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How to Clean Hamilton Beach Single Serve Coffee Maker ☕

Many folks just can’t function in the morning without a cup of coffee. When looking for a coffee machine to make that oh-so important cup of joe, check out Hamilton Beach. Many Hamilton Beach coffee machines have a single-serve option if you only need one cup but how do you clean it? Let’s take a quick look how to clean hamilton beach single serve coffee maker.

Here’s how you can clean your single-serve Hamilton Beach coffee machine:

1. Press the “single-serve” button, if necessary.
2. Pour plain white vinegar into the water reservoir.
3. Place a mug or travel cup underneath the spout.
4. Brew for 30 seconds.
5. Unplug the coffee machine and let it sit for 30 minutes.
6. Plug in the coffee machine and brew for a full cycle.
7. Rinse the water reservoir and mug or travel cup.
8. Re-run the cycle 2-3 more times with cold tap water.
9. OPTIONAL: Clean the hot plate and exterior.

While it’s not that difficult to clean a Hamilton Beach single-serve coffee machine, keep reading for more thorough instructions.

1. Press the “Single-Serve” Button (If Necessary)

While some Hamilton Beach coffee machines are solely single-serve, most Hamilton Beach coffee makers have the option of single-serve. If your coffee machine has more than one option, make sure your machine is on the single-serve setting by pressing the “single-serve” button.

The last thing you need is to start cleaning your coffee maker, and the liquid comes from the wrong reservoir! 

It seems obvious, but everyone makes mistakes when they’re cleaning, and it’s always good to remember the basics.

2. Pour Plain White Vinegar and Cold Tap Water Into the Water Reservoir

Once you’ve ensured that the liquid will come from the right water reservoir, pour some plain white vinegar and cold tap water into the correct reservoir. The vinegar will be your cleaning agent for the coffee machine.

Just how every machine is different, the amount of vinegar and water you use is going to be different. Check your instruction manual for the exact amount your Hamilton Beach coffee machine needs.

3. Place a Mug or Travel Cup Underneath the Spout

Another step that should be obvious is to put a mug or travel cup underneath the spout of your coffee machine because the last thing you need is for your vinegar mixture to leak all over your kitchen counter! 

Make sure to use a mug or travel cup 14-oz (414-ml) or bigger. If you use a smaller mug or travel cup, the vinegar water combination will probably overflow. And who wants to clean up an overflowed mug or travel cup? It’s a pain in the butt and not fun at all.

4. Brew for 30 Seconds

Once everything is set up, press the “pour” or “brew now” button and let the coffee machine run for 30 seconds before pressing the button again to stop the vinegar water combination from brewing. 

By having the vinegar water combination brew through the single-serve coffee machine, the entire system will get clean, not just the water reservoir.

The exact button you need to press depends on the coffee machine itself. For the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew (available from Amazon, and which is a fantastic option if you sometimes brew a single coffee and sometimes brew a full pot), press the button “BREW NOW I/O”.

If you have a Hamilton Beach Scoop Single Serve Coffee Maker (available from Amazon and which is a super-cool sleek-looking machine), press a button with a coffee cup on it or “regular” or “bold”.

5. Unplug the Coffee Machine and Let It Sit for 30 Minutes

After you’ve brewed the vinegar water combination for 30 seconds, completely unplug the coffee machine and let it sit for half an hour. This gives the vinegar time to deep clean the coffee machine.

Rather than just sit and wait for the 30 minutes to pass, watch an episode from your favorite sitcom or any other show with half-hour episodes. Or watch the first 30 minutes of a movie. Or maybe read a book. 

6. Plug In the Coffee Machine and Brew for a Full Cycle

After the 30 minutes are up, plug in the coffee machine again, and do a full brew cycle with the vinegar water combination. This will finish the run-through and ensure that the single-serve coffee machine system is fully cleaned.

Keep an eye on your mug or travel cup – you don’t want it to overflow! Otherwise, you can definitely prevent any overflowing by dumping out the mug or travel cup you’re using.

7. Rinse the Water Reservoir and Mug or Travel Cup

When the vinegar water cycle is complete, first empty the mug or travel cup you collected the solution with and rinse it out with tap water. If the water reservoir for the single-serve coffee machine is removable, rinse it out, too.

If the water reservoir isn’t removable, that’s okay. The next step will help clean the vinegar out of the reservoir.

This is a very important step, especially if you don’t want your next cup of coffee to taste and smell like vinegar! 

8. Re-Run the Cycle 2 – 3 More Times With Cold Tap Water

After you’ve emptied and rinsed your mug or travel cup, place it back under the coffee machine’s spout. Similarly, return the water reservoir to its place if you took it out. 

Repeat step six 2 – 3 more times with cold tap water to rinse the entire single-serve coffee machine system. This will rinse out the rest of the system to eliminate the vinegar completely.

Once you have finished this step, congratulations! Your single-serve coffee machine system is now ready to use!

9. OPTIONAL: Clean the Hot Plate and Exterior

Cleaning the hot plate or the exterior of the coffee machine isn’t required as often, but I suggest cleaning each at least once a month. You’d be amazed at the grime that can accumulate there! This will complete the cleaning of your Hamilton Beach single serve coffee maker.

To clean the hot plate, all you need to do is place a wet paper towel on top of the cooled hot plate and leave it there for a while. As the paper towel lies on the hot plate, it should soak up or soften any stains. When you feel that enough time has passed, take off the paper towel and wipe the hot plate with a fresh one to get rid of any remaining stains.

Like the hot plate, to clean the exterior of your single-serve coffee machine, take a damp paper towel and wipe it around the coffee machine.

Final Thoughts

That does it for this post! If you need more ideas check out my post on how to clean a Bonavita coffee machine. I hope you found this helpful the next time you clean your Hamilton Beach single-serve coffee machine! Now that you know how to clean your coffee machine, enjoy your daily cup of coffee every morning!