6:59 PM

    I would like to see a video regarding water not heating, I did put hot water in and than it heated and ran, but I don’t know what happened and what to do. I love the videos on doing the cleaning.

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 20, 2018 at 8:40 PM

      Shirley I’ll try my best to present video solutions in my upcoming blogs.

      Reply
  2. Tina Heyer says

    February 23, 2019 at 1:15 PM

    I put vinegar into the water reservoir and the machine drew it in, but it still wouldn’t push the vinegar out. Im leaving it in the machine overnight to soak and will try again in the morning. Any other thing a to try to unclog the machine?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 23, 2019 at 5:45 PM

      Tina this vinegar thing should really work. Do update us.

      Reply
  3. Millie says

    March 30, 2019 at 11:17 PM

    I tried cleaning my Keurig with a vinega water solution. It ran one cup through then quit. Now all the lights stay on and it does nothing. I’ve tried the paper clip and reset method but to no avail so I purchased another one. I would Iike to have the other one as a extra. Is there any thing else I could try before trashing it. Ty

    Reply
    • Edna says

      March 31, 2019 at 5:28 PM

      Millie can you try the descaling method once again and let us know the output?

      Reply
  4. Joanne Randall says

    June 28, 2019 at 6:46 PM

    I use only distilled water in my Keurig because I know I have hard water. But now that my machine is getting older it seems that cleaning is necessary after every other cup. Is this normal when the machine is getting older? If so, guess I should invest in a new machine before this one completely dies. Or is there a solution to this too?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      June 28, 2019 at 8:19 PM

      Joanne I would suggest descaling your machine but even if the problem remains then I would suggest getting a new machine. You can have a look on the products I have mentioned above.

      Reply
    • Steve says

      August 16, 2019 at 12:15 PM

      I have hard water too. I believe the instructions say not to use distilled water, but I wouldn’t use it anyway because it would negatively affect the taste. Coffee is afterall 99.9% water. I would use bottled water if I had no other choice. Fortunately I have a water dispenser that uses 5-gal water jugs. However, there are places you can fill your own water bottles. You could use 1-gal, 3-gal, or 5-gal bottles. That water is filtered and disinfected. Some grocery stores have these machines and there are also unattended KIOSKs now where you can get your ‘coffee’ water from.

      Reply
    • Ken says

      November 17, 2019 at 10:09 AM

      My machine blasts out and leaves a mess.

      Reply
      • Edna says

        November 19, 2019 at 2:54 PM

        Ken what do you mean by blasts out?

        Reply
  5. Dee Costa says

    October 13, 2019 at 9:39 AM

    My Keurig 2.0 won’t continue the rescaling process after the 1st cup (vinegar version). What else can I do?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      October 16, 2019 at 3:06 PM

      Did you try resetting it?

      Reply
    • Barry Hyman says

      October 9, 2021 at 2:23 PM

      Hi Dee Costa
      The descale light will not turn off. I descaled as per the manual and flushed with clean water about a dozen times but the light remains on. I flushed the machine with clean water about 10 times. The machine still brews coffee, but the light will not go out. Any suggestions?

      Reply
  6. Ruth Daugherty says

    October 14, 2019 at 4:19 PM

    I am having a problem with back up of coffee grounds in my Keurig Coffee maker. It will work fine and then all of a sudden I am getting a backup of water & coffee grounds. Which makes quite a mess in and out of my Keurig coffee maker. I do have well water but also have a Deluxe Culligan Water Softener. There are holes in the top and bottom of the coffee ground cup so I would think the water should freely flow. I have tried to clean the point of the needle with a paper clip and small brush but after a couple cups it starts all over again! I am not seeing any build up of lime on the needles inside of the coffee maker! Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

    Reply
    • Edna says

      October 16, 2019 at 3:06 PM

      Hello Ruth, thanks for your detailed query. Well it looks like you are doing everything right and the issue could be with your machine. How often do you see any build up of lime on the needle?

      Reply
  7. Pam says

    February 2, 2020 at 1:12 PM

    My Keurig is pulling water, but when I select cup size and engage the pod it pumps hot water right back into the reservoir. There seems to be no way to dis-assemble the top to clean inside. Also where does the filter pod go?

    Reply
  8. Carol T. says

    February 13, 2020 at 9:28 AM

    Edna, when my keurig dispenses the coffee it blast it out, sprays in all directions. I have cleaned out the needle as well as changed filters and cleaned/descale the coffee maker. Also I do not use k-cups instead I use a permanent cup where I can refill my own coffees. Have been using this for years and now the coffee makers spits out coffee all over. Leaves a mess.

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 14, 2020 at 7:53 AM

      Hey Carol, thanks for your detailed questions. For how long you have been using this coffee machine?

      Reply
  9. Melissa says

    February 23, 2020 at 12:50 PM

    I’m seeing that my Keurig 2.0 is leaking from the bottom in the back, under the power chord. Would descaling fix this or do I need to take it apart?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 24, 2020 at 1:31 PM

      Melissa I would recommend descaling it first and in hopes of fixing the issue.

      Reply
  10. Laurie says

    February 25, 2020 at 2:22 PM

    Hi. I descaled my Keurig 2.0. Now the coffee tastes like soap. Followed directions to the T. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 26, 2020 at 3:39 AM

      Laurie can you please run the machine with just water and see if it solves the problem.

      Reply
  11. Alice Sanchez says

    July 25, 2020 at 12:43 PM

    when cleaning, do u take out the old filter? or leave it in untill cleaning is done? i change the filter every time i clean it

    Reply
    • Edna says

      July 26, 2020 at 9:02 AM

      Hey Alice, it’s always recommended to change the filter as well.

      Reply
  12. Greg says

    December 8, 2020 at 6:46 AM

    Here’s what I do. Sometimes the paper clip trick doesn’t work. I takes a can of compressed air like you use to clean o out your computer keyboard . Holding the can upright I take the straw( comes with the can ) and hold it to the injectors where the coffee cones out and mixes with the cup. A-Few quick burst is all you need. I’ve been doing it for years and have not damaged anything . Put a cup under it and run clear water through it to get the grinds out . Remember to remove any used cups prior to this method .

    Reply
    • Edna says

      December 12, 2020 at 10:03 AM

      Thank you for your input here Grey. Much appreciated.

      Reply
  13. William McGiverin says

    February 11, 2021 at 3:04 PM

    Let’s see if someone can help me. My machine isn’t a year old yet but all light stay on, they won’t shut off. She has u plugged it, left the water tank off, then plugged it into its own outlet but still the lights stay on. The lights are not blinking, just constantly staying on. What could be the problem?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      February 14, 2021 at 1:06 PM

      Hey William, did you try simple reset of your machine?

      Reply
  14. Judy Arkebauer says

    February 28, 2021 at 8:03 PM

    Am stuck Blue light flashing and message says Prime and under says temp set. I hold down the menu five times and wait for the settings to come on but they do not appear. Have cleaned unit but does not help. Will have to replace with something else?

    Reply
    • Edna says

      March 1, 2021 at 7:19 AM

      Hello Judy, did you try resetting your machine?

      Reply
  15. Patty says

    August 22, 2021 at 9:07 AM

    Where is the reset button on my Kering 2.0

    Reply
    • Edna says

      August 23, 2021 at 5:55 AM

      Hello Patty, there is no specific reset button on your Keurig 2.0. You have to do this task manually using the instruction provided above in the article.

      Reply

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