How to clean a countertop water distiller

Clean drinking water is essential for good health, and a countertop water distiller can provide a convenient and efficient way to purify your water at home. However, it’s important to regularly clean your distiller to ensure that it’s working properly and producing the highest quality water possible.

In this article, we’ll provide some simple steps on how to clean a countertop water distiller. We’ve owned a Megahome water distiller since January 2018 and have some great tips and hacks to share with you to make cleaning a water distiller even easier! Let’s go!

How to clean a countertop water distiller

Like any other appliance, our Megahome water distiller requires regular cleaning and maintenance to keep it working properly. There are a few ways you can lean your distiller such as before and after each use, with vinegar, with ascorbic acid or with special water distiller cleaning crystals to make cleaning it a breeze! Here are some simple steps you can follow to clean your countertop water distiller no matter which method you choose.

Cleaning a water distiller before and after each use

Firstly, we have found that simply swilling out our water distiller in between each use stops the build-up of hardened residue and minerals, meaning we don’t have to deep clean our water distiller as much as we used to. This is great news as a deep clean of the distiller can take a few hours while it is left boiling and bubbling away with solution, so it saves us the hassle, especially as we drink distilled water every day and so run our appliance 1-2 times every single day, so needing to deep clean it for a long time means we can’t make any water at that time.

Quite simply, each time we need to refill the distiller with water, we first just add 1-2 inches of tap water and vigorously swish it around in a circular motion, and then we pour this water away. This technique lifts some of the hardened residues and helps keep deep cleaning to a minimum.

You can also use this technique after the distiller has been used to make distilled water, but wait for it to cool down first as it will be really hot! We give our Megahome water distiller approximately 20 minutes to cool down first. If you do this technique and swish it with a couple of inches of water after it’s just distilled some water, the residue will likely be white and soft, so you may be able to easily remove it with a cloth. We mostly just swill our distiller before each use, rather than after.

How to clean a water distiller with ascorbic acid

For a deep clean, once or twice a year, to remove the limescale and hardened deposits that water swilling and light cloth wiping in between uses doesn’t remove, we use ascorbic acid to perform a deep clean. This comes in a white powder, or more like small crystals sometimes, and it’s actually vitamin C! Sometimes it’s called citric acid. You can buy it in large pouches from the Megahome website or from eBay.

When we lived in our old house the water was hard and our distiller got really gross really quickly, so we cleaned like this a few times a year. At our new address, we are now in a soft water area and the difference shows in our distiller! Now we only need to deep clean with citric acid once per year!

Here’s how to use the ascorbic acid to clean your distiller:

1. Remove the lid from the distiller as you won’t need to attach this to clean the distiller, you just want to clean the chamber with the citric acid and water.
2. Fill the chamber with water from the tap. You can use warm or hot water to speed up the cleaning process.
3. Add two large spoonfuls of citric acid powder.
4. Plug in the boiling chamber only, without the lid, switch it on, and wait for it to boil. Leave a window open or plug it in outside if you can! At our old house, we had a covered decking area with an outdoor plug socket, so I’d plug it in outside as it will create a lot of steam as you need to boil through all the water. Only plug it in outdoors if your setup is suitable like mine was with a socket and a covered area away from the elements.
5. In the video above it’s left for 20 minutes, but we’d actually leave ours for at least one hour. We set a timer on our phones to check the distiller after one hour to see how it looked. We’d keep setting alarms every 20 minutes or so after this if it didn’t look clean enough. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll know roughly how long yours needs to clean, depending on how dirty you let it get!
6. If there’s still some white residue, this is usually soft immediately after the boiling water has been in the tank. Being careful not to touch the distiller when still too hot to touch, we sometimes wipe the white residue away while it’s still warm and soft. Or like the video, you can go through the process again with some more citric acid powder to lift off more residue if it’s really bad.
7. Once finished, turn off the distiller and allow it to cool so you don’t burn yourself as the chamber will be hot as it’s just been boiling water, then rinse with cool water and enjoy your sparkling clean boiling chamber!

Prefer to try distilled vinegar to clean yours? Read on and watch this video to see how to clean with vinegar instead.

How to use distilled vinegar to clean a water distiller

You can choose to use distilled white vinegar to clean your water distiller. This is a great natural and non-toxic way to keep it clean and easily clean deposits in a home water distiller.

1. Disconnect the distiller from the power source and allow it to cool down completely before cleaning.
2. Remove the boiling chamber and empty any remaining water from it.
3. Pour some pure white distilled vinegar into the chamber to cover any residue at the bottom of the chamber. Leave for 15 minutes.
4. Add approximately the same amount of water.
5. Leave overnight and it will lift and clean off most of the residue.
6. Wipe with a cloth to remove any remaining residue. Be sure to wipe away any stains or mineral deposits that may have accumulated on the surface.
7. Rinse the chamber thoroughly with water and allow it to air dry.
8. If needed, you can also clean the outside of the chamber with the 50/50 white vinegar and water solution. Simply dip a cloth into the mixture and use it to wipe the outside to lift off any dirt and add shine.

Benefits of cleaning your countertop water distiller

There are lots of benefits to cleaning your countertop water distiller regularly, including:

• Improved taste and quality of the water produced
• Prevention of bacterial and mineral buildup
• Extension of the distiller’s lifespan
• Peace of mind knowing that your drinking water is clean and pure so you can enjoy the benefits of drinking distilled water

It’s important to clean your countertop water distiller regularly to prevent the buildup of bacteria and minerals, which can affect the taste and quality of the water produced. By following these simple steps, you can keep your distiller in top working condition and ensure that you and your family have access to pure, clean drinking water whenever you need it.

Tips for maintaining your countertop water distiller

Learning how to clean the inside of a water distiller will ensure your appliance lasts as long as possible before it needs replacing. Maintaining it just as you would any other kitchen or household appliance should not be forgotten.

• Clean your distiller at least once a week, or more often if you use it frequently
• Use a soft cloth or sponge and a mild cleaning solution to avoid damaging the distiller’s surfaces
• Empty and refill the reservoir with fresh water after each use
• Replace the carbon filter regularly, as recommended by the manufacturer, usually once per month if you make a batch of water on a daily basis
• Store the distiller in a cool, dry place when not in use

By following these tips, you can keep your countertop water distiller in good working condition and enjoy the benefits of pure, clean drinking water for years to come!

Quick links to buy a Megahome water distiller

Perhaps you were wondering how to clean a countertop water distiller to make sure it was easy before purchasing one? Hopefully, we have shown you how easy it is to clean a water distiller and now you are ready to make your purchase.

There are lots of places to buy a water distiller to suit your needs. We love and recommend the Megahome water distiller and it’s available directly on their website or you can find new or preloved versions on eBay. Here are some quick links for you to view:

Shop Megahome water distillers directly

Shop Megahome water distillers on eBay

Thanks for reading. For more information regarding why people drink distilled water and if it’s good for you, read my blog post ‘Is distilled water safe?‘.