If you’re an avid coffee drinker, chances are you’ve experienced the inconvenience of not having a coffee pot to brew your morning concoction. That’s why we put together this short list of things you can do if your coffee maker isn’t working properly!

 

  • First, check to see if your machine is unplugged. Once you plug it back in and hit the on the button, it should light up and start brewing right away. 
  • Check if there is water in the reservoir tank. If there isn’t any water in the tank, fill it up before putting more grounds inside and turning your machine back on.
  • If you still have no luck, check the thermostat underneath the machine to make sure it is pushed all the way to “on.” Be sure that your machine is plugged in and wait a few minutes before turning it back on.
  • Still nothing? Make sure the water filter is clean and properly installed. Or, if you have a coffee maker with a built-in filter, remove and clean it.
  • Make sure the coffee grounds are fresh and not stale or burnt. Use fresh grounds each time you brew, or else your coffee will be flat!
  • Check the coarseness of your grind. It should be a medium-coarse setting that makes a nice smooth brew on each cup.
  • If you have a glass carafe, be sure to never leave it standing under cold water for too long. If you need to lube it with vinegar or any other cleanser, just wipe it down and let it dry completely before putting the carafe back inside the machine.
  • Lastly, if all else fails and your machine still won’t work, take an old pair of pantyhose and wrap them around the outside of the machine so that no steam can escape from underneath. Then wrap the hose around itself several times, so that the final layer is around a couple of inches thick.
  • Finally, put your machine back on and wait a few minutes before turning it on again. Usually, this will fix the problem!

 

Our subscribers have sent us a story that we want you to read! It describes a really useful coffee machine fixing method.

 

This was my first time using a coffee machine and I was confused because it wouldn’t brew. Then I ordered my coffee maker, there were no instructions or user guidelines in the box!!! After reading some tips online, I got a clue and started checking things out. When I turned it on there was no water inside the filter reservoir!

 

Not cool…I had to wait for I think 30 minutes before getting any water at all. So, I turned the heating element off and opened the filter reservoir to add some water. After about 15 minutes I turned the heating element back on. I don’t know if that helped but it seemed to be working and it was now water in the reservoir. 

 

Here’s what you should do:

 

  1. Use distilled water (not tap) if you have hard water and/or iron in your RO/DI system as this can strip the machines of any minerals in the water filter after a while (of using). 
  2. Clean and descale your coffee maker with vinegar or baking soda (make sure to rinse completely) 
  3. Run only unopened, fresh grounds through machine until clean 
  4. Empty – Do not dump in trash 
  5. Close coffee maker while not in use and leave it off 
  6. Open, Coffee ready in 5 to 7 minutes 
  7. Turn coffee maker on again and wait 5 to 10 minutes for filter to re-wet (you should be hearing water running) 
  8. Turn off and clean filter reservoir as indicated above 
  9. Follow steps 2 – 9 again if you forgot to close the unit before leaving or did not have time to empty the reservoir by turning off or waiting for the machine to reboot (no water) 
  10. Check again your box model instructions 
  11. Enjoy

I’ve always been fairly confident in my adding abilities, but making a pot of coffee is something that I get a little nervous about when it turns out poorly. I don’t drink coffee, so making it for coffee drinkers is an act that I perform in order to please my husband. Well, I’ve been unsuccessful in my attempts lately. 

 

Maybe a total of 3 times since the beginning of April. I bought the machine new about 2 years ago and we had no issues until recently. The first “coffee fail” occurred when the water stopped coming out of the machine’s spout along with no visible signs that it had ever been there. 

 

We called Best Buy where we purchased it and they sent us a new one, but not before telling us what to do if that one failed as well — because “they do at some point. It’s frustrating but it happens.” The second one looked like there was water in the filter but no water on the actual coffee maker. 

 

We called Best Buy again and they sent us a third one — the third one that we should have gotten in the first place. The silver lining to all of this is that I still think about buying another Keurig for myself when my old Keurig (this one) dies, so really it’s not such a total loss. 

 

The moral of the story, though, is don’t mess with success. It’s not worth it, my friends!