To enjoy a coffee as good as a café and at any time of day, it's not enough to own a good coffee machine. Whether it's a traditional, automatic, or electric one for American coffee, pods, or capsules, an authentic and balanced flavor is also guaranteed by correct and regular cleaning of the appliance.

The number one enemy is, as often happens, limescale, which is to blame for compromising the proper functioning of every type of coffee machine. Even the most modern one will, over time, suffer from limescale buildup and excess due to the calcium and magnesium salts present in the water. This is why it is good practice to know how to clean your coffee machine, and what products to use to perform a proper descaling.

How to descale the coffee machine

Often, it is the formation of limescale that prevents water or coffee itself from passing correctly through the espresso machine. Properly cleaning your coffee machine makes the coffee better and makes the machine last longer. If your machine has gradually become noisier and slower, and the flow of water and coffee is intermittent, it won't be necessary to buy a new appliance or resign yourself to making coffee with a moka pot: to keep it efficient over time, you must take small and constant precautions after purchasing it, made up of numerous and periodic cleaning and maintenance interventions.

These "life-saving" operations should be performed approximately every three months, but it depends a lot on how often you use the coffee machine and the hardness of the water you use. Before we figure out together how to clean the coffee machine, it's good to clarify that for an effective descaling and to say goodbye to limescale, we can use the various descaling kits available on the market or more economical natural remedies.

Cleaning the coffee machine with descaling kits

In stores, it is possible to find specific products for cleaning the coffee machine. These are acidic substances that have the ability to dissolve limescale. To proceed with the actual cleaning of the coffee machine with descaling kits, completely empty the machine when it is turned off and at least at room temperature, removing capsules or pods and water from the tank. Once this is done, fill it with the chosen product, following the dosage indicated on the package, and proceed as if you were preparing coffee. Let the solution with water and chemical product flow out until the tank is completely empty. Now, remove the tray to rinse it carefully, and fill the tank again, but only with water. Again, let all the water flow out, dispensing it as you would with coffee.

Cleaning the coffee machine with citric acid

An ecological remedy indicated for cases of more stubborn buildup: citric acid. This product is an excellent ally for descaling and can boast a very low environmental impact. For cleaning, make a solution by dissolving citric acid in water according to the doses indicated in the instruction booklet and use half of it to fill the tank. You will have to let the solution flow out for 20 seconds, turn off the machine, and repeat the same operation every 15 minutes until it is completely used up.