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[Twoaces]

Thanks for info re using vinegar occasionally. My large Keurig is used daily, but my mini is only used on road trips. I need to take care of that one!

[donasmom]

I have the Keurig Personal Brewer. One of the reasons I did not buy one of the ones with a water "tank" was because I liked using fresh bottled water for each cup. Also, on the first of the month I clean mine with a vinegar solution.

That said, my DS who is quite a health nut, has the one with the tank. He is meticulous abiut washing it and using the vniegar wash every month as well.

[CalminHeart]

My first Keurig lasted 4 years. My coffeemaker prior to that lasted 1 year and, while not as much as my Keurig, it was an expensive one. My second Keurig has been in use for a few months now. I've never had a problem.

I clean mine with clear vinegar every 45-60 days. Run several cups of water through it after the vinegar or your first cup will taste like vinegar. I always leave the pod top open to avoid mold growing too.

[Anglophilly]

Read the article which, I believe, went too far. Directions for cleaning are included with the machine.

The disposal of the K cups has always bothered me, though not enough to give up on my Keurig. The only re-use I can come up with is seed starting or providing drainage to large planters. Kind of lame since I don't have acres of land.

Any ideas that lessen my guilt would be appreciated. Disposable diapers are still with us, and I suspect the K cup is here to stay. Little top hats for gnomes? Christmas tree garlands?...anything? Of course this would barely put a dent in the landfills. If there's enough consumer noise, the engineers at Keurig will probably take note.

[PamelaSue72]

Do you recycle? If you do single-stream recycling, you can add rinsed k-cups to your container. But only if you do single-stream. We had a discussion about it in Kitchen and Food last week. Regular recycling does not allow k-cups. Single stream recycling does allow k-cups (and all those plastics from 1-7...margarine containers, rinsed out yogurt cups, etc.).

FWIW, I got my information from my office mate at work who is the Recycling Coordinator for our county. We do do single stream in the county and k-cups are now actually listed on the paper of things you can recycle. You won't find this info on the Keurig website, unfortunately; maybe the website isn't quite up-to-date.

ETA: As for cleaning, a good vinegar solution the first weekend of every month does it for my Keurig. And I only use spring water in the tank.

[okiebug]

On 11/23/2014 Anglophilly said:

Read the article which, I believe, went too far. Directions for cleaning are included with the machine.

The disposal of the K cups has always bothered me, though not enough to give up on my Keurig. The only re-use I can come up with is seed starting or providing drainage to large planters. Kind of lame since I don't have acres of land.

Any ideas that lessen my guilt would be appreciated. Disposable diapers are still with us, and I suspect the K cup is here to stay. Little top hats for gnomes? Christmas tree garlands?...anything? Of course this would barely put a dent in the landfills. If there's enough consumer noise, the engineers at Keurig will probably take note.

Our grocery store sells a brand of k-cups that are bio-degradable. I think they're called "white coffee", sorry, I'm not sure. They are in plain white boxes, no pictures. The cups are made using the paper tea bags are made from with a little foil on the lid.

[Arley1210]

I LOVE my keurig BUT I do notice when I clean it with vinegar there are little odd looking things floating when the vinegar comes out. I think its from the grinds but it does gross me out!!!

Arley

[metrogal]

Hi Ladies......when you say ""vinegar solution"" .... are you mixing vinegar with water.... or do you use straight vinegar?

[misschristy]

On 11/23/2014 Anglophilly said:

Read the article which, I believe, went too far. Directions for cleaning are included with the machine.

The disposal of the K cups has always bothered me, though not enough to give up on my Keurig. The only re-use I can come up with is seed starting or providing drainage to large planters. Kind of lame since I don't have acres of land.

Any ideas that lessen my guilt would be appreciated. Disposable diapers are still with us, and I suspect the K cup is here to stay. Little top hats for gnomes? Christmas tree garlands?...anything? Of course this would barely put a dent in the landfills. If there's enough consumer noise, the engineers at Keurig will probably take note.

Purchase those plastic cups you re-use. Buy your favorite loose coffee. I do both methods, but the loose coffee that I use is the best way! It tastes much better than the K-cups in the exact same type and brand of coffee. They sell the cups at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They are nicer than the cup I got with the purchase of my Keurig. They are easier to use - you use them exactly as you would a K-cup.

[KentuckyWoman]

We have the older model. No tank or reservoir. We brew 6, 8 or 10 ounces at a time. Once every couple of weeks I run white distilled vinegar through the unit a couple of times and then follow with two or three cycles of clear water. We never leave water in the reservoir. No problems.