My Husband Fixes Commercial Ice Makers for a Living—Here's His Advice For Keeping Your Countertop Model from Breeding Harmful Bacteria

It seems like everyone has a countertop ice maker in their kitchen these days, and I'm one of them! We don't have a refrigerator with an ice maker, so grabbing one of these lightweight and easy-to-use ice machines was high on our priority list, and we're so glad we did. They're extremely handy to have around, especially if you have kids, and I use my countertop ice maker daily for water , lemonade , iced tea and the occasional cocktail .

My husband is a commercial technician who repairs everything from ice makers to coffeemakers, ovens to walk-in freezers—and more. When I noticed that our ice machine needed a good cleaning, I asked him what he'd do. He usually works on large equipment for hospitals, schools and restaurants, but he said that keeping your home model in proper working order at home is easy, and it's important. Here's his pro advice on how to clean your countertop ice maker .

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Why It's Important to Clean Your Countertop Ice Maker

If your ice machine isn't cleaned properly, it can grow mold, get slimy with bacteria and produce poor-quality ice that tastes weird (and can be dangerous to your health). That's not what you want!

Here's what you need to know to clean your ice maker at home to ensure that it not only makes ice the way it's supposed to but also keeps you and your family safe.

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How Often Should You Clean Your Countertop Ice Maker?

The manual that came with your ice maker should give you a timeframe, but most machines should be cleaned with a cleaning agent (more on that below) at least every 3-6 months if you use it daily and depending on the type of water you use. Hard water can make your machine dirty faster because it can cause scale buildup, which can lead to blockages. Those blockages prevent your ice machine from working properly.

You should also wipe out the inside of the ice well with a dry paper towel once a week to make sure that it doesn't get slimy or gross. Think about water that sits in a pool. The sides of the pool get a film on them. The same thing happens to ice machines.

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How to Clean a Countertop Ice Maker

I quizzed my husband for his best tips. Follow this process for a squeaky-clean countertop ice maker.

• Choose the right cleaner. You may be tempted to use an all-natural cleaner, like white vinegar, but you shouldn't. My husband said that you should use an actual ice machine cleaning chemical, which you can find online. When you're shopping, look for a cleaner that says it is "nickel safe."

"Vinegar and homemade cleaners can work, but they can also have varying effects on probes and the metal coating of the evaporator," he said. In other words, you could end up causing more harm to your machine by using a homemade cleaner.

• Clean the inside. Once you have the right cleaner, run it through your machine using the clean cycle. This cycle will run the cleaner through the machine, including all that tubing, which will get rid of any scale, minerals and bacteria, which are all things that can cause your machine to fail or make you sick.

• Give it a scrub. When you wipe out your ice machine, you should use a toothbrush and nothing more abrasive. You use the toothbrush to scrub the entire inside, including the moving parts and especially any parts that make contact with the water.

"A toothbrush is perfect for removing loose scale after the chemicals and also removing any slime. It won't damage the outer coating or make any scratches," he said, adding that even the smallest scratches can be a good place "for bacteria to hold and grow." A toothbrush is also small enough to reach parts you can't get with a paper towel.

• Flush it out. Once the machine is clean, you need to make sure all of the chemicals are out of it. Many machines will come with a manual that tells you how to clean them properly.

I recently cleaned my Nespresso and the cleaning instructions clearly said to empty the water well two times before brewing coffee in it. This was to ensure that I didn't accidentally ingest any of the cleaning agents. My husband suggests doing something similar after cleaning your countertop ice maker.

"Discard the first few batches of ice to ensure any residual cleaner is out of the system and won't be consumed," he said.

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