There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning and getting to your beloved coffee maker for that much needed first cup of coffee just to realize that it refuses to cooperate. Sunbeam coffee machines are extremely user-friendly and easy to operate, but even they can run into problems. Luckily, most of these are easy to solve or prevent.
Your Coffee Tastes Like Plastic
This can happen with new units that haven't been properly washed before the first use. Make sure to wash it very well and run the first brewing cycle with just plain water to prevent your first batch of coffee from tasting like plastic.
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Your Coffee Tastes Generally Bad
Things that affect the taste of coffee include the type of water and the quality of coffee being used. Make sure to use fresh coffee to achieve the best taste.
Water is Leaking From the Bottom of the Coffee Maker
This may happen if the hose in the water reservoir gets disconnected. Make sure it's connected and that the reservoir itself isn't damaged.
Your Coffee Doesn't Stay Warm
One possible reason your machine isn't keeping your coffee warm is the auto-off function. Make sure auto-off isn't activated if you want to have warm coffee at any time.
If that doesn't solve the problem, check for lime buildup in your machine. Your coffee maker's ability to keep the coffee warm is reduced by lime buildup. Make sure to clean your machine regularly, and you'll easily avoid this problem.
Keep Your Coffee Maker Clean
It's easy to keep your coffee maker clean and working properly with the help of white vinegar. The Sunbeam manual recommends running one brewing cycle with white vinegar alone followed by one cycle with just plain water. First, pour four cups of white vinegar into the water reservoir. Insert a filter into the basket and close it. Position the empty carafe on the warming plate and start the brewing cycle. Stop it when only one cup of vinegar remains in the reservoir and unplug the coffee maker. After about 30 minutes, pour the vinegar from the carafe into the water reservoir and reposition the empty carafe on the warming plate. Turn the coffee maker on and run another brewing cycle with the vinegar that's already in the reservoir. Your coffee maker should be clean and lime free! If you don't like your coffee smelling like vinegar, run a couple of brewing cycles with plain water to get rid of the smell.
Your Coffee Maker Doesn't Heat Coffee Properly
In this case, the company recommends returning the unit.
Follow Safety Precautions
Finally, to keep yourself safe and your coffee maker working smoothly, always follow basic safety precautions outlined in the Sunbeam user manual.
Make sure to only use cold water to fill the water reservoir, and never overfill it. Always make sure the carafe is empty before starting a new brewing cycle. Never begin a brewing cycle when the water reservoir is empty.