Can extremely hard water ruin a coffee maker?

Question

Here in Austin, TX we have very hard water and my coffee maker has slowed waaaayyyyy down.
I have a Mr. Coffee coffee maker it cost me $59.00 and it was wonderful at first but now it is sloooowww.

It has a feature to let you know when the coffee is done...it beeps 8 times. But now, it beeps even though it's not even close to being done.

Would it be better if I would use distilled water?

Answer 1

Yes. The lime will clog it. I clean my coffee maker 1x month w/vinegar. Fill pot w/vinegar and let it run through one cycle (make sure you have a filter in). Then run clear water through 2 times. I do this 1x a month because we drink about 5 pots a day in my house-no lie!

Answer 2

Ruin a coffee maker? Yep, the same way it can make a toilet start to flush with less force.
The minerals (which are what defines "hard water") in the water over time starts to clog all the little pores/jets/openings, etc. In a worse case scenario, if let go too long, it'll plug it up to the point where it will no longer function.
You could buy bottled water to use, or a filter that goes on your kitchen tap that filters most of it out. Or (more expensive) an under sink cabinet filter system.

Answer 3

Distilled water would be OK, but not taste right. You need to clean your coffee maker. You can buy commercial products for this (look for them near the coffee filters in the supermarket) or just use plain white vinegar to break down the deposits. Pour a pot full of vinegar into the back of the coffee maker and brew it without a filter. You will see all sorts of crud collect in the bottom of the coffee pot. You may have to do it a second time, because it sounds pretty clogged. Then brew several pots of plain water.

The vinegar works because the pH dissolves the calcium carbonate buildup.

In the future, about once a month, mix a cup of vinegar into a pot of water and send it through. Then brew again with plain water to rinse. This is great to do after you have cooked something smelly because the vinegar vapors help dispel odors.

Answer 4

YES, hard water will slow down your coffee machine in time. NO, it isn't ruined. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to clean it. If you've misplaced them go to the internet site.

Otherwise.... The BEST way to clean your coffee maker is to rerun a full pot of pure white vinegar(get it at your grocery store) through the machine 2 times(without the coffee of course!) or until the machine works normally. Discard the vinegar. Then run 2 pots of clear/distilled water through the machine afterwards to rinse it. Discard the water.

This will not harm your machine in any way.

Then you are all set to make more coffee.

As for distilled water. In the past I have used a screw-on charcoal/carbon filter on my kitchen faucet to filter the minerals. Replace the filter regularly as directed. You will be surprised at what it catches. This will be far cheaper than distilled water - which I don't think will taste good with coffee anyway.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can extremely hard water ruin a coffee maker?
Here in Austin, TX we have very hard water and my coffee maker has slowed waaaayyyyy down.
I have a Mr. Coffee coffee maker it cost me $59.00 and it was wonderful at first but now it is sloooowww.

It has a feature to let you know when the coffee is done...it beeps 8 times. But now, it beeps...

Answer 6

Hard water will ruin all appliances...even dishwashers and clothes washers over time. About your coffee maker. Run a cycle (no coffee in filter) of water and WHITE VINEGAR thru as if you were going to make coffee. For 8 cups...use 6cups water 2 cups vinegar (WHITE)...after this process...wash the pot and basket...then run a cleansing/rinsing cycle of clear water thru. You may have to repeat this process...but it will remove the lime scale from the coffee maker and it will work great again. You don't have to use distilled water...but I would definitely use bottled water (gallon jugs at any grocery store)...meanwhile, if you own your home...you may want to check into water softener/conditioners...it will dave you small and major appliances, and you will use less soaps, shampoos, detergents, which will save money too

Answer 7

There are coffee pot cleaning compounds that dissolve the minerals deposited by your hard water. You put it in and go through a cycle without the coffee and boil the crud out of all the internal parts. You could also try vinegar but that might leave a smell in there.

You might want to try bottled water just for coffee making. It is not full of minerals and will not cause that problem.

Your next issue will soon be your washer and your shower heads. You might want to get a quote on a whole-house water softener.

Answer 8

I have a lot of iron in my water also, The absolute best solution is to install a water softener and use the rust removing pellets. Speaking of money - The next thing you might try is a britta water filter pitcher, or one of the under sink ones that hook up easily. They do a pretty good job. . Or every now and then run some "iron out" through the coffee maker. I really don't recommend it, the coffee will taste "bad" for a couple of days and it doesn't work as well as you would think it would. Good luck.

Answer 9

Absolutely, hard water is the worst thing on coffee makers
Distilled water will work, but if the water is as bad as you say, I would recommend you get a water softener, and an under sink RO unit. It will make you quit drinking tap water!
I DID, best investment I have made for house in a long time.

Answer 10

It can cause a lime build up and make your coffee maker run slower. We use purified water and have had the same coffee maker for years, no problems. A friend of ours has hard water and is constantly needing to clean his coffee maker. He runs vinegar through it a few times to clean out the lime build up, then runs clear water through it a few times, to clean out the excess vinegar, and then goes about making his coffee. You could try that, and then switch to purified or distilled. They suggest you mix half vinegar, half water, and send that through a couple times, but if I were you I'd do it atleast once with pure vinegar, since it sounds like you have a hefty lime build up going on in there. Just run it through like you're making your usual coffee, and if you want, let it sit in the coffee pot for a while, if you have lime build up in there (white streaks). It might take a few times of doing this but that should improve the performance of your coffee maker.