The daily cleaning
When cleaning your espresso machine, there are one or two operations that you should perform daily, otherwise too much dirt will accumulate too quickly and you will have a hard time getting rid of it.
We'll show you what to consider after each use.
1. clean steam lance from milk residues
You should be especially thorough when keeping the steam lance clean! The high temperatures required to froth the milk cause stubborn deposits to form and dry on the lance.
Therefore, wipe the lance with a damp cloth after each use. In addition, you should also briefly open the valve once after each use to rinse out any milk residue inside the lance with the steam output.
But be careful! The steam is very hot, so make sure that your hands are out of reach. To do this, it is best to align the lance briefly with the opening to the residual water collection tray beforehand.
2. water march - rinse the brew group
The part of an espresso machine that is used by far the most is the brew group including Portafilter. So it is only logical that you should pay the most attention to it during daily cleaning.
After each drink, you should "flush" it once, i.e. remove the Portafilter and flush the brew group once. This rinses off any coffee residue. You can also briefly rinse the filter of the portafilter under the water tap after tapping it out.
Our tip:
Before you reinsert the freshly ground coffee sieve into the brewing group for the next brewing process, you should briefly run your finger over the edge of the sieve to remove any coffee residue that has not been firmly pressed down and tends to settle here during grinding.
In this way, as little of it as possible gets into the area of the sealing ring.
Speaking of the seal: After the last use of the day, you should run a cleaning brush along the space between the brew group and the seal ring. This will remove coffee residues that are often forgotten in this area and can build up or become moldy.
3. clean the Portafilter
You should also wipe out the Portafilter itself daily if possible. To do this, simply remove the inserted sieve, wipe it from both sides and also wipe with a cloth through the inside of the portafilter and the outlets.
4. the residual water collection tray
Last but not least, there is the residual water collection tray: This is where not only everything that runs off during coffee brewing or is collected when rinsing out the lance and the brew group ends up, but also the residual brewing water that is regularly drained from the brew group.
In fact, the prebrew cylinder of your espresso machine has a spout so that the small amounts of water that flow back into the hoses after the brewing process do not accumulate there in the long term.
Therefore, the residual water tray often fills up faster than you think and should be emptied, cleaned and dried every day. Even high-quality stainless steel can rust if too much water and coffee residues accumulate.
Clean thoroughly twice a year!
Even if you clean your espresso machine every day in an exemplary manner as described above, you should take extra thorough care of it every six months.
Now we'll tell you what you need to keep in mind!
1. backwash hoses and pipes
We start with the heart of the espresso machine - the brew group:
What you need for cleaning this part of the machine are a so-called Dummy strainer as well as Brew head cleaner. Replace the normal strainer in the Portafilter with the dummy strainer. Then fill the dummy sieve with a teaspoon of brew head cleaner powder and clamp the Portafilter into the unit.
Now a little caution is required! Operate the brew group lever or switch in a 10-second rhythm and move the Portafilter back and forth in the brew group. This will cause some hot water to come out the sides, so watch your fingers! Repeat this process until the powder in the dummy sieve has almost dissolved.
This cleaning process is about flushing the espresso machine's pipes. Thanks to the blind strainer, the water-cleaner mixture is flushed back through the pipes and reaches the very back of the machine.
Afterwards, be sure to rinse the brew group for a while without a strainer so that the remains of the cleaner are completely flushed out.
2. put the steam lance through its paces
For more thorough cleaning of the steam lance, you should unscrew the lance head and clean the thread, as milk deposits tend to accumulate here. Then fill a milk jug with some brew head cleaner and water and soak the lance in it for a few hours (preferably overnight). Before the next use, rinse and rinse thoroughly so that no cleaner residues get into your milk.
3. soak brewing sieves and Portafilter
Last but not least, you can also soak Portafilter and sieve inserts in such a cleaner mixture overnight. However, make sure that only the metal part of the filter holder is immersed in the cleaning water, as the more aggressive components of the cleaner can bleach the plastic or wooden handles of Portafilter .
Not yet optimally equipped?
You have noticed while reading that your espresso machine could also use an intensive cleaning, but you lack the necessary accessories? No problem, because in our store you will find everything you need!
Long live the espresso machine - How to clean it optimally!