A Senseo coffee maker is an easy appliance to own and maintain. Whenever you want a fresh hot cup of coffee, it's just minutes away with the Senseo. And, if you prefer mild roast while your spouse likes their coffee dark or flavored, it's no problem, since you're brewing your coffee one or two cups at a time.
The Senseo Machine requires very little maintenance, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
- It's important to keep the coffee maker descaled. The machine's display will give an indicator when descaling is needed. If you make two cups of coffee per day, on average, you'll need to descale the coffee maker about once every three months.
- Remove old coffee pods after brewing. Pods are wet after making a cup of coffee, and they can give the machine a moldy or mildew smell. It is especially important to remove old pods every time you use the machine if you're not using it daily.
- Clean the machine's platform regularly. There is a round metal grate of sorts, where your coffee cup sits while brewing a cup of coffee. This plate has holes that drain into a plastic dish below. Both of these pieces are easily removed, and should be removed and cleaned regularly. When you remove the top grate, you'll likely find quite a bit of old coffee in the dish below. Dumping the liquid and rinsing every couple of days should keep your coffee maker clean.
Tips for Descaling
Regular descaling of your Senseo machine is the single most important thing you can do to prolong its life. Descaling properly takes about one hour. You should not interrupt the process by making a cup of coffee.
- Choose your descaling agent. Senseo makes a product specifically for descaling. You can also buy plain citric acid (it comes in powdered form) and mix it with water to make your own descaling solution. In addition, other manufacturers make coffee maker descaling solutions you may be able to find at your grocer.
- Use only citric acid based descalers on your Senseo. Many people have had success in using white vinegar diluted in water to descale their coffee makers. However, Philips, the manufacturer of Senseo products, recommends against using vinegar, saying it can damage the machine's mechanism that makes steam.
- Use old pods in the pod holder during the descaling process. The pods will catch any hard water scales as they flush through the machine.
- Flush the machine after descaling. After you have run all the mixture containing the descaler through the machine, you should run a few containers of plain water through to ensure that the descaler is completely rinsed away. Regular descaling of your Senseo is critical. It is important to note that the descaling reminder on the display of most models will disappear after you make a few more cups of coffee – even if you haven't descaled. However, at some point, if you don't descale the machine, it may stop working altogether until the descaling is performed.
The Senseo is really a very simple machine to keep clean. With just a little time and effort, your Senseo Coffee Maker will be making great coffee for you for years.
