How to Descale a Coffee Maker (and Which Descaler to Use)

If your coffee maker has started taking forever, or there's a white crust inside the kettle, you've met scale. It's the chalky mineral buildup hard water leaves inside anything that heats it: drip machines, single-serve brewers, espresso machines and kettles. Below: when to descale, how to do it on the common machine types, what the vinegar question really comes down to, and which descalers are out there, each described from its own listing.

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Descaling vs. cleaning: two different jobs

Descaling gets mineral deposits (limescale) out of the water path and the heating element. Descalers are acidic, and many use citric or lactic acid.

Cleaning gets coffee oils and residue off the parts that touch coffee: brew baskets, carafes, group heads and portafilters. Espresso machine cleaners like Cafiza are detergents for coffee oil, not descalers. If your manual lists both, they're two separate jobs.

How often to descale

It depends on how hard your water is and how much you brew, so your machine's manual (or its descale light) is the best guide. For reference, here's what a few descaler makers say:

• Keurig's listing for its descaling solution says to use it every 3 months.
• IMPRESA says every 1-3 months, or follow your machine maker's schedule.
• Affresh says monthly or as needed.

Hard water means more frequent descaling. Filtered or softened water can slow the buildup down.

How to descale a drip coffee maker

1. Check the manual. Some machines have a dedicated descale or clean cycle. If yours does, use it.
2. Empty it out. Take out the filter and any grounds, and empty the carafe.
3. Mix the descaler. Follow the product's dosing. Urnex, for example, says to use 1 oz of Dezcal powder per 32 oz of reservoir capacity.
4. Run it through. Brew the solution like a pot of coffee, or run the machine's clean cycle.
5. Rinse. Run plain water through several times, until there's no taste or smell left. Your descaler's instructions will say how many rinse cycles. Skip this and your next pot gets a side of descaler.

How to descale a Keurig or single-serve brewer

Most single-serve machines have a descale mode or a light that tells you it's time. Keurig's own solution is made for its 2.0 and 1.0 K-Cup brewers, uses citric acid, and Keurig says the process takes under 45 minutes. Several universal descalers, including Urnex Dezcal and IMPRESA, list Keurig among compatible machines. Whatever you use, follow the brewer's descale procedure so every internal line gets flushed.

How to descale an espresso machine (Breville and others)

With espresso machines, especially ones with boilers, follow the maker's procedure. Breville machines, for instance, have a descale routine in the manual, and Breville sells its own descaler in single-dose sachets. Durgol Swiss Espresso comes in single-portion bottles, and Durgol says one bottle can dissolve up to 10 g of lime, enough for one descaling. If your warranty names a specific descaler, use that one. It's not worth the argument later.

How to descale a kettle

Kettles only ever hold water, so gooseneck and electric kettles can scale up fast. Urnex lists kettles as a use for both Dezcal and Full Circle. Dissolve the dose in warm water, let it sit or heat per the product's directions, then rinse well. Boil one fresh kettle of water and pour it out before you use it for coffee.

Vinegar vs. a descaler

Vinegar is acidic, so it can loosen some scale, and most people already have a bottle. The downsides are the smell and taste it can leave behind, and the fact that some machine makers specify a particular descaler instead. Urnex says Dezcal is more effective and faster than vinegar and is odorless, and Affresh markets its tablets as cleaning without a vinegar smell. Those are the makers' own claims. The practical rule: if your manual names a descaler or says not to use vinegar, do what the manual says.

Descalers worth knowing

Urnex Dezcal (powder)

A big tub of powder you measure out yourself. Handy if you're descaling several machines, or a kettle, on a regular basis.

Dezcal descaling tablets

Same brand, tablet form, for anyone who'd rather not measure powder.

Keurig Descaling Solution

Keurig's own solution, sold by Amazon. If you own a Keurig and want to match the manual exactly, this is the no-thinking-required choice.

Breville BCC102 Descaler

Breville's own descaler. Pair it with the descale routine in your Breville manual.

Urnex Full Circle

Affresh Coffee Maker Cleaner

Durgol Swiss Espresso

IMPRESA Descaler

Which descaler should you use?

• Keurig owners: Keurig's own descaling solution matches the manual.
• Breville espresso machine: Breville's BCC102 sachets.
• Several machines plus a kettle: Urnex Dezcal powder or the Dezcal tablets.
• Want a ready-to-pour liquid: Durgol for a single espresso machine, or IMPRESA's larger bottle.
• Just want a simple monthly routine for a drip maker: Affresh tablets.