How To Descale Keurig K-Duo (Step By Step!)

Like with every other coffee maker, you have to descale your Keurig K-Duo every now and then.

With other coffee makers, you might just throw some vinegar in, rinse it a couple of times and call it a day. But with the Keurig K-Duo, you have to follow a whole descaling procedure before the descaling light will come off.

In this article, I will tell you exactly how to descale a Keurig K-Duo coffee maker.

How To Descale a Keurig K-Duo Coffee Maker?

First, add a bottle of Keurig descaling solution and add the same amount of water to the tank. Put a Large cup on the drip tray. Press the pod button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” Button. Pour the liquid into the sink. Then Select the carafe button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” button. Press and hold the carafe button to turn off the heating plate. Let the K-duo sit for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes throw the remaining descaling solution in the water tank into the sink and rinse the water tank. Fill the water tank to the max and rinse both the carafe and pod side four times with the 12 oz button.

Scroll down to get some more detail on this process!

Things To Know Before Descaling Your Keurig K-Duo

When your Keurig coffee maker starts making some more noise or the coffee starts tasting different, you know it’s time to descale it. You really want to descale it at least every three months, especially when you’re using unfiltered water.

Your coffee maker has a descale light, that indicates it needs descaling after 250 brews. You don’t necessarily have to wait for the light to come on before you can descale your coffee maker.

With older Keurig models you could just put some vinegar or descale solution in the coffee maker and run some brews and rinses and the descale light would come off.

With newer models like the K-Express and K-Supreme, you need to put it in “descale mode” and go through the whole process before the light goes out and you can make a cup of coffee again.

Descaling the new K-duo however is more like the older models, in that you don’t have to put it in “descale mode”.

The descaling procedure to follow did come with the original manual when you first bought your Keurig machine.

Put Descaling Solution In The Water Tank

The first thing you want to do is take out the water reservoir and pour out the remaining water. If you got a water filter in there, you need to remove that as well. Then pour the descaling solution into the water tank.

If you’re using the Keurig descaling solution, pour the entire contents of the bottle into the water tank. Top up the rest with water until you have about a 1/1 ratio of water to descaling solution.

An easy way to get the exact one-to-one ratio is to fill the descale solution bottle you just used with water and pour that into the tank.

Once you’ve done that you notice that the tank is not filled to the max. That doesn’t matter because you want to keep that one-to-one ratio of water to descale solution.

Start The Descaling Process

Once you’ve got the descaling solution in the tank, do not lift the lid or unplug it.

All you need to do now is place a Large cup on the drip tray. Press the pod button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” Button. Pour the liquid into the sink.

Then Select the carafe button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” button. Press and hold the carafe button to turn off the heating plate. Let the K-duo sit for at least 30 minutes.

It will run the descaling solution through to clean the heating element and tubes.

Contrary to brewing a normal coffee. When descaling your coffee maker, it might splatter a bit because the water is pouring out so slowly. Putting a towel around your coffee maker could be a good idea.

It is important that you do not press the K button again if the “add water” light begins to flash even if there is still some descaling solution in the tank.

Doing this can result in getting air bubbles stuck in the tubes.

After 30 minutes throw the remaining descaling solution in the water tank into the sink and clean it out with some soap and water. Then fill it up to the max with fresh water without descaling the solution in it. Rinse both the carafe and pod side four times with the 12 oz button.

Hold 8 and 10 oz buttons simultaneously for three seconds to turn off the descale light, you can brew a cup of coffee like you normally would!

This descaling process also cleans the needles very well. So, when you open the lid you might want to dry the inside with a towel because it can get a lot of steam and water on it.

What To Do When The Descaling Light Stays On?

In some cases, the descale light still stays on after this whole procedure. Make sure you held the 8 and 10 oz buttons simultaneously for three seconds, Try holding it a bit longer if the light doesn’t go off after three seconds.

If the light is still on, the first thing you could try is unplugging it and waiting about three to four minutes before plugging it back in again.

Check out this article for more detail on why the light on your Keurig K-Duo might not turn off and what you can do about it.

Can I Use Vinegar For Descaling My Keurig K-Duo?

Using white vinegar for descaling your Keurig K-Duo is fine. You’ll probably save some money compared to using the official Keurig descaling solution.

Make sure to use 14oz of vinegar and 14oz of water to clean and descale your Keurig coffee maker.

If you’re going to use vinegar also make sure to do some extra water rinses afterward, just to make sure that your coffee maker is clean and because vinegar has more smell than the normal Keurig solution.

Conclusion

Unlike with other Keurig models, descaling your Keurig K-Duo can be a little confusing. To recap here are all the steps to take:

Add a bottle of Keurig descaling solution and add the same amount of water to the tank.
Put a Large cup on the drip tray. Press the pod button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” Button.
Pour the liquid into the sink.
Select the carafe button, select the 12 oz cup size, and press the “K” button. Press and hold the carafe button to turn off the heating plate.
Let the K-duo sit for at least 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes throw the remaining descaling solution in the water tank into the sink and rinse the water tank.
Fill the water tank to the max and rinse both the carafe and pod side four times with the 12 oz button.

I hope that this article helped you with cleaning and descaling your Keurig K-Duo and that you can enjoy a good cup of coffee again!

Thanks for reading!