Posted May 7, 2016 11:02 am by Tony Hogarth
I get asked a lot about looking after your coffee machine: Is it easy to clean? Does it take long? It is for the office so it needs to be easy to maintain.
Brands such as: WMF, Frankie and Jura all have automatic cleaning cycles making them perfect for the commercial market, while at home Jura and Delonghi provide domestic coffee machines with automatic cycles.
Steps to Cleaning Your Automatic Coffee Machine
What does automatic cleaning mean?
Most of the machine brands I have mentioned will run an automatic rinse cycle, this means the machine if not used within a certain period of time will automatically rinse water through the system to clean out coffee residue;
The Machine will prompt you when a tablet or milk clean is required and although the machine will manage the clean cycle’s there are still a few steps to take as I have listed below.
How often do I need to clean the milk hose with milk steam cleaner?
Answer: Everyday Old milk sitting in the milk hose and in the machine can clog up the coffee machine and prevent it from functioning properly. This is why it’s important you clean the milk hose every day to prevent milk blockages.
Tip: Simply add 30ml of milk steam cleaner or Jura’s cappuccino cleaner to 200mls of water, (this creates your clean solution). Remove the milk hose from the milk container and place it into your clean solution then press (P) or program mode button, your coffee machine will have a clean the milk system function, simply follow the prompts.
Another way to clean the milk hose is to click on the milk portion and milk foam functions to pull the liquid through the milk hose and machine. Repeat this step with fresh water.
How often do I need to use cleaning tablets?
Answer: Around every 250/300 cups or when your coffee machine prompts you to. All coffee machines need to be rinsed with a cleaning tablet to ensure the inner workings of the coffee machine are flushed out and coffee residue is removed.
Tip: Check your machine or ask the manufacturer where the tablet should be used, for Jura coffee machines the tablet is placed in the top of the machine, in the ground decaf coffee compartment. Your machine will prompt you to confirm you have placed a tablet in the system before completing its clean cycle.
Do I need to use a filter?
Answer: Yes if you are filling your water tank manually, for example if it is not connected directly to your water mains and they have a water filter applied already, you need to use a filter in your coffee machine tank.
How often should I change my filter?
Answer: Your machine should prompt you to do so. It is usually with every 50 litres of water used or around every 1-2 months depending on how often you are using your coffee machine.
Tip: Not all machines take the same filter so be sure to check the machine model when purchasing a new one. The filter is placed in your water tank.
By taking the time to run these quick maintenance checks and clean your automatic machines milkhose and milk steam functions each day, you will have a healthy coffee machine that will not only produce better-tasting coffee, it will last longer too.
Psst… don’t forget to add great tasting fresh coffee beans!