Cleaning and care of your espresso machine

Care and Cleaning of Your Espresso Machine

When and how often should the machine be backflushed? How do I properly clean the brew group? These or similar questions will be answered based on my experiences in the following post.
Today, we will delve into the topic of cleaning, operation, and maintenance routine when handling a portafilter espresso machine and a coffee grinder.

Daily
When the day is coming to an end and the espresso machine is to be turned off I:
• start a blank shot with the portafilter inserted until the water coming out of the spout is clear again.
• insert a portafilter with a blind filter and flush the machine with water. I do this by starting a shot and waiting until the pump has full pressure, then stopping the shot. I repeat this process 3-4 times. This procedure is called "backflushing."
• fold a kitchen towel into a rectangle or square and use it to wipe the group head gasket and the group head holder to remove any coffee grounds left in the brewing group.
• remove the drip tray and drip grid, clean both in the sink with cold or warm water, and then dry them off.
• wipe the espresso machine as needed with a high-quality, slightly damp microfiber cloth to remove water and coffee splashes from the front or body. To do this, I soak the microfiber cloth in warm water with a bit of dish soap, wring it out as much as possible, and use it to clean the machine.

Weekly
Once a week, I drain the steam boiler of the espresso machine to ensure that fresh water is occasionally introduced into the system. To do this, I turn off the machine when it's at full steam pressure and drain the steam boiler via the hot water spout into a large container. This practice has proven valuable to me in terms of the machine's lifespan, especially for those with rotary pumps. Rotary pumps are designed for significant throughput and can suffer damage relatively quickly if left idle for long periods without use.

Note
Using modern treated water primarily helps against this phenomenon. Therefore, you should always use the right softened water in the machine. In my experience, the hardness of the water used, for example with a water softening system in the basement, should be tested quarterly with a professional drop test. Often the set hardness values differ from the measured values.
Every 150 shots or every two months
Every 150 shots or every two months, I clean the brewing group with coffee oil remover. Additionally, I soak the used portafilters and filters (optionally also the shower screen and the water distribution plate of the group head if they can be easily removed) in hot water from the boiler along with coffee oil remover. For backflushing, I fill the blind filter with half a teaspoon of coffee oil remover and run 15-second shots until the foam coming out of the group head drain is white. After that, I remove the portafilter, clean it, reinsert it, and run ten more shots with just water to flush out any remaining cleaning agent from the machine. Finally, I clean the machine as described in point 4, as coffee oil remover can leave ugly stains on untreated metal. I don’t drink the first shot with coffee and pour it away—some might argue it's unnecessary, but I prefer not to have any traces of coffee oil remover in my espresso.
I clean the espresso grinder externally with a brush, and once a month, I clean the grinder's burrs using grinder cleaning granules. Personally, I advise against disassembling the grinder, as frequent disassembly and reassembly can cause damage, such as worn-out threads, which can lead to a loss of precision during the grinding process.

As needed
Descaling the machine

The principle here is: as little as possible, as much as necessary. An espresso machine should always be filled with the correct (soft) water to operate the machine for as long as possible, even for several years, without descaling. However, if the machine shows signs of malfunction, such as the brew group not heating up properly, you may want to consider descaling. I generally recommend having the machine completely disassembled by a professional for descaling, and it should be placed in a tub with the appropriate descaling agent. During this process, all seals and defective components should be replaced before reassembling. Afterward, the machine will be as good as new and ready to serve you for many more years. Sure, this method is expensive but, with the correct water, is rarely necessary.

Note
During pass-through descaling, there is a risk that dissolved scale particles can clog important machine pipes, or that the descaling agent, by design, may not be completely removed from the machine, especially in heat exchangers or multi-boilers. Moreover, each pass-through descaling dissolves substances that you don't want in your espresso, and rubber seals can become porous, leading to machine leaks. I generally advise against this faster and cheaper method.

If water leaks past the portafilter during extraction, despite it being firmly inserted, it’s time to replace the portafilter gasket. The portafilter gasket is located inside the group head and seals the contact points between the filter in the portafilter and the group head. The replacement process is usually described in the espresso machine manufacturer's manual and requires little technical skill. If you can’t remove the portafilter gasket and the shower screen with a screwdriver because they're stuck, I carefully screw a small wood screw into the gasket and pull it out with pliers. I usually replace the shower screen along with the portafilter gasket and clean the water distribution plate as well.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Bertram Unrath, born in 1982. My interest in coffee began in 2012 with an old Vibiemme Domobar that had been stored in my parents' basement for 20 years. I restored the machine, and once it was working again, I was curious about how the stuff you make with such a machine would taste. So, I went online, bought a Graef CM700, and got my first coffee beans from a roastery in Mannheim.
Of course, during the restoration process, I registered in the “Kaffee-Netz” forum to get help with espresso preparation. In 2014, I first came into contact with Michael Hauck, the CEO of ECM/Profitec. I was interested in the Profitec Pro300, a machine with potential but hardly described online at the time. From then on, we kept in touch, even if it was just to organize regular “Kaffee-Netz” meetings in Heidelberg.
From early 2013 to mid-2017, I worked part-time in a roastery during my studies because I wanted to experience the journey from raw beans to the finished product. I was also responsible for part of the sales. Among our clients were various branches of an American motorcycle manufacturer, for whose events we were often booked. This allowed me to experience the "preparation of espresso-based drinks" under extreme conditions, depending on how many caffeine-loving bikers wanted an espresso or cappuccino after lunch.
In 2017, I decided to start selling ECM/Profitec coffee machines as a side business. I always picked up my machines in person from Bammental, so naturally, I got to chat with Michael Hauck more often.
Since I believe that this method of espresso preparation is an extremely communicative topic, we always offered our customers training at home on their own machines. The training has a strong practical component and covers topics such as setup, operation, and maintenance/cleaning.
Throughout the entire period from 2012 to 2024, I’ve had many espresso machines and grinders on my coffee bar. I always have at least two machines and four to five grinders from various manufacturers in constant rotation. The bar is 3 meters wide, so there's plenty of space.
True to the motto: “A hobby is the desire to achieve a questionable goal under massive financial expenditure, whose meaning is not or hardly recognizable to outsiders. But it brings joy, and that’s priceless.”
In that spirit: Enjoy reading my posts.