How to descale your Keurig K Supreme Plus coffee maker
Keurig has made it unnecessarily confusing. Apparently, the unit has a timer built-in which will trigger your Keurig to go into "Descale"
mode, whether it needs it or not. I'm told this is every 3 months, but my own went into descale mode after 3 weeks of light use.
So when you see the "descale" warning blinking. here's what to do.
STEP 1: Prepare the Brewer
Pour one of the following into the empty water reservoir:
- Descale solution: the entire bottle of Descale Solution (see at rght) and fill the reservoir with water
or
- Brew-Rite: Dissolve 2 tablespoons of Brew-Rite (see at right) in 1 quart (about 1 liter) of cool fresh water
or
- Vinegar/Water: 3 cups of clear white vinegar and 6 cups of cool fresh water (some recommend 50:50 white vinegar to water)
The vinegar option works as well as the others and is far cheaper!
Do not insert a K-Cup pod. Place a large mug on the drip tray.
STEP 2: Descale the Brewer
To activate Descale Mode, begin with the brewer plugged in and powered off, and no K-cup in, just the empty K-cup holder.
If "descale" is flashing, hold down the power button to power it off. THEN follow the steps below:
- DO NOT lift the pod lid;
- press and hold the 8oz and 12oz buttons together for 3 seconds. The big "K" brew button will start flashing.
- While the brew button is flashing, press the brew button to start the descaling process.
- Once the brew is complete, dump the hot liquid into the sink.
- Repeat this over and over, until the ADD WATER light illuminates.
STEP 3: Fresh Water Rinse
Empty the water reservoir and refill to the MAX fill line with fresh water.
- When the brew button is flashing, press the brew button to start the rinsing process (it will still say "descaling").
- Once the brew is complete, dump the hot liquid into the sink and
- Repeat this step until the DESCALE notification turns off.
The brewer should now automatically exit Descale Mode, turn itself off and will be ready for use!
If the Descale notification does not turn off automatically:
If the descale indication does NOT turn itself off after
you have completed the descaling pprocess, press and hold down the 8oz and 10oz buttons together for 3 seconds.
Notes
NOTE: The cleaning action of Keurig Descaling Solution may result in a "foam" dispensed from the brewer. This is natural, as the solution is
reacting with the scale inside. For a brewer that is heavily scaled, the brewer may not
fill properly after the descaler is added. If this
occurs, you may see only a small or no output dispensed, followed by the sound of air blowing out. If this occurs:
- Turn off and unplug the brewer.
- If there is Keurig Descaling Solution in the water reservoir, discard the contents, rinse the water reservoir thoroughly and refill with
water.
- Plug the brewer back in, power on, and repeat the Step 3 Fresh Water Rinse cycle. The brewer should begin to function normally as the
solution is rinsed out and the scale is removed. If problem persists, allow brewer to sit unplugged for at least 30 minutes before continuing
with the rinse.