How To Clean Keurig Without Vinegar? A Step-By-Step Guide.

Last Updated on March 6, 2023

You love coffee a lot, but would you like to consume bad, and unhealthy bacterias along with coffee? Not for sure. Well, according to many pieces of research, coffee makers develop multiple health-hazardous bacterias in the long run. It is, however, crucial to clean your coffee maker. 

Bacterias such as Streptococcus, and E.coli accumulate, making colonies in the Keurig because people do not clean them very often. Moreover, calcium and mineral deposits from the hard water and coffee residuals also accumulate on the surface, making the coffee worse. The water tank in the Keurig coffee maker accumulates coffee deposits. However, the K-cup present in the Keurig for coffee deposits coffee residuals.

In this article, we have shortlisted the best and efficient ways to clean your Keurig without vinegar. 

People often merely scrub the K-cup and water tank. Usually we do not emphasize the need for descaling solutions for our coffee makers. If you have not deeply cleansed your coffee maker even once in your life, you can consider doing it now. 

Vinegar is an effective natural cleaning resource, and many people use it for cleaning purposes. However, it is important to note that vinegar leaves a notorious smell later on. If you use the vinegar, you have to rinse and cycle your Keurig two to three times afterward. It requires extra effort and time.

Some other household hacks can work equally and even better than vinegar when it comes to descaling. If vinegar is not available or you do not want to use it, you can always consider one of these items. 

You can try these household hacks to descale your Keurig without vinegar. Read the step-by-step instructions given below. 

Citric acid works as a substitute for vinegar. It is available in the market in powdered form. You can also use lemon juice if powdered citric acid is not available. Lemon juice contains natural qualities to clean hard water deposits, and it also kills bacteria. Moreover lemon does not leave any bad smell the way vinegar does. 

 Things you will need:

• Citric acid or lemon juice
•  Water 

 Steps: 

•  Add one tablespoon of citric acid to the water tank.
•  Now add One and a half cups of water to the tank.
• In case you are using lemon juice, you can make a half cup of water with a half cup of lemon juice.
• Take out a large cup and place it under the brew head of your coffee maker. 
•  Turn on the push button. You can continue to lower and then raise the brew head of Keurig.
• Once you have run the cycle, drain the water. Citric acid will break down the water deposits and Calcium Residuals from your coffee maker.
•  Now fill the water tank again with clear water and turn on the cycle. Repeat the process 2 to 3 times. 
• Your Keurig is clean from bacterias and deposits to use again. 

Baking soda helps to kill the bacteria in the coffee maker, and it also helps to get rid of any kind of notorious smell from it. Moreover, you can add a few spoons of lemon juice to the baking soda, and make a thick paste. It will work like a wonder to your descaling process.

 Things you will need

•  Baking soda
•  lemon juice
•  Water
•  Mug 

 Steps

• 1 2 tbsp of baking soda and mix it with two tablespoons of lemon juice.
•  Once you have made a thick paste, place it in the water tank of your Keurig Coffee maker.
•  Put the mug under the brew head and turn on the cycle. 
• You do not need to keep anything in the K-cup section. 
• Once all the dirt has been accumulated in the mug, keep repeating the process until water does not come clean.
•  Now drain out the rest of the mixture and fill the Reservoir with clear water.
•  Repeat the rinsing cycle three times, and your coffee maker is all cleaned from bacterias and Calcium deposits.

Note: Do not forget to remove K cup filters before descaling your coffee maker. Large particles from baking soda or citric acid powder can stay in your filter and can lead to a bad taste afterward. 

Denture tablets have been used to clean and descale multiple devices in the household. Denture tablets kill harmful bacterias from the surface. They help to break down the mineral accumulation from the inner surface of the coffee makers. 

 Things you will require

• Denture tablets
• Water
•  Mug 

 Steps: 

• Take 2 to 3 tablets and put them in the water tank of the Keurig.
•  Now send the water tank as much as you can with warm water.
•  Let the tablet dissolve in the water.
•  Remove the cup filter before turning on the cycle.
•  Run the cleaning session and empty the whole water reservoir in the water mug.
•  Once all the water is drained out, fill the water Reservoir again with clean water.
•  Repeat the cycle around three times, and your Keurig is perfectly free from bacteria and deposits.