As in any ice machine, maintenance is vital to prolong the life of your machine. I chose to talk about the JennAir JIM158 ice machine since it is a popular model at Don's Appliances. The first important step is to replace the water filter. This model comes with a light that will illuminate the "Order Filter" light when it is time to order. Shortly after that, the "Replace the Filter" light will illuminate. Do this in a timely fashion to keep the water well filtered.
The next step is to clean the machine. First you will want to wash the gaskets with warm water and a mild detergent. Rinse and dry well. You can clean the exterior the same way. (If it is a stainless steel exterior- Don's Appliances stainless steel cleaner is a great product to use.) Next, you will need to clean the ice maker system. During the freezing cycle, there are minerals removed from the water. These minerals build up and form a scaly deposit. Some areas have hard water so the machine may need to be cleaned more frequently, approximately every nine months, but the average is once a year. To start this process- turn the machine off and wait until all of the ice has fallen into the storage bin. This could take up to ten minutes. Once it is done empty the ice from the bin then remove the drain cap and make sure all of the water has drained out. Pour a bottle of descaling solution and two bottles of water into the water pan. Simply tap the "Clean" button. The machine will clean and rinse itself. This process will take approximately 70 minutes. Make sure there is not any cleaning solution left in the water pan after the cycle is done. If there is, you will have to run the cleaning cycle one more time.
The last step is to clean the condenser: unplug the machine for this step, remove the access panel then use the brush attachment of a vacuum to remove any lint or dirt on the condenser. Put the access panel back on. You can plug it in and turn it on- your machine is ready to start producing ice again!
All ice machines will come with a Use & Care manual that will help walk you through the cleaning process to keep your machine running smoothly.