Maintenance of Home espresso machines

Espresso machines, like any other equipment, need maintenance. Wearing due to moving parts, aging, effect of heat and pressure, corrosion due to acids & rusting is normal. 

Other most common (90%) causes of machine malfunction are listed below:

Sediment of mineral deposit from water. This is 90% cause of malfunction. 

Coffee sediment in the grinder and brewing section due to oils in the coffee beans. There is a general misconception that dark roast and shining oily beans make stronger espresso. The truth cannot be farther than that. 

Home espresso machine is left 'On' when not in use. Extended exposure to high temperatures and steam pressure renders the rubber seals and O-rings lose their sealing capacity. This rusults in leaks. Energy saving mode in automatic models is not a good idea. It maya be a good selling feature. Savings of energy worth a Dime per month is not a good reason. It can result in expensive repairs.

Mineral deposited in the hydraulic system of espresso machine:  When water is heated,  minerals separate  and leave sediment. Accumulation of sediment blocks passage of water. The sediment can be excessive when machine is not used over extended period of time. Water dries up completely, leaving all minerals to settle and form difficult to remove cement. 

Accumulation of oil and fine particles of ground coffee stick together and accumulate in crevices inside the grinding chamber, the doser and any space between the grinder and doser. This reduces the space in the grinding chamber and also blocks the passage of coffee in the machines with built-in grinders. This is a common occurence when oily beans are used. Dark roasted beans loaded with oils on the surface are difficult to keep fresh as the oil is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air. Many aromatic elements react with Oxygen in the air and change from being aromatic to bitter and rancid chemicals. Dark oily roast is not good as espresso bean. It gets rancid fast and espresso made with it tastes bitter.

Use of wrong descaling products that are ineffective or too strong to cause corrosion. Cafiza, CleanCaf and Purocaf are not descaling chemicals. These are coffee cleaning products for back-flushing commercial machines.

 Using the programmed auto descaling method: When auto descaling method of descaling is used, the machines are flushed only through the steam /hot water pipe. Programmed auto-descaling does not flush descaling solution from the espresso side. (This is like cleaning only the front seat and not the rear seat in a car) 

Espresso machine is only a tool for making espresso. It does not come equipped with a licence to make coffee. The operator of the tool should not only know about the tool but also what to make out of the tool.

Knowledge of proper cleaning and use of espresso machines is as important as taking lessons to drive a car. It is important to save the User's guide for use when needed (even if the guides are not very helpful in many ways).

Cleaning of espresso machine

Daily cleaning             Periodic cleaning         Tune up every 8 or 12 month.

Daily cleaning is an important part of maintenance. This must be carried out as recommended in the user's manual.

1- Empty the waste box at the end of coffee making. Fungus grow on used coffee grounds within few hours and spores contaminate the whole machine fast. This is prevented if the dump box is flushed after use. 

2-  Flush the steam wand or frother by opening steam outlet for 10 seconds. This will prevent blocked steam and hot water pipe. Remove the frother sleeve and clean. Hold the steam pipe firmly when pulling to remove or pushing the frother cover back on. 

3- Prevent accumulation of milk stone by loosening the fastening nut on Pannarello frother. Wipe milk left in the joints/threads from accumulation to become hard like cement.  

3- When a pre-ground cycle is available, use it to make one last espresso without pre-ground coffee before turning the machine off. It flushes coffee particles and oil that remains in the system.This should be a routine every day.

4- In the traditional machines, lock the filter cup holder in the group without coffee in the filter cup and make a large espresso. This helps to clean flush hot water under 140 p.s.i pressure through the holes in the shower screen, through the filter cup, and also flush the valve inside the filter cup holder.

Periodic Maintenance includes the following steps every two months:

1-  Descale the machine to remove mineral deposits from valves, hoses, filter screen and boiler. An average 90 percent of espresso machines malfunction, due to mineral deposits. Download Descaling instructions .

2- Clean the Grinder from accumulation of oils and coffee powder that occurs in the grinding chamber and cause problems. Locate the doser that stops the grinder and empties coffee grounds in the brew group. Clean it with brush to remove oil and fine particles sticking inside the doser walls and grinder shutter flap.

3- clean the brew group in the fully automatic espresso makers. Seaco models that have a brew group, include Saeco's Vienna, Magic, Royal and Incanto line of machines, Gaggia's Syncrony, Spidem's Trevi & Divina models. See Saeco brew group cleaning.Click Here For more information

 Other Factors:

1- Do not leave home espresso machines turned on when not in use. It damages the seals and hardens rubber parts, leading into leakage problems.

2- During extended non-use, water in the boiler and hydraulic system evaporates, leaving excessive quantities of mineral deposits. This can be avoided by descaling the machine, and cleaning the filter screen and the filter cup.

3- Do not leave machine in storage space where the temperatures can go  below zero.

3- Lubricate the moving parts. A thin coat of lube on chrome and metal body parts will prevent rusting.