Undercounter Ice Maker Cleaning and Descaling
A full cleaning and descaling of a built-in or countertop ice maker: scale off the plate, cylinder or fingers, slime out of the reservoir and drain, the condenser brushed, and the unit sanitized before the ice comes back.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- Low cost band
- 5 steps on the visit
- 5 problems it answers
Book a visit
Three short steps, about a minute.
or call (844) 773-0701
Loading appointment form…
The appointment form couldn’t load. Please try again.
What the undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling
involves.
Scale is the long-term enemy of any ice maker that runs on its own. Every gallon of hard water leaves minerals behind, and on a clear-ice plate, a nugget cylinder or a countertop unit's freezing fingers they build into a white crust that slows the harvest, clouds the ice and makes an auger drag. Slime grows in the reservoir, the water pump and the drain, and it is what gives ice a musty taste. A thorough cleaning runs the maker's own descale cycle with the cleaner it specifies, then goes further by hand: the water distribution tube, the pump, the reservoir, the bin, the door gasket and the drain. The condenser is brushed free of dust, the fan is checked, and the unit is sanitized and flushed before it goes back to making ice. On a unit that has been neglected for years, this alone often restores full production.
How the visit goesWhat it usually costsLow · Cleaning, descaling and sanitizing
The work is mostly labor and the maker's cleaner, with no parts in most cases. A unit left uncleaned for years takes longer, and a scaled distribution tube may need replacing.
Answers 5 problemsCloudy or Discolored Ice
Ice Tastes or Smells Bad · Nugget Ice Maker Not Making Nugget Ice · Ice Maker Light Flashing · Ice Maker Making Small or Hollow Cubes
Comes up most onUndercounter ice maker
Countertop ice maker
Undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling,
step by step.
Hand back a clean unit making clear, fresh-tasting ice, with a note of when the next cleaning is due.
Empty the bin, switch off the ice making, and look at the plate or cylinder, the reservoir and the drain.
Run the maker's descale cycle with the cleaner it specifies, and remove the parts that can come out for cleaning by hand.
Scrub the distribution tube, the pump, the reservoir, the bin and the door gasket, and flush the drain.
Brush the condenser and check the fan, then sanitize and rinse every surface the water or ice touches.
Hand back a clean unit making clear, fresh-tasting ice, with a note of when the next cleaning is due.
The problems
it answers.
5 of them, from cloudy or discolored ice to ice maker making small or hollow cubes.
All problems
Cloudy or Discolored Ice
6 causes, cheapest first
Before you call
Tell us this when you book
- When the unit was last cleaned, if you know
- Whether the ice is cloudy, soft, small or tastes stale
- Whether a clean or descale light is on
- Whether the house has hard water, a softener or a filter on the line
It also answers
Low,
on the site's scale.
The work is mostly labor and the maker's cleaner, with no parts in most cases. A unit left uncleaned for years takes longer, and a scaled distribution tube may need replacing.
Read the full cost guideWhere it
comes up most.
Most bookings: Undercounter ice maker, Countertop ice maker.
All ice maker typesOften the same visit
The makes
we see it on.
27 makes on this site, and the undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.
All 27 brandsUndercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling,
where we come out.
The kitchen, the climate and the building all change how the undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling goes. These notes are about that, metro by metro.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Tampa Bay's mineral-bearing water scales an undercounter ice maker's freezing plate, distributor and water pump steadily, and a cleaning twice a year keeps the cubes full and clear and the harvest from stalling.
OrlandoFL · 30 areas
Orlando's hard aquifer water scales undercounter units in vacation homes quickly, and rental owners often book a descaling and sanitizing at the start of the busy season, when an ice maker has to keep up with full houses.
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
In South Florida's humidity, slime and mold grow in an undercounter ice maker's water trough and drain as readily as scale forms on its plate, so a cleaning here sanitizes every wet surface along with descaling the freezing path.
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
New York's soft water leaves little scale, so cleaning an undercounter ice maker in a Manhattan bar is mostly about sanitizing the bin, the trough and the drain against slime, with a lighter descaling than most cities need.
HoustonTX · 36 areas
Houston's long humid summers keep outdoor and bar ice makers running, and a descaling and sanitizing before the heat sets in, and again in the fall, keeps the cubes clear and the unit from overworking in the hottest months.
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Chicagoland undercounter ice makers on Lake Michigan water scale more slowly than in the Sun Belt, and a yearly cleaning before summer entertaining, along with a sanitizing after the unit sits idle through winter, is usually enough.
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
Los Angeles water can leave an undercounter clear-ice maker's plate white within months, so descaling on a regular schedule, often every three or four months, is what keeps its cubes clear and its harvest from slowing.
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
San Diego has some of the hardest water in the country, so undercounter ice makers here often need descaling every few months, and a softener or scale filter ahead of the unit is suggested where the owner is tired of cloudy ice.
San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas
Soft Bay Area water means an undercounter unit here needs descaling less often, but fog, pollen and a damp bar cabinet still grow film in its trough and bin, so the cleaning concentrates on sanitizing and a check of the drain.
Questions about
the undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling.
Can I use vinegar to descale my ice maker?
Why is my clear-ice unit suddenly making cloudy cubes?
What happens if the clean light is ignored?
Should the ice from the bin be thrown out after a cleaning?
Back to your everyday
Ready to book the undercounter ice maker cleaning and descaling?
Have these to hand: when the unit was last cleaned, if you know, whether the ice is cloudy, soft, small or tastes stale, whether a clean or descale light is on, whether the house has hard water, a softener or a filter on the line.