Why Bother Making This Messy Cleaner?

Alright folks, my Scotman ice machine was acting up bad last weekend. Just crapping out nasty-tasting ice cubes, you know? Looked like something died in there. Regular cleaner? Out of stock everywhere near me, and frankly, I ain't thrilled about shelling out big bucks anyway. Figured, how hard could it be to whip up something? Famous last words... but I went for it.

My First Dumb Mix Attempt

Started simple. Grabbed white vinegar 'cause everyone says it cleans stuff. Poured maybe... a cup? straight into the machine's water line spot. Ran a cycle. Smelled like a salad bar exploded, but when I peeked inside? That nasty gunk was still clinging on like glue. Poked it with a stick – yep, rock hard. Felt like an idiot. Vinegar alone? Total bust.

Thought, "Need something stronger." Saw some citric acid powder hiding in the baking drawer. Wife uses it for canning. Dumped about 3 heaping spoonfuls into a jug of warm water. Stirred it like crazy till it kinda dissolved – left some grainy bits at the bottom. Poured that mix in instead of the pure vinegar. Ran the machine. Smelled lemony fresh this time! Got hopeful...

The Almost-Catastrophe Moment

Checked the ice bin later. Found... mush. Weird, slushy, wet stuff. Not cubes. Panicked! Thought I broke the darn thing. Shut everything off. Started pulling parts out – the bin, the evaporator plate thingy. Big Mistake Almost Made: Nearly grabbed bleach for the tough spots. Thank god I stopped myself. Remembered vinegar and bleach make poisonous gas! Could have been real ugly. Stuck with the citric acid sludge scrub for the actual parts.

• Scrubbed the bin with hot water and that same citric acid sludge – used an old toothbrush. Came surprisingly clean!
• That metal plate where the ice forms? Soaked it in a bucket filled with the citric acid sludge and hotter water. Left it for an hour. When I fished it out? Used a scouring pad (gently!), and wow – just slid right off. Shined up nice.
• The rubber gaskets around stuff? Just wiped with damp cloth dipped in the citric mix. Sticky film gone.

The "It Actually Worked" Miracle

Put everything back, fingers crossed. Mixed a final cleaner solution:

• One big jug (like gallon size) warm water
• Half a cup citric acid powder (dissolves better in warm)
• A couple big glugs of plain white vinegar (maybe a cup?)

Mixed it good. Poured that into the water reservoir. Ran a full cleaning cycle according to my machine's manual. No weird fumes this time, just a gentle sour smell. Then flushed it with plain water twice. Finally made ice. Result? Crystal clear cubes. Zero funky taste. Machine humming happy again.

What I Learned (The Hard Way)

So yeah, messing with this stuff can go sideways fast. Lesson? NEVER MIX BLEACH WITH ACIDS! Glad I caught myself. Citric acid and vinegar worked surprisingly awesome once I used them right – scrubbing bits separately and mixing a decent solution. Way cheaper than store stuff, though took more elbow grease than I expected. Machine's quiet, ice is clean. Job done. Not the prettiest process, but got there in the end!