How Do You Decalcify Coffee Machine?

[paypalboutique]

I saw a post on a site that vinegar doesn't properly decalcify a coffee machine. It said vinegar, just makes it smell bad and to use a decalcifying agent that removes calcium build up and to avoid vinegar and citrus ingredients because they don't work. I picked up Natural Coffee Maker Cleaner by Whink and it contains Beta-Hydroxy-Tricarboxylic Acid. Is that good for cleaning a 12 cup Cuisinart drip machine?

 

[shadow745]

There are several alternatives for descaling. Vinegar is safe, cheap and usually leaves no smell if flushed properly. Sodium bicarbonate is probably slightly better and easier to flush. There are also commercial options such as Durgol, Dezcal etc. that work well, but aren't cheap. My personal favorite is citric acid as it's easy to find, cheap and is quite effective. I usually mix 1TBSP/1 quart of warm-hot water, let it work 15 mins minimum and flush well. FWIW I paid $15/shipped for one pound of high grade citric acid on ebay maybe 5 years ago.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

Or you can call the service tech to do all your maintenance. lol <---- lazy ass

 

[paypalboutique]

I disassembled all removeable parts, soaked and scrubbed with hot soapy water. After that, used homemade sanitizer water on non washable parts. Then I ran the machine with the decalcifier. Washed the remove able parts with soapy water again and sanitizer to get rid of descaler odor, ran the machine with just water. Then washed the parts with soapy water and sanitizer again. Then a last brew with just water. There was a film of coffee in the 2nd resivoir from the decalcifier, so I scrubbed it off with hot soapy water and I think I got everything out. The machine is probably 2+ years old and never decalcified, but has only been run with reverse osmoses filtered water so it didn't have any visible calcium. The reservoir just had a small film of coffee on it. It has been cleaned with soapy water before, but not the nooks and crannies. Its the families coffee machine.

 

[Mhippo]

There are several alternatives for descaling. Vinegar is safe, cheap and usually leaves no smell if flushed properly. Sodium bicarbonate is probably slightly better and easier to flush. There are also commercial options such as Durgol, Dezcal etc. that work well, but aren't cheap. My personal favorite is citric acid as it's easy to find, cheap and is quite effective. I usually mix 1TBSP/1 quart of warm-hot water, let it work 15 mins minimum and flush well. FWIW I paid $15/shipped for one pound of high grade citric acid on ebay maybe 5 years ago.

Sodium bicarbonate (AKA baking soda) is an alkaline... Would it decalcify the boiler at all?

My citric acid formula is 2.5 TBSP in a liter (~1 quart)

 

[shadow745]

Yeah... I meant sodium carbonate (as in common Brew Rite descaler)...

 

[CoffeeLovers]

There are commercial mineral deposit and coffee residue removers available around. Yet the vinegar and water solution is the cheapest method. If it is only done in the right procedure, your coffee machine has no problem. After using the vinegar make sure to run clear water at least twice to remove any lingering vinegar residue.

If you find it more works in using vinegar, you can look for a solution that contains these main three ingredients. These are surfactant, builder/water softener and dissolving agent. Just try to look at those commercial cleaning solution if these ingredients are present to achieve a better result.

 

[LittleHobbit]

I don't. I have filtered water coming straight out of and additional tap next to my sink. Had it for about a year and my family prefers tea and there is no sign of limescale in my kettle.

 

[domonique21]

I actually just use the Gaggia decalcifier that I bought from Daily Cuppa Coffee. I've heard about vinegar and sodium bicarbonate but I really just think I'll stick to what I know because it's what's worked for me really well so far. It doesn't really hurt my budget either so that certainly helps.