Coffee makers don't make it long in this house

[packofjedis]

We have tried all different brands and all different prices of coffee makers, and it seems they only last 6 months - 1 year. We've even had one only last 3 months! We're not abusing them, just making coffee every morning. Our latest was only $20 since I figured I wouldn't feel so bad when it broke. It's done as of last night, and I'm annoyed. I don't know where to begin to buy another one, and I'm sick of buying coffee makers!

Anyone have a coffee maker that they love and that is still available in the stores? I'm looking for at least a 10 cup one that's under $100 (for when it breaks again) and will hopefully last me at least a year but preferably longer!

 

[delmar411]

do you clean your maker every month with a coffeemaker cleaner? Since moving to IN we've been through 4 coffee makers. They get broken because of the extremely hard water and need to be cleaned on a regular basis. The coffeemaker cleaner is rather expensive at $4 per bottle but worth it if you buy a good maker.

(and I 'm sure someone could suggest vinegar and water or whatever but it's not strong enough to cut this stuff as I've tried that before w/ no success.)

I've never had a broken coffee maker before living here so I know it is the water that is breaking ours.

 

[packofjedis]

It's funny you should mention that.....I was just reseaching brands etc on Amazon and somebody's review mentioned one having a Brita filter. Next thought for me was that we fill the coffee maker with cold kitchen water which is the only water not hooked up to the water softener.

We only moved here 2 1/2 yrs ago and this is probably our 2nd or 3rd coffee maker in IN. Gotta love Indiana water (and my slow thinking as to what was wrong!)

I'm going to look into the cleaner, but in the meantime we still need a new coffee maker....

How's Braun for a brand?

 

[Dashzap]

We've had the same West Bend coffee maker for 15 years. It wasn't very expensive. We also have hard water. It's given us a lot of trouble with our dishwasher (have to use Lemishine in the dishwasher every few days), but no problem with the coffee maker.

How does your coffee maker break?

 

[packofjedis]

Usually they just stop brewing which seems to fit in with the lime in the water thoughts. Right now you hit the button and nothing happens. If I remember correctly, the same thing happened last time. I know this coffee maker was brewing reallllllllllly slowly last week because my mom was visiting and commented on it.

 

[delmar411]

Usually they just stop brewing which seems to fit in with the lime in the water thoughts. Right now you hit the button and nothing happens. If I remember correctly, the same thing happened last time. I know this coffee maker was brewing reallllllllllly slowly last week because my mom was visiting and commented on it.

That's exactly what happened with ours. I just replaced another one in May and have been using the coffeemaker cleaner. I got another Mr.Coffee (?) type one. Nothing fancy but I'm not willing to spend a lot just to have to replace it too. I'm giving the cleaner and this maker a year before looking at a better maker.

We need to get the water softener hooked up here soon. The dishwasher is so badly covered with the limescale that it stops working on occasion.

 

[semo233]

My next door neighbor is an appliance repair man and uses Tang to clean dishwashers. I think it is the cirtic acid. One scoop in a cycle and it sparkles! I don't think he even lets it run a full cycle. He runs it empty.

 

[FoodLover]

(and I 'm sure someone could suggest vinegar and water or whatever but it's not strong enough to cut this stuff as I've tried that before w/ no success.)

Use full strength white vinegar. Works great. Diluting it won't work.

The Tang suggestion further down the thread is interesting. I'm sure it's the citric acid that does it.

Mary

 

[Kies99]

We have a Krups Il Caffe Bistro Coffee/Cappuccino Machine (#867-42).

We make coffee every single day and NEVER have cleaned the machine. It's been going strong for over 3 years now.

I don't think it's sold anymore.

I actually dropped the carafe on Tuesday when I washing it and it broke but I was able to easily find the replacement on Amazon.

 

[CTdiznymom]

We threw ours out and bought a Keurig (single cup-pod type). Love it!

 

[goodeats]

I think our aroma control Krups is dying. It's making an "eeeeerrrrrrr' sound that seems to be coming from the on-light.

If it is dead, I'll probably get another. It's lasted over 4 years.

 

[delmar411]

Use full strength white vinegar. Works great. Diluting it won't work.

The Tang suggestion further down the thread is interesting. I'm sure it's the citric acid that does it.

Mary

I did. The vinegar didn't even do a thing other than eventually leak all over my counters.

I've tried every trick in the book but once they are clogged they are trash.

 

[packofjedis]

We do use undiluted vinegar to clean it out, and still it eventually stops working.

When we moved here we saw a map showing the amount of lime in the water and Indiana specifically central Indiana has some of the worst in the country. I've never seen anything like it.

So I'm asking around now to find someone here who has a coffee maker that they've been using for a long time without it breaking. Funny thing my neighbor was even surprised at lime being the answer - coffee makers usually last a year or so and she doesn't use them daily! She had never thought of it, and like me, thought she was buying lemons.

 

[amsyw]

We have extremely hard water here too. We clean ours out occasionally, not monthly though. We have the cheapo Walmart coffee maker. I think we actually bought it on a Black Friday for like $10. It has lasted 3-4 years. In the beginning we didn't use it everyday, as my DH worked nights. Now we use it almost everyday (for 2 years or so) and it works great. Before it we had a Mr. Coffee, don't remember how long we had it but know if was several years.

HOWEVER, if you want a review on a Braun, my mom swears by them! She is on her second one and the first lasted 10+ years. This one has to be getting close to that. It has all the bells and whistles and auto timer. There are very nice, but we are not the coffee drinkers my parents are. So for us the cheapy works fine!

hth!

 

[Justin the Hook]

My wife did this for the first 9 years of us being married. She would go and buy a $20-$30 coffee maker and in 6-9 months of us it would be worthless. This last time I buckled down and bought the Keurig 1 cup coffee maker and i will tell you it is worth every penny. It brews your cup in about 30 seconds and about 15 seconds later you are ready to brew another cup. The best thing about this is if you are someone who likes to have a cup of coffee in the evening and usually brew a whole pot that goes to waste this only brews that one last cup of coffee. The pods are expensive too, but there is an adapter that you can use that gives you the ability to use your own coffee. It is a little messy at first until you get the hang of it, but it does cut your costs.

 

[Fizzgig]

We threw ours out and bought a Keurig (single cup-pod type). Love it!

Seconded. Granted, I only drink one cup of something a day, but I love the convenience and the fact I can choose something different from the visiting in-laws.

 

[nairv]

I love KRUPS coffee makers. The one I have right now is at least 10 years old (not sure exactly because it was donated to me by an aunt when they were moving-and that was 2 years ago!) It's old, and it's got none of the fancy stuff, but it makes good coffee. I think you could get the cheapest krups out there and still not go wrong. I actually thought of replacing it, only because my counter space is limited and this is somewhat bulky.....but I couldn't justify replacing my perfectly good, yet old coffee maker with a newer model for purely cosmetic reasons
btw, i have seen pretty good reviews on amazon for the cheapo mr coffee machines. may be another option for you.

 

[Dashzap]

When we moved here we saw a map showing the amount of lime in the water and Indiana specifically central Indiana has some of the worst in the country. I've never seen anything like it.

You could try a coffee press instead. We have one from about 1985.

 

[branv]

We have 3 coffee makers, depending on our needs For multiple cups, we use the Cuisnart that we purchased at Costco for about $60. Still going strong four years later (well, except when DH shattered the carafe against the side of the sink ). We have VERY hard water, but we use bottled or filtered water to fill the reservoir...partly to keep the inside running well, and partly for better taste.

My baby, however, is the Keurig. I don't know about all models, but mine has a warning that will pop up to let us know we need to descale the lime. With this one, however, we also use bottled/filtered water and that warning light hasn't popped up in two years.

And like the person mentioned above, for good coffee, just buy three things: burr grinder for beans, tea kettle and a french press. And you don't even need the burr grinder (it just tastes WAY better to use fresh ground beans). The french press is about as reliable as you can get, just make sure you get the right size grounds.

 

[semo233]

Use full strength white vinegar. Works great. Diluting it won't work.

The Tang suggestion further down the thread is interesting. I'm sure it's the citric acid that does it.

Mary

THE TANG SUGGESTION WAS FOR DISHWASHERS!! I don't want anyone ruining their coffee maker using this suggestion....Tang contains sugar and I don't know what that would do to the heating element in a coffee maker!