Descaling your coffee machine. 3 mistakes to avoid.
Descaling your coffee machine is a fundamental habit, but often overlooked until the machine starts to become noisy and no longer produces good coffee.
Limescale in the coffee machine - Why we need to clean our home coffee machines
Descaling your coffee machine is important both to keep your machine in good health and to ensure it is properly cleaned.
The first mistake is in fact to wait too long before descaling the stain for the first time.
Descaling your coffee machine not only keeps it clean and free of limescale, but also significantly extends its life, allowing you to make great coffee every day, even for years, without having to resort to unnecessary (and possibly costly) repairs and maintenance.
Limescale buildup is a normal consequence of appliance use. The water we use naturally contains minerals, which, when they come into contact with the boiler, deposit on the walls due to the heat it transmits.
Limescale is the coffee machine's greatest enemy because it's an insulating material. When it builds up in the boiler, it thermally isolates the water from the heating element that should be heating it. This means the water doesn't reach the optimal extraction temperature, and the brewed coffee lacks the desired aroma and crema.
Limescale also acts by forming a surface on which pathogens are easier to settle. A study by NFS International cites coffee machines that aren't cleaned regularly as having the fifth highest germ count in the home , with half of the tanks and boilers tested containing yeast or mold. These organisms can cause allergic reactions or infections, so it's essential to clean your coffee machine properly and consistently.
It may seem like a chore, but don't worry because with the right products it becomes a quick and easy practice.
How to descale your coffee machine
So we've established that the machine needs to be cleaned to be able to enjoy a good coffee every day without unexpected breakdowns, but how do you descale the coffee machine?
To remove limescale, you need to use an acidic agent that allows the limescale to dissolve and be dispersed.
There are several methods, and online recommendations often suggest old wives' tales that are ineffective, or even counterproductive, because they ruin your car. It's time to clarify.
The second mistake is choosing the wrong method and/or product to clean our machine from limescale.
There are two recommended methods for descaling a coffee machine: those based on natural products and those based on chemical products . Some are real myths, while others should be used with great caution because they can damage the appliance or introduce toxic agents. However, there is also a third solution that no one talks about . Read on to find out what it is.
What to use to descale a coffee machine?
Descale your coffee machine with lemon juice
Lemon juice is a real myth, and besides not contributing in any way to descaling your machine, which requires much stronger acids, it introduces organic compounds into the tank, pipes, and boiler of your machine, which, combined with humidity and high temperatures, can contribute to the growth of bacteria and mold. Avoid it absolutely.
Descaling your coffee machine: baking soda
Baking soda is often used to clean the house for its odor-reducing and mold-reducing properties, but it's an alkaline agent . Limescale is composed of calcium carbonate and dissolves in an acidic environment. For this reason, it's not possible to descale a coffee machine with baking soda.
Descale your coffee machine with vinegar
Vinegar is the acidic agent that we all have at home and is the classic grandmother's remedy for cleaning stoves and surfaces.
Vinegar is often recommended as a DIY machine descaler because its properties allow it to dissolve limescale.
But is descaling your coffee machine with vinegar really a good idea? Not really.
Although vinegar dissolves limescale, it also damages the rubber parts of your machine, especially the seals. Therefore, it makes little sense to use it periodically for maintenance and cleaning, as it will damage key components, shortening their lifespan and causing leaks and breakdowns.
Descale your coffee machine with chemicals
Most machine retailers recommend descaling using specific chemicals.
These work very well, but they have a big problem , which is the reason why many people look for natural products: they insert toxic and potentially harmful substances into the machine, with which we must be very careful, especially considering that we will then use the appliance to prepare our beloved drink that we enjoy every day.
Descale your coffee machine with specific natural products
The solution no one talks about is natural products , specifically designed for descaling and cleaning coffee machines. But what are they? And why is no one talking about them?
This is probably the best coffee machine descaler on the market , as it is based on natural acids - melanic acid and citric acid to be precise - and in addition to being the only descaler certified for contact with food, it is also biodegradable and respectful of the environment.
When to Descale Your Coffee Machine
The third mistake that unfortunately shortens the life of many coffee machines is not being consistent in the frequency of descaling the machine.
The frequency of descaling is a key factor in the longevity of the machine and the quality of the coffee it produces. It should be related to the coffee machine's workload and the hardness of the water.
In any case, we always recommend using bottled water , or water with low limescale content, and regardless of how it is used, we recommend descaling at least every 3-4 months.
So what to do in practice?
In any case, we always recommend using bottled water , or water with low limescale content, and regardless of how it is used, we recommend descaling at least every 3-4 months.
So what to do in practice?
- First, as I just mentioned, use bottled or low-limescale water . If you want to know if your water is hard or soft in your area, you can find it here . This will significantly extend the life of your machine and allow you to enjoy better coffee.
- Don't wait too long to descale your machine, even if you just bought it. Four months is more than enough time for limescale to start building up.
- Descale regularly to avoid problems: every 3-4 months regardless of use.
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Choose the right products . At Aroma, we specifically chose the Aroma CLEANER because, in addition to being coffee machine manufacturers , we guarantee service.
After testing all the products on the market, we are convinced that Cleaner Aroma is the best solution, both in terms of product quality, cleaning effectiveness , and consumer safety . Furthermore, it is really easy and quick to use and is biodegradable: therefore, it allows us to do good for the environment. - Have you already purchased an Aroma machine? Follow the instructions in the user manual and our instructional videos and take care of your machine using only our Cleaner, so you can be entitled to free Aroma assistance.
