If you have a Keurig you need to make sure you’re doing this one important thing to keep you from ingesting harmful mold!
A lot of people love Keurig for it’s convenience and ease making a delicious cup of coffee. But how healthy is it really? Yes, I know… EVERYTHING is unhealthy! But better to be informed before making choices than to blindly partake in every unhealthy thing.
That water that can’t be dried inside of the Keurig is just asking for trouble!
From To The Death Media:
The internal tank as well as the rubber tubing can’t be drained, so it is very possible that bacteria and mold live inside the hidden water tank. The black rubber ring in the bottom of the exterior water container is another mold-magnet. A slick biofilm is formed by bacteria when grown in moist and dark places. The coffee bean’s antibacterial action is not enough to kill the microbes which float through the system. A research shows that this is only 50% effective in killing bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans, and molds.
One commenter said that she does this one important thing regularly:
“Yep…clean it with white vinegar once a month. Also use distilled water for basin. Love my Keurig…I can see the concern if it is not maintained properly.”
If you love your Keurig too, don’t worry! There are steps you can take to make sure every cup of coffee is safe to drink. Just like anything you use for your food and drinks, you need to make sure that it’s kept clean and sanitary. There are millions of Keurig users who love their machine. Just use common sense and keep it clean!
Anyone have a bad experience with their Keurig? Please comment below and let us know!
what about the water inside the machine?
Huh ? . . . Why it gets pumped out first. . . It’s out with the old, in with the new !
Oh, never mind the fact that plastic is used, exposing it to heat, therefore releasing carcinogens into the brew. Aluminum and plastics should never be used for cooking and brewing.
Geeezzzz, don’t buy a Keurig then !! I happen to not believe like you, so I just give mine a good cleaning every month. Enjoy your coffee, cause I am going to enjoy my coffee , brewed in my Keurig !!
vinegar dries out the excess water and it’s the absolute best anti-bacterial disinfectant on earth….but I would think it should be more than once a month because it doesn’t take bacteria and mold very long to grow.
And to Dufrene, the very air we breath is toxic to us, I’ve given up worrying about whats going to give us cancer and whats not.
If you use bottled water to run threw it and it then goes threw the little disposable coffee cup insert, how would any coffee reach the inside? I don’t think this is right. I have never tried to clean mine other than the area where the little cup fits. I use a bleach clothe to clean that outside area and the base where the cup sits.
First, you must use only distilled water. Spring water or any other kind will DESTROY your brewer. I know because I ruined my first one using bottled water as I prefer it to tap water, when it broke I was told it was likely because I used spring water which is discouraged by keurig. Second you do have to clean your brewer of course your water tank can brew mold and FAST. I clean or descale my machine quite often. Keurig also recommends descaling your machine it’s in the owners manual. If you’ve never cleaned your brewer I’d get on it STAT!
My new Kuehrig said not 2 use distilled waster. Mae.
We’ve had our Keurig for almost 5 years now. Have used spring water, distilled water…whatever is cheapest. Have never had a problem, have never been sick. Yes, we clean it. But good Lord, I’m not a fanatic about it. Anything anymore can make you sick, give you cancer, etc….I just want to enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning. I have too much other stuff to be stressed & worried about. Let me enjoy my coffee. Relax, people!!!?
and you probably lick escalator rails too…and relax.
I have a Bunn, and have used Bunns for over 25 yrs. Cleaned it with vinegar on a very regid schedule.
Recently, it broke. We took it apart and were SHOCKED ! Mold was literally growing in HUGE amounts. It was SHOCKING ! I have photos for anyone interested. I am now using a vintage glass coffee pot that plugs in and you clean it after each use……percolating again !
We have a bunn. Whete was the mold??
I use my Keruig daily. It was running slow so I started to inspect things. I had mold on top of the filter dispenser. I had to soak it in baking soda to get it clean. I immediately ran white vinegar through the device. I use only bottled water. I am now cautious and think I will be cleaning it more regularly.
I get a little concerned about the water that is left sitting inside the coffee maker when I am gone for 1 to 2 weeks and the coffee maker is not used. I always run several cups of water through the coffee maker before I make a cup of coffee to drink. I want to know if there is anything else I should do to eliminate mold inside. I also run white vinegar through it once a month, and then rinse several times. This may be something the Keurig maker should address on any new models, a drain to eliminate all water when not in use.
Actually that same water has been around for millions and millions of years. . . It is virtually dinosaur pee, so it really won’t go bad in an enclosed environment. . . .It’s when it sets out in the open that dust and other contaminants get into it and start a chain reaction that really turn water sour. . . . Stop and think about it, when you are gone for a couple weeks, even 3 or 4 weeks, when you get home do you throw all your bottled water away ? . . Nope !
Screw that anyone want mine fir cheap. ?
I was concerned about all the water left inside, so got the single cup Keurig and love it – now not only is each cup of coffee fresh, but also each cup of water used . Everything has to cleaned on a regular basis, especially any coffee pot used.
But isn’t this also true of all drip coffee makers? Who ever brings their coffee maker over to the sink to drain the water?
I haven’t tried this yet, but thinking of running a bleach solution through the Keurig every 2 or 3 months. . . I do run white vinegar through about 30 cycles or cups and I get to where the last 7-8 cups are pure white vinegar. . . Works great after you run a tank or two of clean filtered water through it, i.e. no foul taste residue. . . ALSO, just a note to those who may not know: Take a bread twist tie wire and strip off the covering. . . Run the little wire up through the spout where the water goes into the K-Cup. . . It’s the spout with the sharp edge that punctures the K-Cup. . . . When your Keurig stops working and won’t pump water, don’t throw it away and get a new one like I did. . . They are fixable by just doing the wire up the nozzle and possibly tapping, ok more like pounding on the top rear of the water reservoir. . . Sometimes a air bubble gets in the tube and it will effectively shut down the whole unit, but by hitting the water reservoir it jiggles the bubble loose and “voila” you’re back in the saddle again !
I put several drops of food safe hydrogen peroxide in the reservoir with every fill. I have read a lot about this and it is an amazing sanitizing resource. I’m going to check my Keurig right now to check how it’s doing.
I have one, never a problem. Love my Keurig. All coffee pots have the potential to grow mold and bacteria. Just depends how often the pot is used and cleaned on regular basis. The internal heater tubing can be drained and cleaned. The water resoviour is same as water tank on any coffee pot. All pots must be cleaned.
You can clean out the tubing on the inside and even replace it….threw my first system away before I realized this is all that was needed. Regular cleaning and good water is common sense…stop the hype.
How do you clean out the tubing on the inside?
i LOVED my Keurig when i first got it…cause it worked perfect for two weeks
NOW I HATE my Keurig Because it doesn’t work- the water doesn’t pump into brewer to cup
I paid a couple hundred $ with no returns from the store
I HOPE KEURIG WILL TAKE MY RETURN
I’ve had my Keurig for 4 years. I use regular tap water. If I don’t use it for a day I change the water. Works like a charm.
I run water through it every day before I make my coffee and I use tap water
Have any of you ever ate at a restaurant? All those coffee machines, soda fountains, ice cream machines, beer taps, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, walk-in coolers are contaminated with mold, mildew, scale, slime, sludge, algae. These things are not cleaned properly and to be honest if I showed you the things I’ve seen in kitchens that are in very popular restaurants you’d probably not go back. I’ve been in the restaurant equipment business for 30 years and I’ve seen disgusting, so dont worry so much about your tiny amount of mold for it cant compare.