If you are a coffee person you probably own a Keurig coffee maker. Like any other electric appliances in your kitchen, you will likely encounter hitches that make you miss on that mug of coffee you rely on to kickstart the day. In this article, we will see about ‘How to Hack Your Keurig?’.
How to Hack Your Keurig?
The trick is to master your brewer and how it operates. There are a few hacks you need to know to keep your Keurig coffee maker serving you that delicious coffee whenever you need it. These are simple steps anyone can do comfortably at home any day.
The most common challenges you will face with a Keurig coffee brewer include leaks at the bottom, the brewer powering off on its own, unresponsive buttons, or those days when you sip your coffee only to find grounds and you want to spit it out. Let’s read How to Hack Your Keurig?.
What to do when your Keurig is leaking?
If your coffee maker is leaking, it could be an issue with the cold water reservoir or clogging in the valve pump. Because coffee brews under very high temperatures, a few parts of the machine may be affected. Especially those made of plastic/rubber. The water hose is the most affected, due to repeated exposure to high temperatures, it will tend to get weak and loose, thus causing leaks. It is common to see blockage around pathways caused by mineral deposits from the water you use or coffee grounds. This clogging makes it hard for water to flow resulting in overflows.
Steps to correct leakages
If the leak is coming from a loose water pipe, consider tightening the screws that hold it, or replace with a new pipe. You can always replace pipes from the manufacturer’s online store. It is also advisable that you get a technician to help you with the tightening in case you don’t feel confident doing it.
Power down the coffee maker, and run some water on the fill tube to check whether the water flows. If little or no water is flowing, have it checked by a technician who will help you with unclogging. This could have come about as a result of layers of mineral deposits or coffee grains.
Always make sure that you fill water only up to the recommended level. Filling the cup to the brim will result in overflow especially once the coffee reaches boiling point.
What to do when your coffee brewer powers down suddenly?
Most coffee machines are designed with an energy-saving feature, to cool the heating element when the coffee maker is not in use and thus save you extra energy use. Whenever you leave your coffee maker on ready mode, it continues using some amount of electricity. This is why after a few minutes, your coffee machine powers down. If this happens, it means that your brewer’s energy-saving feature is enabled.
Steps to correct unexpected powering down
Disable the energy-saving setting on the Energy Saver or Auto on/off button. This way, you won’t need to wait for the coffee machine to heat up before it starts brewing.
Unplug the power cable, plug it back in, and power on the machine.
Always switch off your brewer after use to save energy.
What to do when there are grounds in your coffee
Grounds in your coffee mean that there is a fault with your sieve/filter, an overflow, too much coffee in the sieve, or the coffee is too fine.
How to make sure there are no grounds in your coffee?
Clean your brewer often with a descaling solution to remove any mineral deposits or scales that clog your brewer.
Make sure you are using the right size of sieve/filter that is suitable for your choice of coffee grounds. A filter that is too small will not let water pass through the coffee smoothly and thus overflows. Similarly, if the filter is too big, too many grounds will pass through.
Always put only enough coffee in the sieve/filter cup to avoid overflows. If you are not sure, use a scale to measure what amount is appropriate.
Avoid pressing coffee down the filter/sieve. This only forces more grains down the sieve.
Conclusion
Now we have learnt ‘How to Hack Your Keurig?’, As shown above. You can hack the operation of your coffee machine and enjoy your coffee anytime. Remember, most challenges just need you to step back and look a second time. Now you know what to do next time you notice a leak or grounds in your coffee.
Your coffee machine is also designed to cut energy wastage, so always remember to switch it off whenever you are not using it. Once you have understood your coffee maker, you’ll be brewing coffee for a long time before changing to another machine.
Should you experience further challenges with your Keurig coffee maker even after trying the hacks we have suggested above, contact customer service for support.
