How To Drain A Keurig Without Taking It Apart
Owning a Keurig makes getting your everyday coffee, tea, and other drinks a breeze. All you do is pop in a Keurig cup, press a button, and your drink will be ready soon!
But not everything about a Keurig is that simple. If you are moving or simply looking to store your Keurig, you will need to empty out all of the water to ensure nothing gets damaged or wet while moving the machine around. Even if you are just leaving it to sit for a few weeks, you should completely drain the machine.
Thankfully, I can tell you that draining up all water reservoirs doesn’t mean you have to take it apart! Follow my simple tutorial to empty your appliance in just a few minutes.
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What You Will Need
Method 1:
Keurig machine
Keurig coffee machines are a very convenient, automated way to make a delicious cup of coffee or tea in the morning. All you do is pop in a cup, hit brew, and your coffee will be finished in minutes.
Unfortunately, these systems store water on the inside that can get moldy or cause damage to the machine if left inside when the machine is not in regular use. That is why it is important to remove the water when possible.
- SEE ALSO : Choosing The Best Keurig Coffee Maker
Empty cup
When you brew with a Keurig, the water comes out of a spout and goes right into a cup. If you are trying to remove all the water from your Keurig, you will need a cup to catch all excess water that comes out of the machine.
The largest size, empty cup that you have will be the best choice to use for this tutorial.
Method 2:
Keurig machine
See above.
Empty cup
See above.
Turkey baster
A turkey baster is a kitchen tool used to spread liquid over and into different bird meats, such as a turkey. Basters use air pressure to move liquids from one place to another and can be very useful.
In Method 2, the baster will be used to push air into the Keurig machine, which will push water out of the machine. This will enable you to easily clean all the water out of your system without needing to take it apart.
Step By Step Instructions
Method 1
#1: Empty The Water Reservoir
First, empty the water reservoir on the side of your machine to make sure there is no water inside of it. All you need to do to empty this is lift the water reservoir up and then dump the water inside into a sink.
Put the water reservoir back onto its base once it is empty. Your Keurig will blink at you to let you know there is no water inside.
#2: Lift The Water Sensor
Inside the now empty water reservoir you will see a small lever that can move up and down. This is a sensor that lets the machine know if there is water inside your Keurig or not.
Use your hand to lift up and hold this lever. The light indicating water level should stop blinking at this point. Keep holding it while you do the next step.
#3: Fake Brew A Coffee
With your hand still holding the sensor, open and close the top of the Keurig and then “fake brew” a cup of coffee by selecting the largest coffee size. Make sure to place an empty cup where the coffee comes out.
The machine will try to brew coffee and will use the internal reservoir first, so you will see that water comes out.
#4: Repeat
Repeat step #3 one more time. You should not fake brew more than one cup of coffee because it could cause the internal heating element to overheat which could be very dangerous.
Here is a video showing how to do this whole process:
If this method does not work for your Keurig model, try Method #2.
Method 2
#1: Remove Your Water Reservoir
The first step in this method is also to empty and remove the detachable water reservoir on the side of your Keurig machine. This will remove all supply of water from the machine and make it easier to clear out the water inside.
Then, place an empty cup into the Keurig to catch the water that you will be removing.
#2: Remove The End Of A Turkey Baster
You only will need the rubber end of the turkey baster that you squeeze to complete this tutorial. All you need to do is pop this round, rubber section off of the turkey baster.
#3: Use The Turkey Baster To Remove The Air
Now that you have remove the water reservoir, the water intake area at the base is open. Place the turkey baster end on top of this hole.
Then, put your finger over the air intake valve at the top back corner where the water reservoir sat.
Keeping your finger over this valve, squeeze the turkey baster! You will see the water start to come out of the machine and into your empty cup. Keep squeezing the turkey baster until no more water comes out. Then you are finished!
To help make this process easier, here is a video showing how it’s done:
Emptying Your Keurig Without Taking It Apart
While some people are able to take their Keurig apart to empty the reservoir with no problem, that is not a great solution to someone like me who is less handy with tools. I knew there had to be a better solution, and am happy to have shared these easy tool-less methods with you!
Has my tutorial helped you learn how to drain a Keurig? Remember that all it takes is your hands, your Keurig, and maybe a turkey baster! Draining a Keurig doesn’t have to be a difficult task if you follow my simple instructions instead of breaking out the toolbox.
- SEE ALSO : Low Acid Coffee Compatible K-Cup
Let me know in the comments if these solutions worked for you, or if you have any other easy draining solutions.