Just got my new KinGrinder K4 in the mail, and opened it to find beige powder throughout. In addition, when touching the burrs I got black grease on my fingers. I’ve heard I’m not supposed to use soap and water on grinders due to the high rust chance, but I’m not sure if I’d trust a dry wipe down to clean this. Does anyone have suggestions?

by LittleManOnACan

16 Comments

  1. all_systems_failing

    Can you return it? That’s what I’d do.

  2. karlos-the-jackal

    I just got a K4 and it was spotless inside with no sign of dust or grease. I’d say that has been used, and not for grinding coffee.

  3. D-inventa

    use dish soap and water. After, put in on a oven tray, and stick it in an oven set at 350 for 25 minutes. No rust because you’ve fully dried it off. Alternatively you can use a blow-dryer.

  4. Alpha_Bet-Soup

    That looks almost like Grindz powder. Ground up, food-safe pellets that are used for cleaning.

  5. MisterKyo

    I’d get in touch with the distributor and/or the manufacturer. Machining oil and other lubricant leftover isn’t acceptable in a shipped and assembled consumer product and should not be the consumer’s problem to fix.

    Having said that, it’s probably a rare (but egregious) mistake in the QC process. Kingrinders are reputable as far as I’m aware and are my recommendation for 1zpresso alternatives. I hope they help you out without fuss, or else keep escalating because it needs to be corrected at their level.

    If, for whatever reason, you must take this on, I’d try to first learn about the metal and coatings they may have on. Take the grinder apart carefully. Dust can be blown off with compressed air outside. Grease, oils, and lubricants can be easily tackled with alcohol solvents like ethanol or isopropyl alcohol and rubbed at carefully with Q-tips. Reassemble the grinder and get a can of grinder cleaner that is normally meant to absorb coffee oils and go through a few cycles. Disassemble, blow off dust, and check. Repeat as necessary. If there are little to no issues with using a prolonged alcohol soak, full disassembly and soaking for an hour in an ultrasonic bath off Amazon will also do. Again tho…I emphasize that this is an unnecessary last resort.

  6. aarondipity

    I got my K4 sealed and spotless. That clearly has been used.

  7. CarelessAd7484

    Send it back. You shouldn’t have to deal w it.

  8. the_fool_who

    I wouldn’t accept this product. Return to vendor, go fish.

  9. EliMinivan

    That looks like they ran some cleaning pellets through it and just left the dust in, might have acted as a desiccant for shipping. I’d just wipe it down and run some sacrificial beans through it.

  10. el_smurfo

    Mine was spotless. I would return that…you have no idea what someone ground with that and returned

  11. TheCandySlush

    Was yours in a shrink-wrapped and sealed factory box?

  12. aeroartist

    bleh. you don’t want that stuff in something you’ll use to prep something to ingest. i’d email the company these photos

  13. if you dont want to send it back, you’ll need to fully disassemble it and degrease it. even though you shouldn’t regularly use soap and water, you’ll need Dawn dish soap or automotive brake cleaner (cancer warning, try to wear gloves. the fumes smell nice though so dont worry about ventilation /s )

    otherwise this was an error in their QC, send it back

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