Solid light or flashing light?
| Light | What the manual says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Solid on | Descaling is required. | Follow the descaling steps below. |
| Flashing | A cleaning cycle is required. It is a back-flushing cycle, separate from descaling. | Run the cleaning cycle (tablet and disc), below. |
This page follows the BES870 instruction book. Other Barista models (Impress, Pro, Touch) have their own books, so we do not assume the steps carry over.
Descaling steps (BES870)
- Check the light is solid. A solid CLEAN / DESCALE light means descaling is required.
- Fill the tank. Dissolve one Breville descaling powder sachet into 34 fl oz (1 L) of water and fill the tank. The manual warns never to remove or fully empty the water tank during descaling.
- Enter Descale mode. Press and hold 2-CUP, then press and hold POWER. The POWER button flashes while it heats. It is ready when POWER, 1 CUP, CLEAN / DESCALE and HOT WATER / STEAM are all solid.
- Descale the coffee part. Press 1 CUP. It takes about 25 seconds; press it again to stop early.
- Descale steam, then hot water. Turn the steam dial right toward the steam icon (about 13 seconds), then left toward the hot water icon (about 8 seconds). Turning it to STANDBY stops early.
- Repeat. About half (17 fl oz / 0.5 L) of the solution should be left. Repeat steps 4 to 6 to empty the tank.
- Rinse. Remove the tank, rinse it, refill with fresh cold water to the maximum (68 fl oz / 2 L) and repeat the coffee, steam and hot water stages.
- Finish. Press POWER to quit. The lights switch off.
The machine turns off by itself after 5 minutes with no action in Descale mode. To carry on, start again from entering Descale mode. Do not immerse the power cord, plug or machine in water. The manual does not describe vinegar, so we do not recommend it; use the descaling powder the manual names.
The cleaning cycle (flashing light)
- Load the portafilter. Put the 1 CUP filter basket in, then the supplied cleaning disc, then 1 cleaning tablet.
- Lock it in and place a large container underneath. Fill the tank with cold water and empty the drip tray.
- Switch the machine off. Then press 1 CUP and 2 CUP together and also POWER. Hold all three for about 10 seconds.
- Let it run. About 5 minutes, with water flowing in bursts. Two beeps mean it is done.
- Check the tablet. Remove the portafilter. If the tablet has not dissolved, repeat.
Breville says the water filter helps prevent scale. Changing it every two months reduces how often you descale, more often in hard water areas, and it should be removed if you use filtered or bottled water. See choosing a water filter and water for espresso at home.