Mr. Coffee Clean Light Won't Turn Off? 5 Fixes

The Light Only Clears One Way

A Mr. Coffee Clean light switches off when the clean cycle finishes, and not before. The JPX37 manual is plain about it: the red light "will turn off after the clean cycle has been completed." There's no reset button or hold-to-clear combination. If it's still on, the cycle either wasn't the Clean-button cycle, or it never reached the end.

That end is easy to miss. The cycle takes 45 to 60 minutes and stops for 30 minutes in the middle with the light still on. That's the point where most people decide it's stuck and start pressing buttons or pull the plug.

Check first that your model has a Clean light. The 12-Cup Programmable JPX37 has a Clean button and a red Clean light. The BVMC-SJX33GT, the 4-cup AR4/AR5 and the basic Simple Brew have neither, so on those a red or amber light is something else.

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Try This First

• Find the button next to the light. On a JPX37 the Strong Brew light is red too. A red light by the Strong button is Strong Brew, not Clean.
• Look at the clock. If the clean cycle is in its 30-minute pause, the Clean light stays on and nothing seems to happen. Give it the full hour.
• Think back to how you started it. Vinegar brewed with Brew Now/Off cleans the machine, but it isn't the clean cycle, and the light stays on.
• Ask whether the power went off. The JPX37 picks up where it left off only if power returns within 7 seconds.

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Which Fix You Need

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Fix 1: Start the Cycle With the Clean Button (Works About 40% of the Time)

The flashing red light is tied to the clean program, and you start that program with the Clean button. Pouring vinegar in and pressing Brew Now/Off runs an ordinary brew. It dissolves scale, but the manual ties the light only to the clean cycle, so expect the reminder to stay on.

Signs it's this one:

• You descaled with vinegar but never touched the Clean button
• The vinegar came through in one go, without a long pause halfway

1. Remove the water filtration disk if one is fitted.
2. Pour Mr. Coffee Cleaner (mixed per its package) or 4 cups (20 fl oz) of undiluted white vinegar into the reservoir.
3. Put an empty paper filter, or the permanent filter, in the basket and close the lid.
4. Center the empty carafe on the warming plate.
5. Press Clean once. The red light comes on steady instead of flashing.
6. Let the whole cycle run (Fix 2 explains what it does).
7. When the machine switches itself off, rinse the carafe and run two full brews of fresh water.

Time: 45-60 minutes for the cycle, plus two rinse brews
Cost: A few dollars for vinegar
Success Rate: About 40%
Difficulty: Easy

If you already ran vinegar through with Brew Now, you don't have to do it twice. You just need the Clean cycle to complete once.

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Fix 2: Let It Through the 30-Minute Pause (Works About 25% of the Time)

The clean cycle is built to soak. It slow-brews about 3 cups, then stops for 30 minutes so the solution can work on the scale inside, then brews the rest. During the pause the Clean light stays on, and the manual says that's "to alert you that the process is active". Unplug or press buttons there and the cycle never completes.

Signs it's this one:

• About 3 cups came through, then everything went quiet
• You pressed buttons or switched it off within the first half hour

1. Start the cycle again with the Clean button (Fix 1).
2. After the first 3 cups, leave it alone. Don't press Brew Now/Off or Clean.
3. After 30 minutes it restarts and brews the rest by itself.
4. When it's done, the Clean light and the machine switch off together. That's the sign it worked.
5. Run two full fresh-water brews.

Time: About 1 hour, mostly waiting
Cost: Free if you still have vinegar
Success Rate: About 25%
Difficulty: Easy

Pro tip: start the cycle when you're about to leave the kitchen for an hour. Most interrupted cleans are someone checking on it.

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Fix 3: Make Sure It's the Clean Light (Works About 15% of the Time)

The JPX37 has two red lights. The Strong Brew light turns on red when you press Strong, and it stays on until you press Strong again or unplug the machine. It has nothing to do with cleaning, so no amount of descaling will turn it off.

The BVMC-SJX33GT has no Clean light at all. Its amber light is either Delay Brew (armed for a timed brew) or STRONG brew strength.

Signs it's this one:

• The light sits next to the Strong or Brew Strength button
• It's steady rather than flashing
• Your panel has no button labelled Clean

1. Look at the label beside the light.
2. JPX37, red by Strong: press Strong once to go back to regular. The light goes off.
3. SJX33GT, amber STRONG: press Brew Strength to return to REGULAR (green).
4. SJX33GT, amber Delay Brew: press Select/Off until all the lights go off to cancel it.

Time: 1 minute
Cost: Free
Success Rate: About 15%
Difficulty: Easy

Model note — SJX33GT: with no Clean light, you clean on a schedule instead: every 80 brews with soft water, 40 with hard. The manual's method is vinegar in the reservoir, brew 3 cups, switch off for 30 minutes, then brew the rest. It's set out in our Mr. Coffee descaling guide.

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Fix 4: Restart the Cycle After a Power Cut (Works About 10% of the Time)

A JPX37 remembers what it was doing through a power cut of up to 7 seconds. Anything longer, including someone unplugging it to "reset" it during the pause, and it comes back with the clock flashing and the clean cycle forgotten. The Clean light will still be flashing, because the cycle never completed.

Signs it's this one:

• The clock is flashing 12:00 or the wrong time
• The power went off, or the machine was unplugged, during the hour

1. Set the clock (hold HOUR and MINUTE).
2. Check how much solution is left. If most of it already went through, top the reservoir back up with fresh vinegar to 4 cups.
3. Start the cycle again with Clean and let it run to the end.
4. Run two fresh-water brews.

Time: About 1 hour
Cost: A few dollars for vinegar
Success Rate: About 10%
Difficulty: Easy

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Fix 5: Call Mr. Coffee If the Light Outlasts a Full Cycle (Works About 10% of the Time)

If you ran a Clean-button cycle that went through its pause, finished, and switched the machine off, the light should be off. The manual doesn't describe the light staying on after that, and it gives no reset for it. The cause is inside a machine with "no user serviceable parts", so this is one for Mr. Coffee.

1. Run one more complete clean cycle to rule out an unnoticed interruption.
2. Note your model number. It's stamped on the bottom of the machine.
3. Call 1-800-MR COFFEE (1-800-672-6333) in the U.S. or 1-800-667-8623 in Canada.

Time: 1 hour plus the call
Cost: Free in warranty
Success Rate: About 10%
Difficulty: Easy

Don't open the base to look for a fault. Mr. Coffee's manuals say there are no user-serviceable parts inside, and disassembly voids the warranty.

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When DIY Won't Work

Stop using it and call if:

• There's a burning smell that isn't an empty carafe left on the hot plate
• The cord or plug is damaged. The manual says not to replace or splice it.
• The ON or Brew Now/Off light won't come on with a working outlet

Warranty: 1-year limited warranty on the drip makers, for the original purchaser with proof of purchase. Mr. Coffee repairs or replaces it, and asks you not to return it to the store. Repairs by anyone else void it.

Repair or replace: a stuck reminder light doesn't stop the machine brewing, and out of warranty there's nothing an owner can fix inside. Past the first year, price a replacement before paying for service on a basic drip maker.

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Keep the Light From Nagging

• Clean every 80 brews with soft water, or every 40 with hard water. That's the manual's interval, "or when red light is flashing".
• Always start the clean with the Clean button on a JPX37, so the reminder resets.
• Plan for the full hour, including the 30-minute pause.
• Take the water filtration disk out before cleaning, and replace it monthly (about 30 brews).
• Use filtered water if yours is hard. Fewer minerals means fewer cleaning cycles.

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FAQ

How often will the Mr. Coffee clean light come on?

The JPX37 manual doesn't say what triggers it, only that it flashes when the machine needs cleaning. Its suggested interval is every 80 brews with soft water and every 40 with hard water, so hard water brings it back sooner.

Can I keep brewing coffee with the clean light on?

Yes. The manual describes the light as a reminder, not a lockout. But minerals affect how the machine performs, and the manual's first answer to slow brewing is "the coffeemaker needs cleaning". The longer you leave it, the slower it gets.

Does unplugging a Mr. Coffee reset the clean light?

No. Unplugging resets the clock, not the reminder, and in the middle of a clean cycle it cancels the cycle. The JPX37 manual says the light turns off only after the clean cycle has been completed.

Can I use apple cider vinegar or a different cleaner?

Use what the manual names: Mr. Coffee Cleaner, or 4 cups of undiluted white household vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and other products aren't mentioned in the manuals.

Does the Café Barista have a clean light that needs resetting?

Not in the same sense. Its "Clean" is the milk-tube rinse you run after each milk drink: turn the Froth Control Knob to Clean, then hold Latte/Clean. Descaling on the Café Barista is a separate deliming procedure every 40 to 80 brews.

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Related Mr. Coffee Guides

• How to Descale a Mr. Coffee: the clean cycle and the vinegar method, model by model
• Mr. Coffee Error Codes & Blinking Lights: what every light on each model means
• Mr. Coffee Brewing Slow?: the main symptom of an overdue clean
• Mr. Coffee Won't Brew?: when the lights are on but nothing comes out

Sources: Mr. Coffee JPX37-R Series User Manual (P.N. 202723); Mr. Coffee BVMC-SJX33GT and BVMC-SJX36GT User Manual (12ESM2); Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker Models AR4 & AR5 User Manual; Mr. Coffee Café Barista BVMC-ECMP1000 User Manual.