Regularly descaling your DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart will keep it working properly and clean off the minerals that build up inside your coffee maker. After several months of use, it’s time to give the machine some love. By going through a simple maintenance routine, you’ll get your DeLonghi back in shape. Although it might seem tedious at first, it’s important for the well-being of your machine. The descaler must be measured accuratley when preparing the solution. To do this you simply put exactly 100ml of acid in the clear container (which holds the solution). It’s important that mixture is accurate, or it won’t work. Be careful as the smell of it is really strong! It stinks but does the job when it comes to removing scale.
You measure carefully because too little will not clean properly, and too much are wasteful. Then you top up the tank with regular tap water until it reach the B mark on the tank. At this stage, the tank should be half full to create the right mix for cleaning. Now all you have to do is grab one of the big bowl that fit snugly under the dual dispensers, the thing has to have some space to catch the water! A little cup would not really work. Then you set down your bowl (gently) in place and prepare yourself for the moment when machine is ready.
Starting the Descaling Cycle
The thing is quiet, just waiting for you to tell it to go ahead and make it happen. To begin the cycle, simply press and hold down on the rinse button firmly. Unlike a quick tap, you want to hold the button down long enough for the machine to register your command. At first, the icon above the button will be solid white, and as soon as you see that, the display switch over.
That’s when you’ll know the system has entered maintenance mode. The steamer icon will blink red to show the machine is ready for the descale process. To do so, you’ll simply twist the steam knob to the “hot water” position which open up the proper pipe inside the machine. At that point, hot water will start coming out of the spout and fill up your metal bowl.
The descale is now underway… Though it’s actualy quite slow going. Perhaps you expected it to work fast? Sorry to disappoint, but the machine do things slowly throughout this step. It will stop. It will start. And repeat…burst after burst of water flow. While that might seem strange initially, it’s typical for such a cycle. It stops so that the solution can work on whatever is inside and it flushes itself out once more.
You wait for it to complete its task and you observe the bowl filling as it goes. These are deep cleans so patience is needed as there’s no instant gratification here. After some time, the empty tank light comes on and then all the flow ceases. You may think that you just need to put in a little extra descaler… Except, no. It says so right there on the directions!
So, the dirty cleaning solution is in your collection bowl so you pour it down the drain in the sink. Next, you take out the reservoir even if it is not full. This end the first part of the cycle. This time, you fill up your tank all the way (max capacity) with nothing but clean water, no additives or anything like that. Because the machine requires a solid connection, you carefully slide the tank back on its base. The machine detects the fresh water and continues rinsing away by itself. This is great, since you don’t have to push another button to do so. Now it’s really going fast, rushing and swirling violently in the metal bowl underneath. You can see bubbles as it rinses with clean water. It flushes everything back through those inner lines to give them a good cleaning. It’s important that any remaining acid gets flushed down the drain during the rinse.
And it seems even faster than before. There is definitely an increased flow rate. The machine get rid of waste quickly and efficienty. Another stop and the light goes on signaling that you need to fill up again. Filling the tank all the way to MAX a second time makes sure you get all the junk out. Since you’re doing it over there’s still plenty of room left in the bowl so you empty it again…this time of filthy rinse water. This last rinse should of leave no residue behind in the pump. The last bit of water is drained off into the bowl and flushed through the system completely. Once that’s done, the machine is dead quiet and motionless. Finally the steady green light on the teacup icon comes on; at this point, the descale cycle is finished. The lights don’t jump around anymore; it’s all calm once more. Your DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart is good to go. You can choose from all the drink buttons and brew espresso, coffee or whatever else you want.
The interior components are clean, so your beverage should be cleaner and sharper. The grinder is also happy with its regular maintenance. It took some time but it was worth it.
