An espresso machine runs well if it’s kept clean on a regular basis. It won’t seem like nothing is wrong at all; you can go years without proper deep clean and think it’s okay.
Grime inside of the machine take away from its performance; a good deep clean bring things back to life and solves the problems.
The Disassembly Process
Taking care of your machine also extend its life. And it’s always good to have a set of steps to go by when caring for your machine. Without any structure, you can easily overlook some hidden areas.
The instructions clarifies how to handle each component correctly. This structure keep you from messing things up while cleaning.
Taking it apart shows just how dirty they gets over time. White crud builds up and restricts water flow, especially in filters.
For best performance, these need to be cleared out, easy enough to do.
The rest show the same tell-tale symptoms of disuse. The interior is coated in a brown sludge that affect both pressure and taste.
To get it working properly again, you’ll have to remove the sediment. This is especially true for those nasty group heads which is really caked with old coffee grounds.
You’ve got to clean these guys up carefuly. Don’t think that a bit of water will do the trick. There’s some stuff that’s just stuck on there and won’t come off without a bit more.
Smaller filters can be rinsed in running water.
For tougher stains on racks, soap and water will helps break them down. This is one step in a combination that will take care of different residues.
You can break it apart to expose the innards where you won’t normaly see anything. Spray cleaner in the tight spots to make sure there’s no leftover residue.
A thorough cleaning require this step. Flexible hoses is also checked for clogs.
It was time to check for any wear or cracks that would caused leaks later on. Before reassembling, inspect for damaged parts.
Once everything’s been cleaned and dried, it feels good to put it all back together. Everything is like new again with the machine. A thorough cleaning makes it run much better then too.