How to Clean an Ice Maker, Step by Step (Countertop, Portable and Undercounter)
To clean a countertop or portable ice maker, empty and drain it, wash the basket and scoop in warm soapy water, then fill the reservoir with drinking water, drop in one BLITZ tablet and run the machine's cleaning mode twice. Drain, wipe the inside dry and run fresh water through before you make ice again. Do it every 1 to 2 months (monthly if it runs every day), and change the water every 24 hours.
Shop BLITZ Ice Machine Cleaner, $24.95
In this guide
This guide covers countertop and portable ice makers (bullet and nugget ice), from the makers' own manuals, plus what changes for an undercounter machine.
How often should you clean an ice maker?
Change the water every day. NewAir, Igloo and Euhomy all say to replace the reservoir water at least every 24 hours. Water left sitting in the base is where a stale taste starts.
Wash the basket and wipe the inside every week. Silonn and Frigidaire both recommend a weekly clean for their countertop machines.
Descale every 1 to 2 months, and monthly if the machine runs every day or your water is hard. That's the full clean with a cleaner in the water, the one that takes the white scale off the prongs and out of the lines.
Tip: Softer water means less scale. Igloo recommends distilled water for its IGLICEND40SS, but NewAir says very pure water can keep the ClearIce40's Add Water light on.
Putting it away for the winter or after cottage season? Do a full clean, drain it and let it dry with the lid open (Igloo says 24 hours). The rest is in our guide on how to store a countertop ice maker.
What to clean: the 5 parts that matter
An ice maker has a water side (reservoir, pump, lines, water tray, the metal prongs the ice forms on) and a dry side (basket, scoop, lid, walls). A cleaning cycle reaches the water side. Your hands do the rest.
- The reservoir and its filter screen. A clogged screen can keep the Add Water light on even with water in the tank (NewAir).
- The prongs (evaporator). White scale shows up here first. Let the cleaning solution do the work: Frigidaire's manual says not to clean the evaporator by hand.
- The sensors. Many machines sense a full basket with infrared (Igloo, Silonn). GE says to clean the Opal's sensors with vinegar, then wipe them with water.
- The basket and scoop. Wash them by hand. Whirlpool says not to put its plastic ice maker parts in the dishwasher.
- The drain plug. Usually at the back or underneath. Find it before you start.
How to clean an ice maker, step by step
Time: about an hour, most of it waiting. You need: one BLITZ Ice Machine Cleaner tablet, cool drinking water, a soft cloth, mild dish soap and a pan or towel for the drain.
- Empty and drain (5 minutes). Turn the machine off, throw out the ice and lift out the basket. Open the drain plug over a pan or the sink, let the old water out, then close it.
- Wash the basket and scoop. Warm water and a drop of dish soap, then rinse well. Unplug the machine and wipe the lid and inside walls with a damp cloth, away from the controls. No soap in the reservoir itself: GE says so for the Opal.
- Refill and add one tablet. Plug it back in, fill the reservoir to the MAX line with cool drinking water and drop in one BLITZ tablet. Let it dissolve. Never use hot water: Euhomy and Silonn warn it can damage the machine.
- Run the cleaning mode twice. Start your machine's Clean mode (the button for each brand is below). When it stops, run it a second time with the same solution.
- Drain and rinse. Drain the solution, refill with fresh drinking water, run the cleaning mode once more and drain again.
- Dry, refill, make ice. Wipe the inside dry, close the drain, fill with fresh water and start making ice. You can make ice right after the rinse; to be extra sure, throw out the first batch.
No cleaning mode? Some models have none (the NewAir ClearIce40 and Euhomy IM-F, for example). BLITZ works through the machine's cleaning mode, so it's made for models that have one. On those two, wipe the inside by hand as shown in the brands below.
Get 24 tablets for $24.95, about $1.04 a clean
Self-clean button vs a full clean
The Clean or Self-Clean button pumps water through the machine without making ice. Igloo's IGLICEBSC26 cycles the solution 5 times, NewAir's NIM044 nugget maker runs 15 minutes, and GE's Opal runs water for about three minutes per cycle.
With plain water, that's only a rinse: scale needs an acid (vinegar, lemon juice or a descaling tablet). And no cycle washes the basket, lid or walls. A full clean is the button plus a cleaner in the water plus a few minutes by hand.
Brand by brand: what the manuals say
What each manual says, checked on October 20, 2026.
NewAir
Nugget models like the NIM044 have a CLEAN button that runs 15 minutes; drain from the plug at the back. Bullet models like the ClearIce40 have no cleaning program: the manual says to clean the inside with diluted detergent, warm water and a soft cloth, then drain from the cap at the back. Drinking water only, changed every 24 hours.
Igloo
On the 26 lb bullet models (IGLICEBSC26), press SELECT until the CLEAN light comes on; the machine cycles the solution 5 times, and the fresh-water rinse also runs 5 times on the IGLICEB26HNSS. On the IGLICEND40SS nugget model, hold ON/OFF for 3 seconds in standby for an Auto Clean of about 8 minutes. The drain plug is on the bottom.
Frigidaire
The manual for the EFIC countertop series (EFIC189 and others) recommends cleaning once a week: wipe the inside with a soft cloth, warm water and vinegar, rinse with clean water and drain. It also says not to clean the evaporator by hand: leave the prongs to the cleaning solution.
GE Profile Opal (nugget ice)
On the Opal 2.0 (XPIO13 and XPIO23), a light calling for a bleach rinse comes on after 25 hours of ice making and a Descale light after 100 hours. On the original Opal, the Cleaning light flashes at 100 hours, and GE says tap water means descaling every 2 to 3 weeks. Hold Clean for 3 seconds to start a cycle.
With BLITZ: fill the reservoir to the Max Fill line with drinking water, drop in one tablet, hold Clean for 3 seconds and run the cycle twice. To rinse, GE says to add five cups of fresh water, three times. BLITZ's Amazon.ca listing names GE Profile and Opal among the brands it works with.
Euhomy
The bullet-ice IM-F has no cleaning program; Euhomy says to clean it every 3 days with lemon water or a weak vinegar, drain, then rinse with plain water. The IM-15S nugget model has a 15-minute Clean mode (hold Ice/Clean 5 seconds).
Silonn
Silonn recommends cleaning once a week (the SLIM01 manual: warm water and vinegar on a soft cloth). For the Clean mode, hold ON/OFF/CLEAN for 5 seconds in standby on the SLIM01, or ICE/CLEAN for 5 seconds on the SLIM17B nugget model (15 minutes). Drinking water only, never hot.
Vinegar, lemon or a cleaning tablet?
All three are acids, and all three descale. Igloo lists vinegar and water at 1:1, or lemon juice and water at 1:1.
The catch is everything around it: measuring, then rinsing until the vinegar smell is out of the lines. With BLITZ it's one tablet per cleaning (sodium carbonate, citric acid and sulfamic acid, per its product page): drop it in, run the cycle twice, rinse. No vinegar taste to chase out of your ice, and no 18-hour vinegar soak like GE's Opal method.
Careful: Some manuals (Igloo, Euhomy, GE, Whirlpool) also give a diluted bleach step. Never combine it with vinegar, lemon or a descaling tablet: Health Canada warns never to mix bleach with other cleaning products. Do one, drain and rinse completely, then the other.
White crust that comes back fast means hard water. Our guide to hard-water buildup in appliances explains why, and you can check the hardness in your city.
Undercounter machines and fridge ice makers
Undercounter (built-in) machines clean less often, with a longer cycle: the cleaning cycle on Whirlpool's 15-inch WUI75X15HZ takes about 70 minutes, and Whirlpool says to clean at least twice a year. Scotsman suggests descaling every 6 months and says bleach will damage the evaporator. BLITZ is made for built-in and commercial machines too: one tablet in the water, then the machine's cleaning cycle.
Ice makers built into a fridge or freezer are a different appliance, and BLITZ Ice Machine Cleaner is not for them.
Problems after cleaning, and what to check
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Add Water light stays on | Clogged filter screen or inlet | Rinse the screen (NewAir); clear the inlet with a straw brush (Igloo) |
| Basket full, no Ice Full light | Infrared sensor dirty or in bright light | Wipe the sensors; Igloo suggests a darker spot |
| White flakes in your drink | Scale coming off the prongs | Run another full clean, then clean monthly |
| Ice tastes like vinegar | Not enough rinsing | Two more cycles with fresh water |
| Ice still tastes stale | Old water, the water itself, or freezer odours | See why countertop ice tastes bad |
A leak, a pump that hums without moving water, or no ice after a full clean: call the maker's support line, don't add more cleaner.
Why BLITZ for this job
- One tablet. Drop it in the reservoir, run the cleaning mode twice, rinse.
- About $1.04 a clean: 24 tablets for $24.95. At one clean a month, a box lasts two years.
- Made for standalone machines: countertop, portable, built-in and commercial. Not for ice makers built into a fridge or freezer.
- Rated 4.9 out of 5 (13 reviews) on goblitzclean.com, and septic-safe.
- A Québec company based in Laval, with service in French and English. Free shipping in Canada from $40 ($7.95 below), most orders in 2 to 3 business days, 10% back in store credit and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Also on Amazon.ca.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you clean a countertop ice maker?
Fresh water every day, the basket and walls every week, and a full descaling clean every 1 to 2 months (monthly if it runs daily). Silonn and Frigidaire ask for a weekly wipe-down.
Can I clean my ice maker with vinegar?
Yes, most makers allow it (Igloo uses vinegar and water at 1:1, GE a full reservoir of vinegar and an 18-hour soak). Rinse with at least two fresh-water cycles so the ice doesn't taste of it. A BLITZ tablet leaves no vinegar taste: one tablet, two cleaning cycles, a rinse.
How do I use the self-clean button?
Put the cleaning solution in the reservoir, then start the cleaning mode: press SELECT until CLEAN lights up on Igloo bullet models, or hold Clean for 3 seconds on a GE Opal and 5 seconds on Silonn and Euhomy nugget models. With BLITZ, run it twice, then once more with fresh water.
How do I clean a GE Opal ice maker?
Fill the reservoir to the Max Fill line with drinking water, drop in one BLITZ tablet, hold Clean for 3 seconds and run the cycle twice. Then rinse: GE says to add five cups of fresh water, three times. The Descale light comes on after 100 hours of ice making.
Can I use BLITZ in my fridge's ice maker?
No. BLITZ Ice Machine Cleaner is made for standalone ice machines: countertop, portable, built-in and commercial.
Read next: Why countertop ice tastes bad · How to store a countertop ice maker
Sources: owner's manuals for the NewAir, Igloo, Frigidaire, GE Profile Opal, Euhomy, Silonn, Whirlpool and Scotsman models named above, Scotsman bulletin PAB 2019-01, Whirlpool's ice maker cleaning page, Health Canada, and the BLITZ product page and Amazon.ca listing, checked October 20, 2026. NewAir, Igloo, Frigidaire, GE Profile, Opal, Euhomy, Silonn, Whirlpool and Scotsman are trademarks of their owners. BLITZ is not affiliated with them.
CLEARER ICE, LESS SCALE
BLITZ Ice Machine Cleaner
One tablet in the reservoir, two cleaning cycles, one rinse. Removes limescale and mineral buildup and cleans the internal water lines of countertop, portable, built-in and commercial ice machines. 24 tablets, about $1.04 a clean, $24.95. Not for ice makers built into a fridge or freezer.
