How To Clean a Kegerator: The Basics of Beer Line Cleaning

Protect the flavor of your beer when you learn how to clean beer lines. 

There’s no faster way to ruin the taste of your draft beer than by skipping line cleaning. Bacteria, mold, yeast, and sediment (beer stone) can build up inside lines, creating off-flavors, foaming issues, and funky aromas.

If you’re one of the lucky few with your own kegerator, please, for the love of great beer, clean your lines regularly. It’s not optional.

• How Often Should You Clean Your Lines?
• How To Clean Beer Lines With A Cleaning Kit
• How to Clean Beer Lines With A Cleaning Keg
• Draft Beer Cleaning Log
• How To Clean Faucets & Couplers

How Often Should You Clean Beer Lines?

Clean your draft lines with a caustic beer line cleaner every two weeks or at least every time you change kegs.

Every three months, use an acid-based cleaner to remove beer stone and mineral deposits.

Pro Tip: Clean lines = better beer taste, carbonation, and head retention.

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How To Clean Draft Beer Lines

Using a Hand Pump Cleaning Kit

We recommend beer line cleaning kits that use air pressure (manual or CO₂ powered) to push cleaning solution through your kegerator lines. This method clears bacteria, yeast, and buildup that can cause foaming or off-flavors.

 

Tools You’ll Need

• Rubber or latex gloves
• Safety glasses
• Cleaning jar with pump
• Beer line cleaning solution
• Spanner wrench
• Beer line washers
• Bucket for waste water

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Disconnect your components: Turn off CO₂, remove the coupler, and use a check ball lifter. Place in a bucket to collect solution.
2. Flush with cleaning solution: Fill your jar with warm water and cleaner, connect to the shank, and pump half through the lines.
3. Soak: Let the solution sit in the lines for 5–10 minutes.
4. Rinse thoroughly: Flush with clean water until all solution is removed and water runs clear.
5. Reconnect and test: Reattach faucet and coupler, turn CO₂ back on, and pour a small test pint.

Download the Beer Line Cleaning Kit Instruction Guide (pdf)

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How To Clean Beer Lines With A Cleaning Keg

A pressurized cleaning keg uses your CO₂ tank to flush cleaning solution through the lines, reducing manual work and ensuring consistent flow.

 

What tools you’ll need to clean your beer lines

• Rubber or latex gloves
• Safety glasses
• CO2 tank and coupler from your existing draft system
• Pressurized cleaning keg
• Beer line cleaning solution
• Bucket for collecting solution

Instructions for using Draft Beer Cleaning Keg

1. Place the bucket under your draft faucet
2. Remove the cap from the cleaning keg, and fill it with a mixture of warm water and the proper amount of cleaning solution.
3. Disconnect your coupler from your keg and connect it to the cleaning keg. The bottle will pressurize and fill the line with cleaning solution.
4. Open your tap and allow liquid to flow until you can begin to see cleaning solution coming out. Then close the faucet and allow the solution to soak inside your lines for 5-10 minutes. 
5. After letting your lines soak, open the tap and allow at least 2 liters of solution to flush through your system.
6. Once you’ve run enough solution through your lines, disconnect the keg coupler from the cleaning bottle.
7. Pull the pressure relief valve on the bottle to relieve pressure. Unscrew the cap on the bottle and empty out any remaining cleaning solution, and thoroughly rinse the cleaning keg.
8. Refill the cleaning keg with cold, clean water, and cover keg with the cap. Reattach your keg coupler.
9. Open the draft faucet to allow the fresh water to flush out any remaining cleaning solution. You should allow at least 2 liters of fresh water to flow through your lines.
10. Disconnect your keg coupler from the cleaning keg, and reattach it to your beer keg.

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Cleaning Beer Lines with an Electric Recirculating Cleaning Pump

An electric recirculating cleaning pump creates a continuous loop that circulates cleaner through your draft system, providing a deeper clean for bars, breweries, or long-draw setups.

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Draft Beer Cleaning Log

A draft beer cleaning log helps to keep track of when your draft system was cleaned. This is especially important for bars, restaurants, and breweries with multiple staff members. This ensures that line cleaning will be followed up on regularly. Keep a draft beer line cleaning log posted inside your cooler or near your draft system so that the information is readily available.

Download your FREE Draft Beer Cleaning Log

 

Public ‘Last Cleaned’ Date

Publicly posting when your draft system was last cleaned lets your friends and customers know you are serious about providing them with the freshest product possible from your draft system. A great way to deliver this message is by posting it on your beer menu, especially if you use a chalkboard or whiteboard to show what is on tap. You can also share the information through your social media channels.

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How to clean draft beer faucets & keg couplers

In addition to cleaning your beer lines, we recommend cleaning your draft beer faucet and keg coupler regularly. Bacteria and/or mold can hide in the crevices of these items which can taint your beer the same way dirty beer lines can. Click the links below to learn more about how to clean your faucets and couplers.

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Follow these steps at home or in your bar to serve the freshest, most flavorful beer possible. Clean lines equal happy customers and great pours every time.

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