The smell of coffee in the morning can wake up many a sleepy person, but in order for a coffee machine to work properly and fulfil its function, you need to take good care of it – above all, clean it properly. You will find out how and how in this article.
Nowadays, taking care of a coffee machine is apparently trivial, you don’t have to keep track of the cleaning time anymore, the machine will let you know that it needs cleaning. Caring for your machine starts with daily “maintenance”. Of course, how you clean and maintain your machine will depend on the model and type of machine (filter coffee maker, espresso machine, pressure coffee maker, capsule coffee maker). The first step, regardless of the type of equipment, is to check for scale build-up. The water we have in our taps and that we pour into the machine is often hard. It causes deposits on the equipment, which later needs to be descaled. Manufacturers recommend investing in a water filter, it seems reasonable: prevention is better than cure. If we don’t want to buy an additional filter, but we don’t like to decalcify the water tank and other parts of the machine, we can pour mineral or boiled water into the machine. Another extremely important activity that we should perform at least once a day is cleaning the milk container
Every day, after the machine has finished working, the milk should be poured out and the whole container washed. You can also easily wash it in the dishwasher. There are also special powders and tablets available on the market for cleaning the machine. Just pour such a product into the milk tank, add water and repeat the process of making coffee with milk several times. Of course, you only need to perform such deep cleaning a few times a month, there is no need to do it every day. You also don’t need to buy another special product to clean the milk or water circuits. You can use a solution of water and vinegar for this purpose. Manufacturers of coffee machines advise you to avoid home methods and products not intended for cleaning this type of equipment, it is worthwhile to consult such plans, for example, with a dealer or sales advisor when buying equipment
It is also important to clean the machine regularly. It will ensure its efficient operation for years. It’s best to establish a system whereby you clean the water and milk tanks every evening after the machine has finished working
A coffee machine isn’t just about the water and milk tanks, though. You can’t make coffee out of water and milk alone. That’s right, coffee. Does the type of coffee affect how clean the machine works? Sure! For example, you should not put flavoured coffee beans into a coffee machine that has a built-in grinder. This is because flavored coffee beans are soaked in oils during the roasting process. These beans are subjected to temperature and friction during grinding, which causes the ground coffee to clog the grinder, which in extreme cases can become blocked. In addition, this residue on an unclean grinder can have a very negative impact on the taste of the coffee itself. The aftertaste of poor-quality flavoured coffee (usually flavoured coffee is of very poor quality) will be noticeable for a long time
But how do we clean the grinder in the espresso machine? Once again it is worth repeating that the coffee machine and every part of it should be cleaned regularly! The coffee grinder, whether built into the machine or not, can be vacuumed in the initial cleaning stage. Yes, you read that right, vacuum it. However, we know that vacuuming will not remove all the dirt. So in the next stage, it is worth to hit harder. There are tablets available on the market, which you put into the grinder just like coffee beans and simply grind. These tablets are made of substances that catch all the oils and residues, so we can be sure that the mill will be cleaned thoroughly. The question remains how often we should look into the grinder. Once a month or after finishing a pack of coffee we should vacuum the grinder. You can also use a special tablet to clean the grinder twice or even three times a month
At this point it is worth mentioning the grounds. In more modern coffee machines, an appropriate diode will light up, informing us of the need to throw them out of the container. In coffee machines without this function we have to control the situation ourselves, because the frequency of emptying the grounds container will depend on how often we brew coffee
The appearance itself will not directly affect the taste of the coffee. However, it can be a deterrent. So remember to wipe the machine clean of any coffee residue that might spurt out of the nozzle when pouring coffee – after a while it can dry out and start to smell unpleasant. We must also remember to clean the tray on which we place the cups. It is also important to pour out the water and coffee residues from under it. Neglecting this activity after a long time will cause damage to the stand
Main photo: Mariusz Blach/Adobe Stock
