Hello from snowy DC!
You know what’s kind of lame? The fact that with technology nowadays, a snow day from work just means that you work from home instead of at the office. Bummer, right? I miss the days of full on snow days, where snow meant you didn’t have to work at all! It is fun to have Matt working from home with me today, though. :)
In honor of the snow, I decided to make us a batch of my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (<—click for recipe) this morning.
I hadn’t used the stove to make oats in… um… a year or more?! I always rock the microwave, and if I include pumpkin, I just stir it in at the last minute! So today’s oats felt like a special treat.
They were extra yummy. Topped with pecans for a little healthy fat. I also stirred in some wild blueberries near the end of cooking, since we now know how awesome wild blueberries are. :)
You know who also enjoyed some of my pumpkin pie oatmeal this morning? My high school best friend Jenny’s daughter, Mia, down in Georgia!
Jenny said she’s obsessed with it. How cute is that photo?! :) I love it!
Anyway! We enjoyed some especially awesome coffee with our oats because last night I cleaned out our Keurig and our Nespresso Pixie Espresso Machine using these CleanCup products!
A few weeks ago, Matt commented that we needed to figure out a way to clean out our Keurig. He said his coffee had started tasting a little watery/off lately, and that it was brewing more slowly, which makes sense considering we’ve had it for 3 years now and basically never cleaned it. Don’t judge.
Well, in what can only be called serendipity or fate, a mere few hours later that day I received an email from the CleanCup peeps asking if I’d be interested in reviewing their coffee machine cleaning products. They read our mind! Yes, please. Tastier coffee for all!
They sent us two products to try, and first up was the CleanCups Single Cup Brewer Cleaning Cups, which are compatible with the Keurig K-Cup brewers. They’re essentially little K-Cups filled with cleaning solution that clean the exit needle, portion pack holder, and funnel area of the Keurig. The solution is biodegradable, phosphate free, and odorless.
The CleanCup Single Cup Brewer Cleaning Cups are the first ever cleaner in a cup specifically designed to clean a Keurig, and they are super easy to use – all you do is pop the K-Cup into the holder and brew like you would a normal coffee K-Cup!
After you brew twice with the cleaning cup, you take it out and then rinse it out with a few plain water brews (with no K-Cup in there at all). Easy as pie.
Once that was done, I tried out the other product they sent us: the CleanCup Descaling Liquid, which works with all home coffee machines. Basically, they told me that any time water comes into contact with a heating system, limescale and mineral deposits build up. If the limescale is not removed, you will notice that your coffee isn’t getting brewed as hot and eventually the machine will stop working. Cleaning out the buildup will help to extend the life of your machine, and they said this solution is more effective than vinegar. Like the CleanCups, it’s also biodegradable, phosphate free, and odorless.
I used the liquid to clean out both our Keurig’s water reservoir and our Nespresso’s water reservoir. It was also really easy to use – just pour some of the liquid into the water reservoir, fill the rest of the way with water, then brew through the machine (without any coffee in it) until all the water is gone. Then you brew a few more times with clean water to rinse it out, et voila! Clean machine.
So, what’s the verdict? I had Matt do a taste-test of the Keurig coffee and he said that he definitely noticed a difference! The coffee tasted richer and less watery and the weird flavor that he’s noticed for the past few weeks was gone, too. It also brewed more quickly. Total win! I’d definitely recommend both these products if you have a Keurig or other home coffee machine. We’ll be buying more of them on our own dime once our samples run out! Thank you to the CleanCup team for letting us check out the products and for sponsoring this section of the post!
And now, I will leave you with this picture, which cracks me up.
Little Zara says hi. :) The poor thing has a cold right now – her sneeze is both the cutest and saddest thing ever. I have to take her to the vet later today (if the snow allows –it’s just a routine check in that’s required within 10 days of getting her from the animal shelter), so I’ll double check it’s nothing more serious!
Have a great day, my friends! Is it snowy where you are, too?
That’s fantastic!! We were just talking about cleaning our Keurig yesterday!!
Hi Zara! Hope she feels better soon!
I love kitty pictures. Hope Zara gets to feeling better.
Poor Zara! Our Molly had a cold when we got her from the shelter a few years ago… it was also cute and heartbreaking to hear her sneeze.
Thanks for the review. I’ve been thinking our Keurig needs cleaned since we’ve had it a year and I want to make the machine last. I will check these products out. Do you know if they’re available at most grocery stores?
Great question! They aren’t available in retail stores in the US yet (they are apparently in WalMart Canada), but you can buy them on their website (urnexcleancup.com) or on Amazon!
Check out Lysine treats for cats – our one shelter cat has feline herpes and the shelter vet recommended mixing lysine in her wet food. Now whenever she gets the watery eyes we order some of these http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Naturals-Vermont-L-Lysine-Fish-Shaped/dp/B006OCG4JY – (apparently) tasty and helps her feel better faster
Thank you for this tip! I asked the vet about lysine and he recommended it, too – picked up some lysine treats! Hope they help!
I seriously was thinking the same thing yesterday, we have had it for year and have never cleaned it! Ah! Going to buy this right away!
That is crazy! We literally just tried cleaning out our Keurig this morning and had a difficult time! This is perfect timing!
Oh this is great! I really need to clean out my Kurig at home! Its snowing here in Boston. I think we are only suppose to get a few inches though. I am kind of wanting a big storm this year. Sometimes an excuse to stay in is not that bad. :)
Totally agree. :)
It isn’t snowy here, but the last four days have been extremely icy! We hardly left our house at all. But I am very happy that the sun came back out today so I could hit the pavement and run!
No snow here! Temps have picked up a bit!!! Oatmeal looks yummy! Pumpkin is so comforting in oats!
It’s about time they came up with something to clean your Keurig! I usually use white distilled vinegar, but it stinks up the house like crazy! Thanks for sharing.
Yeah I love that this didn’t smell at all!
Zara says “Come back here and cuddle! What are you doing cleaning the coffee machine?”
Hope, she feels better soon. Upper respiratory infections is something they often bring home from the shelter, poor babies.
Lol yes, I think you are right! :) And thank you for the get better soon wishes – fingers crossed. It makes me so sad to hear her sniffling!
Anne, this is the second thing I’ve bought straight from your blog in the past week! I think you are bad for my wallet :). But, my husband is the one to do the coffee machine cleaning, and while he does great, I know it’s a pain, so I think this is a great stocking stuffer for him! Thanks for sharing!
Haha happy to help out! ;) Definitely a great stocking stuffer idea!
Love your Puerto Rico cup ;)!!! and snowy DC is beautiful!!!
LOVE that pic of Zara!!! :) She is such a cutie!!!!
I’ve been really busy Anne. When did you get a cat. It’s pretty.
I have always cleaned my Keurig by running vinegar through it about three times. The third or fourth time use just water to run through it.
We just got her last week! :)
I’m not a cat lover but she is really beautiful. I admire beauty when I see it. lol
I saw a program called “Too Cute” on the Animal Channel and they featured a Maine Coon from birth until the breeder adopted them out. On the show, they stated how much they love to be around water. The mama cat jumped up to the kitchen sink and put her head under the dripping water the owner leaves dripping just for her. It was adorable.
Those cleaning products are awesome! We’ve had a Keurig for about 5 years & wish we’d had these all along – I will be ordering on Amazon ASAP.
I was JUST thinking the other day that I need to clean my Keurig! I’ve had it for almost a year and never cleaned it once.
Thank you for this! I have been worried about cleaning my Keurig for a while and have definitely noticed a decline in the taste of my morning coffee. Vinegar is just not cutting it lately. I just ordered both of these on Amazon and am really excited to get my machine clean!!
You could put pumpkin in anything and I think I would be interested. Putting it in oatmeal? So simple, but I’ve never thought of it! Thanks for the great idea.
Do you know if CleanCup makes any products for cleaning an old fashioned espresso machine? Mine’s just not working like it used to and I’ve been struggling to find a great product for sprucing it up.
I hope your Little Zara gets better soon! My poor pup had a pretty bad cold when I brought him home from the shelter too.
Best!
Sam Bader
@MPHSamBader
PursuitofHealthyHappiness.com
I wasn’t sure of the answer to this question so I asked my contacts at CleanCup! Here’s what they said. :) “Urnex, the manufacturer of CleanCup, also makes a full portfolio of cleaners for all types of coffee machines. The brand is called Full Circle and it is available at Williams-Sonoma and on line at Amazon.com. The website is http://www.fullcircleathomecom. The specific product for an espresso machine is the Full Circle Espresso machine cleaning tablets. In addition to cleaning, it is also important to descale your espresso machine which you can do with the CleanCup Descaler or the Full Circle Descaler.”
p.s. How long did your cat’s cold last? I think poor Zara is so stuffed up she can’t smell her food, so she doesn’t want to eat. :(
I have a puppy. About three or four days after bringing him home from the shelter he started showing symptoms-running nose, sneezing like crazy, he still had an appetite but not too much. I took him to the vet and he was given some meds and cleared up about 5 days later. Hope she gets well soon!
Thank you! She seems to be on the mend today, hooray. :)
I love the Zara pic!! :)
Aww, Zara is beautiful. Both our cats are rescues. Most shelter cats have respiratory issues that clear up with TLC and a few meds. :-)
After reading your post I ordered Clean Cup from
Amazon. I was shocked at the difference it made.
I’ve had my Keurig for about 2 years. I just split
up the rest of the pods and gave them to friends
who own Keurigs. I’m sure they’ll be buying them!!!
Thanks.
I’m so glad it was a hit!