Waking up in the morning, pressing brew on your machine, and it takes an eternity to load?
If so, then there might be a couple of reasons for that. Keep reading this guide to learn about the possible reasons why your coffee maker is slow.
Coffee Maker Working Slowly
There might be an issue with the coffee maker. This is why it may be working slowly. You can do certain things on your own to improve the speed.
The first thing is to troubleshoot and determine the culprit behind the issue.
Often, the culprit behind a faulty coffee maker is excessive mineral buildup. This is why a thorough cleanup of the machine will likely be all you need to restore the machine.
However, you must still pull apart the machine and look at what might be causing the issue. In this guide, we will explain how to do all of that.
Troubleshooting the Problem
Various things can negatively impact a coffee maker, resulting in slow operation.
If that is the case with you, here’s what you need to check:
Mineral Buildup
This is the most frequent reason why your coffee machine is not working properly. There are tons of minerals in the water, especially tap water.
The minerals might accumulate if you frequently use tap water in your coffee machine. The most common minerals that accumulate from water are limestone and calcium.
This might not be the issue if you don’t use tap water and use demineralized water instead.
However, this is not the only way to check whether mineral buildup is the culprit. Particular coffee makers also have a ‘descaler’ light that tells you when there are a lot of mineral buildups.
Once you have identified this problem, it is time to resolve it. Luckily, doing this is neither hard nor time-consuming.
All you have to carry out is the descaling process. For this, you will need warm water and vinegar.
Start by emptying the coffee machine and rinsing it thoroughly with water. Check the device thoroughly and remove any unwanted coffee grounds.
Now, prepare the mineral-removing solution. The solution is quite straightforward since it involves equal parts water and vinegar.
Next, pour this inside the compartment of the machine and switch the machine on for a regular brewing cycle.
This will begin the overall cleaning process of the machine and remove any sort of mineral buildup.
Now, remove the solution from the water chamber and prepare to start another brewing cycle. In this cycle, add only water to the chamber. Do this thrice until all the vinegar is removed.
After this, if the brewing is still taking a lot of time, you might need to do a thorough cleaning. For this, follow the same steps.
However, when you add water in the final cycle, stop the brewing process midway.
Allow the coffee machine to sit for an hour with the water in it. Doing so would increase the efficacy of cleaning.
Depending on the mineral content, you must descale a few times in the year.
Some people run the water and vinegar solution at least once a week to descale the machine. Following all of these steps will definitely improve the speed of your machine.
Clogged Coffee Maker
When you don’t regularly clean the coffee maker, dust and other particles may accumulate on the inside.
As a result, mold and other toxic particles can get inside the tubes and chambers of the machine.
This could also be caused by putting the coffee grounds in the wrong compartment of the machine. However, most often, the clogs happen on their own.
As a result of clogs, the brewing would slow down. If you don’t clean these particles out, the clog may build up and become severe.
This will get worse till the coffee machine stops working altogether. Hence, to avoid this, you must unclog the maker at your earliest convenience.
However, figuring out whether clogging is causing your machine to malfunction is difficult. You cannot find this out just by observing the coffee maker.
If you have not thoroughly cleaned your machine, it could be clogged. This is also true if you don’t clean your coffee machine after every use.
Luckily, unclogging the machine is also quite straightforward. You will just need to use the descaling solution with water and vinegar.
Running the solution will likely get out all of the clogs and clean your coffee machine. If descaling did not yield good results, you could also clear the clogs manually.
You will need to take the coffee machine apart as clogs are typically found in the tubes or valves of the machine. Use a manual or a professional’s help to do this.
Before you begin, ensure you have removed the plug from the switch and let your machine cool down.
Once the entire machine is disassembled, it is time to inspect it for gunk, mold, or dust. Clean the valves and tubes using a thin brush with hard bristles.
When you have removed all of the clogs, reassemble the machine. Then, run a cycle only with water.
You should prevent your machine from clogging as much as you can. This requires you to make sure you don’t add coffee to the wrong compartment and clean the machine regularly, especially after every use. Doing this will prevent the machine from clogging up so it will not slow down.
Excessive Coffee Grounds
Another reason why coffee may be brewing slowly in your coffee machine is perhaps because of this.
You may have used too much coffee for brewing and did not clean the machine afterward.
When you put a lot of coffee grounds in the machine, it might take a while for the machine to brew it. This is quite common for people who are using coffee machines for the first time.
The coffee could take some time to exit from the machine into your cup. Check your coffee bag for instructions to check if this is the problem.
To ensure you are not adding too much coffee, check the instructions. As a rule, you should add not more than two tablespoons of coffee.
The solution for this is pretty straightforward. Simply don’t add too much coffee the next time you make it on the machine.
Malfunctioning Internal Component
In some cases, the reason why coffee is taking a lot of time to brew is because of a malfunctioning internal component.
You might need to get it checked by a professional. Alternatively, you could also read and check the manual to troubleshoot the problem.
The manual and professional will provide you with the best information about what went wrong. The professional may fix the issue for you or help you further.
The cost of the repair entirely depends on the severity of the issue. However, the starting price for a repair maybe $50.
The Bottom Line
If your coffee is taking longer than usual to brew, don’t take it lightly. It might be pointing towards an underlying issue in the machine.
Be sure to troubleshoot the problem by checking for clogs and buildup. If you have never cleaned the machine before, clean it thoroughly. And, remember to always use the right amount of coffee!
If the above reasons are not causing your machine to slow down, it may be a malfunction. It is best to get that checked by a professional.
Whatever the cause may be, getting it fixed is quite easy. You can restore your coffee machine to normal functioning in no time!
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