Cleaning and maintaining the coffee machine used is just as important for an exceptionally good taste as choosing the beans or freshly grinding the coffee beans before each preparation. Regular care, with the correct cleaning and maintenance of coffee machines, coffee grinders, espresso machines and accessories is important in order to meet the demand for a perfect coffee and to be able to enjoy it for a long time. If cleaning and descaling the coffee machine is neglected or only done with household products that do not clean efficiently enough, then this has negative effects. For example, residues of limescale from the water and coffee residues can build up in the pipes and the inside of the coffee machine. After a long machine life, these can have a negative effect on the taste of the coffee specialties and also cause the pipes of the machines to become porous. For this reason, in addition to regular cleaning, you should also descale thoroughly and at regular intervals - you can get help with this from the descalers in our shop.

How often should I service my coffee machine?

In contrast to coffee machine cleaning, coffee machine maintenance is a more thorough examination of the device. This means not only that the individual components of the coffee machine are thoroughly cleaned, but also that the functionality of individual areas of the machine is checked. This minimizes and controls potential weak points in the machine. Depending on the manufacturer and type of machine, professional maintenance of the coffee machine and espresso machine is recommended approximately every 2 years in order to remove any residue, dirt and other deposits as well as bacterial colonies in difficult gaps as best as possible. However, if you use water that contains too much lime, you should consider carrying out the maintenance process more regularly in order to extend the life of your machine.

How often do I need to descale my coffee machine?

It is generally recommended that a coffee machine, regardless of the type, be thoroughly descaled every three months. The daily flow of water through the machine can cause limescale deposits to build up in the machine's hoses. The degree of limescale, or the water hardness, is also a decisive factor. This means that our drinking water and the amount of limescale it contains depends on the region and where you live and can vary. How often you should descale your coffee machine depends on the degree of limescale and the lime content in the water in your region.

How you descale your coffee machine is up to you - many people swear by natural descaling with citric acid, vinegar, baking powder or other household products. But professional descalers in particular are rightly popular for carefully descaling filter machines, fully automatic machines, portafilter machines or capsule machines. A regularly and properly maintained machine is the basis for your coffee enjoyment!

What should be considered when cleaning the coffee machine?

Depending on the manufacturer and type of coffee or espresso machine, different cleaning steps should be observed. Often, the cleaning or a small "descaling program" of a fully automatic coffee machine happens automatically at the push of a button after each use. With portafilter machines, on the other hand, cleaning the espresso machine is a bit more manual. The brewing group and steam nozzle should be cleaned after each espresso. The brewing group can be cleaned by simply drawing water without the portafilter in place to remove coarse residues of the coffee grounds. In addition, you can use a suitable brewing group brush under running water to remove small residues and clean the brewing group. You should also clean the milk nozzle again and again after use. To do this, remove any external milk residue from the milk nozzle with a damp microfiber cloth after use. Then briefly blow the milk nozzle out with the steam to remove any milk residue inside the milk nozzle.

A thorough cleaning of the machine can be carried out using a special liquid cleaner or coffee machine cleaner according to the operating instructions for the respective machine. Some household remedies are also often used as descaling agents for a descaling process. These include citric acid, but baking soda or vinegar can also help to remove the limescale deposits that have built up over months. After you have descaled your machine, do not forget to rinse it thoroughly - please let enough liquid run through!

Tips and tricks for cleaning fully automatic coffee machines

Regular cleaning and maintenance, including descaling the coffee machine, is important for the taste of our coffee. One tip to slow down the natural calcification of your coffee machine is to use a suitable water filter. This very helpful water filter is already built into the water tank in some coffee and espresso machines and only needs to be renewed or replaced at regular intervals. Examples of coffee machines with an integrated water filter device in the water tank are Nivona fully automatic machines or Sage espresso machines. There are also suitable Nivona water filters and Sage water filters for these, which you can buy later.