How to Descale an Espresso Machine (Without Wrecking It)

Here is how to descale an espresso machine safely: use the descaling solution your manufacturer approves, run your model’s own descale cycle from start to finish, and rinse until the solution is gone. The exact steps vary by brand and by model, so this guide gives the general order of work and then a worked example for one verified machine. Start by finding your model’s official manual, because it overrules this page.

Quick Answer

1. Identify your exact model and region, and open the manufacturer’s manual for it.
2. Check whether your machine is asking for descaling or a cleaning cycle. On the BES870, the cleaning cycle is a backflushing routine (see below).
3. If the manufacturer says descaling needs service, follow that. Otherwise use the solution it approves, mixed as its label directs.
4. Run the model’s descale cycle in the order the manual gives, with a container where the manual calls for one.
5. Rinse fully before you brew again, and check that any indicator has cleared.

Descale, Clean and Backflush: What Is the Difference?

These words get used loosely, and running the wrong job leaves the real problem in place.

• Descale removes the mineral scale that water leaves inside the machine. It uses a descaling solution, often through a dedicated mode.
• Clean deals with coffee residue around the group head and the parts that touch coffee.
• Backflush is the name some makers give to a cleaning routine. In the Barista Express BES870 manual used below, the cleaning cycle is a back-flushing cycle that uses a cleaning disc and a tablet, not descaling solution.

Neither job replaces the other. On the BES870, a flashing CLEAN/DESCALE light calls for the cleaning cycle and a solid light calls for descaling. That light rule belongs to that model. Other machines use different indicators or screens, so confirm yours in your own manual. Everyday operation, such as dosing and pulling a shot, is separate again; see our guide on how to use an espresso machine.

Why Espresso Machines Are Different

Advice about vinegar has to be model-specific. For the machine families it lists, including the Bambino, Barista Express and Oracle ranges, Breville’s support article on descaling says to use only an approved, machine-compatible descaling solution and not to use vinegar. De’Longhi’s descaling guide says vinegar isn’t recommended for its espresso machines, because it can leave lingering odors and may be too harsh for some internal components over time. Those statements cover those makers’ machines, so check your own manual.

Our guide to cleaning a coffee maker with vinegar uses drip-machine examples. Its ratios are not approval to carry the method over to an espresso machine.

If you’re shopping rather than maintaining, how much upkeep a machine needs is worth comparing, and our guide to the best espresso machine for home is a good place to start. A machine that only needs descaling doesn’t need replacing.

How to Descale an Espresso Machine

This is the general order of work. The Breville section below has a model-specific example.

1. Identify the correct procedure

Find the full model name or number and open the official manual for your region. Read its descaling section first. If it says descaling must be done by a service center, stop and follow that instruction.

2. Prepare the machine safely

Unplug the machine and let it cool before handling parts, and reconnect power only when the instructions say so. Empty the drip tray, and remove the portafilter and other removable parts only as your manual directs. Check whether your manual requires removing the water filter before you add descaler, and when it should be reinstalled or replaced. Breville’s article also warns against skin and eye contact with descaling chemicals and says to keep them away from children and food surfaces.

Descaling requires power, but some machines guide the cycle automatically while others require you to operate the controls and outlets in the order stated in the manual.

3. Set up the approved solution and reservoir

Mix the approved solution as the label directs. Don’t improvise a household-acid mix or reuse a drip-machine ratio. Seat the water tank securely. Where the manual requires it, put a container under the outlets the cycle uses; De’Longhi’s guide, for example, places one under the coffee spouts and the hot-water wand. Never run hot outlets with nowhere for the liquid to go.

4. Run the specified cycle

Enter descale mode exactly as the manual describes, hold controls for the time it specifies and follow the stages in the order listed. Don’t let the pump run from an empty tank: Breville’s article says to keep the tank from running empty during the descale or rinse cycle on its machines.

5. Rinse as directed

Breville’s support article describes emptying and rinsing the tank, refilling it with fresh water and completing the full rinse until the system is clear of solution. Amounts and refills vary by machine, so follow your manual’s rinse stage.

6. Reassemble and return to use

Put parts back as the manual directs, empty the drip tray, wipe the outside, store leftover chemicals away from food and check whether the descale indicator has cleared.

Breville-Specific Notes

Breville makes many espresso machines, and its support article says the descale cycle and controls vary by machine. Use the official manual for the exact machine you own, from Breville’s site for your region. On the BES870, the cleaning cycle is a backflushing routine, separate from descaling. Confirm which one your indicator is asking for.

Worked example: Barista Express BES870 (US/Canada, 2020 edition)

This example follows the descaling section on printed page 24 of Breville’s US/Canada instruction book for the Barista Express BES870, 2020 edition. It applies to that machine and that edition only. Don’t use its buttons, timings or solution quantity on any other model, including other Breville machines.

The book gives hard water’s mineral build-up as the reason to descale, and says to descale when the CLEAN/DESCALE light is solid. A flashing light means the cleaning cycle instead.

Two points the book leaves open. First, the book warns that the tank should never be removed or completely emptied during descaling, yet it also has you repeat the stages to use up the solution and then remove the tank to rinse it. It doesn’t explain how those fit together, so follow its order exactly, never run the machine without water in the tank (a general safety note elsewhere in the book) and contact Breville support if unsure. Second, the descaling section doesn’t say where to place a container or whether the portafilter stays in. Check that with Breville first, and don’t run the steam or hot water stages with nowhere for the liquid to go.

1. Confirm the CLEAN/DESCALE light is solid, not flashing.
2. Dissolve one sachet of Breville Descaling powder in 34 fl. oz (1 L) of water, then fill the water tank with the solution.
3. Enter Descale mode: press and hold the 2-CUP button, then press and hold POWER at the same time. POWER flashes while the machine heats. It is ready when the POWER, 1 CUP, CLEAN/DESCALE and HOT WATER/STEAM lights are all solid.
4. Coffee stage: press 1-CUP. This takes about 25 seconds. The 1 CUP button flashes and then holds steady when the stage is finished. Press 1 CUP again to stop early.
5. Steam stage: turn the steam dial to the right, toward the steam icon. This takes about 13 seconds.
6. Hot water stage: turn the steam dial to the left, toward the hot water icon. This takes about 8 seconds. Turning the dial to STANDBY ends the steam or hot water stage early.
7. After the first coffee, steam and hot-water stages, about 17 fl. oz (0.5 L) of solution should remain. Repeat stages 4–6 as the manual directs.
8. Rinse: remove the tank, rinse it thoroughly and refill it with fresh cold water to the 68 fl. oz (2 L) maximum. Then repeat the coffee, steam and hot water stages to flush out the residue.
9. Press POWER to exit. The lights switch off.

If the machine is left alone for 5 minutes in Descale mode it switches itself off, and you need to enter Descale mode again to continue.

How Often to Descale

No schedule fits every machine. It depends on your water hardness, how often you brew, whether your machine prompts you and what the manufacturer states for your model.

De’Longhi says to descale when the machine prompts you or as the manual recommends, and says frequency depends mainly on water hardness and how often you brew. It also advises setting the correct water hardness level where the machine offers one, and using a compatible De’Longhi water filter to help slow limescale. For the BES870, the Breville instruction book says to descale when the light is solid, and says replacing the water filter every two months reduces the need to descale.

Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting

• Using a drip-maker vinegar method. Its ratios and cycle don’t transfer to espresso machines.
• Running the wrong job. A cleaning cycle doesn’t descale, and descaling doesn’t clean the group head. Check what your indicator or prompt is asking for.
• Stopping partway or running the tank dry. Finish the full descale and rinse.
• The warning light stays on or flow stops. Don’t invent button combinations, run extra chemical cycles or take the machine apart. Re-read the full procedure for a missed step. Breville’s article says some models clear the indicator only after a specific step, and advises contacting support if flow doesn’t return, the cycle won’t complete or the indicator stays on after a full descale and rinse, since the machine may need service.

FAQ

Is decalcifying the same as descaling?

Yes, in everyday use. Both mean removing mineral scale from inside the machine. Some manuals and products use "decalc" wording, and De’Longhi’s descaling solution is called EcoDecalk, but the job is the same.

Can I use vinegar to descale an espresso machine?

Only if your manufacturer says so for your model. Breville and De’Longhi advise against it for the machines covered above.

Do I still need to descale if I use a water filter?

Usually yes, when your machine prompts for it. De’Longhi says compatible filters help slow limescale formation, and the BES870 book says a fresh filter reduces the need to descale. Neither says a filter removes the need entirely.

Wrap-Up

Once your machine is back in service, our home brewing guide has more ways to look after your gear.