What to do when your Keurig doesn't make a full cup of coffee? Learn how to clean your keurig brewer in just a few simple steps!
I am apparently a bad Keurig owner. In the mornings I get up. I stumble into the kitchen and pop a Butter Toffee Coffee K-Cup in my Keurig. My Keurig is about a year old, and I guess I just never thought about the inside of the machine getting dirty.
So the other day when I went to make my morning cup of coffee I only ended up with half of a cup. Hmmm...Ok, so I tried again. I still got just a half cup.
I took the lid off the water tank and saw that the water was dripping back into the reservoir instead of into my cup. UGH! My first thought was my Keurig had died! So then I posted to A Few Short Cuts Facebook to ask you guys what you thought. Let me just say I LOVE YOU GUYS! You told me to clean my Keurig. Well, of course, I needed to clean it. LOL
How to Clean Your Keurig
I filled the tank with white vinegar and made several cups of just plain hot vinegar and emptied the tank. My hubby asked me what the pickle smell was. ~giggle~ Then I let it sit for a couple of hours.
You also want to check the VERY SHARP needles inside the Keurig. They have holes in them to let the water through. Very carefully make sure they are clear of debris such as coffee grounds. The easiest way it to use a unfolded paper clip, push pin, etc. Then I filled the tank with fresh water and ran it again until the reservoir was empty. I did this one more time with water to make sure the vinegar was all out of the Keurig.
I am ecstatic to say it worked! Now I have a full cup of my Butter Toffee Coffee...with a little bit of my favorite creamer. I am a happy girl, and I am thankful to you guys for helping me solve my problem. You are the best!
How Often to Clean Your Keurig
You should clean your Keurig once every 2-3 months to avoid any issues. This will keep your machine clean and in the best running order.
More Keurig Tips
- How to clean your Keurig 2.0
- How to Brew Any Coffee In The Keurig 2.0
- How to Make Oatmeal With Your Keurig
Beth
The same thing happened to me and I cleaned mine just like you said. Then I went out and bought a Brita pitcher to filter the water I use in my Keurig to cut down on the need for cleaning it so often. ; )
aprila
my Keurig machine has been doing the same thing. Thanks for the post I am going to clean it tomorrow I have only been getting 1/2 cups when I was suppose to get a whole cup
Su
Thank you! Who knew? ugh
I always used to clean my old "regular" coffee maker w/vinegar. It never occurred to me to do the same w/the Keurig.
Donna S
This is great. I would only recommend that you unfold a paperclip to clean the needles (rather than use a toothpick). But I'm also the person who would have broke the toothpick in the needle.
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
LOL Donna, yes you can use a paperclip too! 🙂
Emily
My husband and I have a small keurig that only holds one cup of water at a time. It does not have a tank that holds lots of water. I wonder if it works be beneficial to run a few cycles with vinegar...
Bettie
Yes, I put vinegar in my cup and poured it in the Keurig. Let it set 20 mins and then ran it thru. Poured another cup of vinegar and ran it thru. Cleaned the opening with a paperclip and then ran 5 cups of water thru and mine worked perfectly.
Alisa Martin
Thats what I'm wondering.... plus I use distilled water in ours. However ive noticed it doesn't seem to hold the full 10 oz like it used to!
I guess it couldn't hurt to try 🙂
Jen
This is great info, I always wondered why mine was doing the same thing! Another part of the machine that should be cleaned is the little hole on the base, where the water is drawn out of the tank and into the machine. I didn't realize how *yucky* it can become due to water basically sitting there between each brew. I now dry it out frequently and clean the water tank in the dishwasher.
karen
Jen, how did you clean the tube that draws the water out of the tank? thanks...
Camille
Thank YOU for sharing!!! I had NO idea what was happening to my Keurig!! Can't wait to try out your tips!!
Olivia
I tried this the other day and loved it and felt very accomplished after cleaning it for the first time ever. One thing I will note though is that I failed to get ALL of the vinegar out although I thought I had. When my fiance went to make a cup of coffee the next morning we soon realized what kind of reaction results from vinegar and milk. As he was stirring his coffee little clumps of a brown Play-Doh like substance floated to the top. This event had us questioning the Keurig, coffee and milk. I flushed the system with water several more times and brewed another cup and had not problems since. I did make another cup of coffee the way I normally make it (with cream) and added vinegar to ensure that the vinegar was the culprit and it was. Other than that hilarious mishap I have noticed a difference in the cup sizes and have every intention of going through the process again in the future, just with more extensive rinsing 🙂
Ashley
This worked so well! Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Pat Asher
I found that while enjoying that hot cup of yummieness (hot cocoa, flavored coffee, or sweet southern tea - really anything that might have some sugar in it) - running a cup of hot water through the machine (be sure to remove your used k-cup) it will almost always prevent a clog up coffee maker. I have only stopped up my machine once in three years - and that was in the first week!
Shannon
I have had my Keurig Elite for 2 years. I use it constantly. I only use Brita filtered water in it. If someone goes to fill from the tap I have a mini-freak out. lol. That helps substantially 🙂 I also use a trick for cleaning dishwashers (keep reading 🙂 on my Keurig. I use the vinegar to clean it. But Every 4 weeks I use a koolaid packet of lemonade (no sugar added) to the water when there is just enough for 1 brew left. In a dishwasher this cleans like nobody's business if you run a cycle and use that as the detergent (no dishes in it) and it removes scale and leaves your machine smelling all lemony and yummy! If you do this in the Keurig it smells great when brewing. I run I full pitcher of water thru after this and I tell you what-squeaky clean and fabulous.
rebecca
They sell specific filters for the Keurig...you just pop it right into the water tank!
Frances Hill
Has anyone had a problem with their water tank leaking? What shouLd I do?
Dawn
My mom did, and she read somewhere that you are suppose to use filtered/purified water.
lizel
thank you so much for sharing this im gonna go clean mine now its giving me half cups sometimes and other times less than half and im in love with my keurig but then again so is my hubby!!!
Kate
OMG! I thought my beloved Keurig was broken too because it was spitting water back into the reservoir! I feel so silly for thinking it was broken instead of just dirty! Thanks for the cleaning tip!
Anna
Thank you for the tip! My Keurig has kind of stopped working/brewing all together & I can't figure out what the deal is! I've checked the needles with the unfolded paperclips - but any other recommendations?
Dana
Holy cannoli - should probably clean mine - have had it for 5 years! lol
Megan
This is fantastic info. My husband and I got a Cuisinart single serve coffee maker off a local website called Freecycle. The woman who gave it to us was claiming all of those same problems you were. I just cleaned it with this same info I got off another website and my husband and I haven't had a problem. Everyone who has a single serve coffee pot should use this advise.
Evie
Anytime I make more than 3 cups of coffee I take out the used K cup and run through a clear cup of water. If there are any grounds in the water, I run another cup again. I still clean it twice a year and use a filter. I never thought of the Brita water pitcher. Thanks for the great idea!
melissa
Please don't forget to replace the filter if you do clean with vinegar. The filter will hold the vinegar flavor even if you do many rinses. I didn't take my filter out, or have a new one to replace the old. SO, for a quick fix I had to soak the old filter in water for several minutes to get rid of the vinegar taste.
Abby
Just tried this! My Keurig is now working again. Thank you!
megan
PS: put baking soda in your kitchen drain and pour the hot vinegar down the drain! Homemade drain cleaner! More bang for your buck with the double use of their vinegar 🙂
Sheila K
I have a regular Keurig and just recently purchased a mini for another location. While I was reading the booklet that came with the new one, I noticed it said to remove the kcup holder to clean it...hmm I thought, then I removed the kcup holder on my big Keurig and soaked it overnight in a soapy water solution. Surprisingly, my water had 3 streams after I put it back together instead of just 1! Who knew?!?!?
chris
Is there any way you can completely empty a Keurig........like when on a LONG vacation
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
It depends on the model of the Keurig. I have this K145 Brewer and it can be drained. Many of the other models can't.
Shawna smith
Very helpful tip thank you for saving my keurig
Eva
I just saw someone answered my question! lol I love it! 🙂 Thanks guys.
Charity
It's also a good idea to let the vinegar set in the unit for several hours or overnight. It gets much more of the gunk out. The folks at Keurig said not to use filtered water. I don't remember why. Use tap water and the filters that are supposed to go in them for best results.
Julia
I have a 2.0 which has an 80oz reservoir. Obviously I'm not going to completely full that with vinegar. How much do you think I should use?
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
About a cup Julia. 🙂
Dawn
I only use distilled water in mine
Taylor Goad
I was so hopeless. I can't live without my coffee in the morning and was so sad when my Keurig stopped working. I am so glad I stumbled across this. I used vinegar like you said and now it works perfectly. Thank you a million!!!
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
YAY! Glad it worked! 🙂
Connie
I wish I had seen this post a few weeks ago. We were getting 1/2 cups, so we threw it away!!!
Darn!
Thanks for the tips for our new Keurig!
Roberta
This does work !!! I bought a Keurig at a yard sale for $7.00. I tried to use it & it would not work with the K-cups. I finally used your directions to clean it. I is now great. Thank you so much.