Time to clean your (Breville) espresso machine and you don't want to pay the asking price of the Breville tablets? Well here's an alternative. I only say (Breville) because of the size of the tablets, I assume different machines may have different size requirements.
They seem to do the job.
CamelCamelCamel.
Yeah same - I've had my stash for years now. I've even started using two at a time. I feel like I paid about $20 just from a local roaster back then too.
Back flushing cleans more than just the shower screen.
@WatchNerd: Descaling and cleaning are two different things though. If you're not back flushing with a proper cleaning solution, you're not cleaning the entire group head.
i figured 100 tablet would be overkill, but vinegar would work as a substitute?
Yes one third white vinegar is fine for descaling.
I've started using citric acid for descaling, which is also pretty cheap.
You can also use denture tablets.
Don’t forget to descale as well.
No need to descale if your machine has filters like Claris and you change them timely.
Breville has a filter too. But i also have a 3 stage filter at home which then gets boiled and after cooling goes into the machine.
Why do you boil the filter?
@Ozzster: Would you use regular water or reverse-osmosis-7-stage-filtration water to cool the filter after boiling?
@ATangk: These filers are for different purposes. You can still can replace a hammer with iPhone if you want, but it doesn't mean its job will be done better.
@Ozzster: Cause i noticed mould growing at bottom of water tank once, even though i clean it and change water every 2 days. Since ive been boiling the water, no more mould
@easternculture: I boil the water just because it's more safe. Never had moluld in water, but always have it in the waste tank.
If you flush your machine for 20 seconds after each shot, the hot water cleans and kills everything.
Have not needed to use tablets yet
Still need to descale regularly. When i bought my coffee machine in for repairs, rep said the no#1 failure rate for coffee machines were clogged heads. The calcium completely blocks the small pipes after 4-5yrs.
Yeah i still descale. But i use filtered boiled water which is again filtered by the breville filter.
Just havent needed to use tablets at the front end as i flush untill all residue is gone and water is clear
Descalers won't clean oil deposits. They are acidic and only remove calcium deposits. These tablets are caustic and they break down coffee oils.
Coffee is oily as hell, eventually you will absolutely need to use an actual cleaning agent if you care for your machine.
Descale with acetic acid or vinegar/bicarb.
Attach the plastic stopper to the portafilter.
Run a few cycles.
This will dissolve any oil residue if you descale regularly.
Otherwise Lectric Washing Soda 1kg for $5 is the same as cleaning tablets, you can add it to water and run a few cycles then flush.
^ This
Descale with acetic acid or vinegar/bicarb.
This will dissolve any oil residue if you descale regularly.
Acetic acid or vinegar will descale, but won't dissolve oils. Bicarb will remove oils, but won't descale.
If you mix it bicarb with acids they will cancel out each other, so use one at a time.
Just a caution - non-original cleaning chemicals can be as good as the original ones, or can dissolve the rubber on the internal components and the machine will leak until complete break down.
That's a very fair point. I think cafetto is a pretty big brand these days though and haven't seen many people complain of issues with their prodcuts.
Have personally used their descaler powder and these cleaning tablets and they worked well for me across delonghi and breville machines
Been using these on Sunbeam EM7000 series - in the group handle with the cleaning tablet insert holder - they work great.
I also use the cafetto Restore Descaler Powder in the resevoir tank for the full descale cycle, also works great.
Neither damage the machine so far, and do a nice job.
Cafetto also makes a cleaning powder that is used for back-flushing and cleaning out the build up of oils over time. Half a teaspoon in the blank portafilter once a week seems to do the trick in our Silvia (3-4 coffees a day).
Lectric Washing Soda does the same job FYI
this can be used for quite a while. my last order was Aug 2021, still more than half of the bottle left.