Cleaning and descaling schedule
No maker we read publishes a number of weeks for each water hardness, so we do not invent one. This table shows what the makers do say, and a habit schedule you can adjust to your own water.
| Task | How often | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Rinse portafilter and basket | After every shot | Our routine: stops coffee oils drying on |
| Empty and rinse drip tray and grounds bin | Every day or two | Our routine |
| Brush basket holes and wipe group head | Every few days | Our routine; check your manual for the shower screen |
| Backflush with a blind basket | Only if your manual describes it, on the schedule it gives | Your manual |
| Change the water filter | Breville BES870: every two months, more often in hard water areas | Breville BES870 manual |
| Descale | When the machine prompts you; more often with hard water or heavy use | De'Longhi, Breville |
| Your water | What the makers say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Soft or filtered | De'Longhi: the hardness setting on the machine "has a direct effect" on how often you descale. Breville: the water filter reduces the need to descale. | Descale when the light or message comes on. Keep the filter changed. |
| Hard | Breville: in a hard water area, change the filter more frequently. De'Longhi: frequency depends on hardness and brewing. | Set the hardness on your machine if it has the setting, expect prompts sooner, and do not put it off. |
| Don't know | De'Longhi: set the hardness level for your local water in advance. | Ask your water supplier or test strips, then set it. |
Sources: De'Longhi, how to descale a coffee machine and Breville BES870 instruction book, last checked 2026-11-04.
Why cleaning and descaling matter
Two separate kinds of buildup affect a home espresso machine over time: coffee oils and residue that accumulate in the portafilter, basket, and group head, and mineral scale that builds up inside the boiler and internal water lines from tap or filtered water. Cleaning addresses the first; descaling addresses the second, and both matter for consistent taste and long-term machine health.
Ignoring either one tends to show up gradually rather than all at once -- shots that taste slightly stale or bitter regardless of grind adjustments, longer heat-up times, or unusual noises from the pump are common early signs. Regular, modest maintenance is far easier than trying to recover a machine that's gone a long time without either.
Neither cleaning nor descaling requires special expertise to do well -- both are routine home maintenance tasks, similar in spirit to cleaning a coffee maker or a kettle, just with a couple of extra steps specific to how an espresso machine's group head and boiler are built.
This guide covers general daily and weekly cleaning habits, backflushing where applicable, a general descaling approach, and -- importantly -- when to stop and rely on your specific machine's manual instead of generic guidance like this.
It's also worth separating what's cosmetic from what's functional. A slightly stained drip tray is purely cosmetic; a scaled-up boiler affecting heating efficiency is functional and, left long enough, can shorten the machine's usable life. Both are worth addressing, but understanding the difference helps you prioritize when time is limited.
Daily and weekly habits
Rinse the portafilter and basket with hot water immediately after each use, before coffee oils have a chance to dry and harden. A quick brush (a small dedicated cleaning brush works well) around the basket's holes every few days helps clear out grounds that rinsing alone doesn't fully remove.
Wipe down the group head with a clean, damp cloth periodically, and empty and rinse the drip tray regularly rather than letting it sit full -- standing liquid there can develop an off smell and isn't doing your countertop any favors either. If your machine has a removable shower screen (the small perforated disc the water passes through into the puck), check your manual for whether it's designed to be removed and cleaned, since this varies by model.
These small habits take only a minute or two per day but meaningfully reduce how much buildup accumulates before your next deeper cleaning or descaling session.
A dedicated small brush kept next to the machine, rather than stored in a drawer elsewhere, makes this routine much more likely to actually happen daily. The friction of having to find a cleaning tool is often the real reason these small habits get skipped, more than any lack of understanding their value.
Backflushing, if your machine supports it
Backflushing uses a blind (solid, no holes) filter basket and, typically, a small amount of espresso machine cleaning detergent to force water backward through the group head's internal pathways, clearing coffee oil residue that a normal front-to-back rinse can't reach. This feature exists on many machines with a three-way solenoid valve, but not all machines support it -- some entry-level and many super-automatic machines don't have the type of group head this process is designed for.
Check your specific machine's manual before attempting to backflush. Doing it on a machine not designed for the process, or using regular dish soap instead of a detergent made for espresso machines, can cause more harm than good. If your manual describes a backflushing procedure, following it on the schedule it recommends (often weekly to monthly depending on use) is a genuinely effective habit.
If your machine doesn't support backflushing, don't worry -- it isn't a mandatory step for every machine type, and plenty of well-maintained home setups rely entirely on regular rinsing, basket brushing, and manufacturer-recommended descaling instead. Check what your specific model actually supports before assuming a feature you've read about elsewhere applies to your machine.
A general descaling routine
Descaling addresses mineral buildup (mainly calcium and magnesium from tap or filtered water) inside the boiler and internal lines, which can affect heating efficiency and, over a long enough time, machine longevity. Most machines use a similar general process: a descaling solution formulated for espresso machines is mixed with water and run through the system in cycles, followed by multiple clean-water rinse cycles to clear out the solution completely.
The general shape of this process is genuinely similar across many machines, but exact steps -- how much solution, how many cycles, whether to run it through the group head, the steam wand, or both, and how many rinse cycles are needed afterward -- vary meaningfully by model. This is one of the clearest cases where following your specific machine's manual matters more than a generic walkthrough, since an incorrect solution concentration or an incomplete rinse can leave residue that affects both taste and internal components.
If you no longer have your original manual, most manufacturers publish a downloadable copy on their support site for a specific model number, which is worth locating before your first descaling attempt rather than guessing from a different model's instructions.
Keep in mind that descaling solution concentration and cycle counts are specifically calibrated to a given boiler's size and design. Using a stronger mix than recommended to "make sure it works," or skipping rinse cycles to save time, is a common way well-intentioned maintenance ends up causing more harm than the buildup it was meant to address.
Descaling step by step
- Check the prompt. Descale when the machine asks, or when your manual says to.
- Prepare. Empty the drip tray and grounds container, empty the tank and take out the water filter if there is one. Put a container of at least 2 litres under the spouts and wand (De'Longhi).
- Add the descaler your maker names. De'Longhi: Decalk Care or EcoDecalk, to the level marked in the tank, then water. Breville: Breville descaling powder dissolved in water. Follow the amount in your manual.
- Run the cycles. Let the machine work through its automatic cycles and pauses. De'Longhi says the process takes 30 to 50 minutes, depending on the model.
- Rinse. Fill the tank with fresh water and run the rinse cycles the machine requests. Taste a cup of water before the first shot.
Exact steps differ by model. We wrote step-by-step pages for the Breville Barista Express, Nespresso and Keurig from their makers' guides. For a drip machine, see descaling with vinegar; De'Longhi says vinegar is not recommended for espresso machines.
How often to descale
How often you need to descale depends on your water's mineral hardness and how much you use the machine, not on a fixed universal schedule. De'Longhi says it "mainly depends on your water hardness and how often you brew." Soft, filtered or bottled water stretches the interval, and hard water shortens it.
Many machines include an indicator light or message, which is a more reliable cue than a calendar. Breville's BES870 manual says to descale when the CLEAN / DESCALE light is solid, and Nespresso's VertuoLine guide says every 3 months or 300 capsules. If yours has no indicator, check your manual's recommendation first, since manufacturers calibrate it to their boiler design.
Using filtered water consistently, or a water recipe formulated for espresso machines, can meaningfully reduce how often descaling is needed in the first place -- see water for espresso at home for more on that topic.
When to stop and check your manual
General cleaning steps like rinsing the portafilter or wiping the group head are safe to do on virtually any machine. Anything involving disassembly beyond what your manual explicitly describes, electrical components, or bypassing a safety feature is where this guide stops and your manufacturer's instructions should take over.
If your machine develops a persistent leak, an unusual smell, a pump that sounds notably different than usual, or any issue that seems electrical rather than related to routine buildup, that's a sign to consult a qualified repair professional or your manufacturer's support resources rather than attempting a repair based on general guidance like this. Machines vary enough in internal design that a fix appropriate for one model can be inappropriate, or unsafe, for another.
It's reasonable to keep a small log of when you last descaled and cleaned, similar to the recipe log suggested in our dial-in guide. This makes it much easier to notice when heat-up time or flow rate has genuinely changed compared to your own machine's history, rather than relying on memory alone to judge whether something is actually different.
Final thoughts
Regular, modest cleaning and an appropriately scheduled descaling routine do more for a home espresso machine's taste and longevity than almost any other habit. Keep daily rinsing simple, follow your specific manual for backflushing and descaling steps, and treat anything beyond routine maintenance as a job for your manufacturer's guidance or a qualified repair professional.
See our coffee tools hub for other maintenance and accessory guidance, or our guide on bottomless portafilter benefits and drawbacks if you're also considering that as a next addition to your setup.