Seattle Coffee Gear Guide to Descaling - Instructions in PDF

Product Resource Details

We recommend descaling your machine at least once every couple of months, depending on your water source. Here’s three good reasons why:

  1. Scale build up over time will destroy your boiler and steam valve and the repair cost of replacing these can be very high.
  2. Scale build up will block water flow - making pressure inconsistent, resulting in poor espresso flavor and decreased steaming functionality.
  3. Keeping your machine maintained with a routine descaling process will considerably lengthen the overall life of your machine.

Before conducting any maintenance on your machine, please check the manufacturer's recommendation as every machine is different.

Single Boiler

  1. Dissolve descaling powder into one full tank of water with machine on.
  2. Run one cup of water through steam or water wand.
  3. Turn off machine and let solution sit in boiler for 20 minutes.
  4. Run ¼ of water reservoir out of steam wand, ¼ out of brew head.
  5. Turn off machine and let sit for another 20 minutes.
  6. Flush remaining water then run another tank of clean water through.

Heat Exchanger

  1. Dissolve descaling powder into ¾ of a tank and let machine heat up.
  2. Pull one full cup through water dispenser and allow machine to heat back up, repeat until most of tank is empty.
  3. Pull some water through the brew group to run descaler through all piping.
  4. Let the machine site for an hour.
  5. Run the remainder of the water through the machine to get rid of all of the descaler.
  6. Flush two full tanks of water through to remove all remaining solution.

Superautomatic

  1. Many superautomatics have automatic descaling cycles, please check your user manual.
  2. Dissolve solution into water reservoir.
  3. Run water through the steam wand to pull solution into boiler.
  4. Turn off the machine and let it sit for 20 minutes.
  5. Run the remaining water from the reservoir into the boiler and let sit another 20 minutes.
  6. Run a full tank of clean water through the machine to ensure all the solution is removed.