Clean your espresso machine on a regular schedule: after every espresso, every week and every few months. The cleaning schedule below shows exactly when. Without a water filter, descale every 3 months; with a water filter, once a year is usually enough. Below you’ll find what to do at each step and what you need.
This advice applies to espresso machines with a portafilter, such as Sage, Solis, De’Longhi and machines with an E61 group head. Got a bean-to-cup machine with a removable brew unit? Follow your machine’s manual instead.
Espresso machine cleaning schedule
| How often | What |
| After every espresso | Knock out the puck, wipe the portafilter, rinse and brush the group head, purge and wipe the steam wand |
| Weekly | Backflush with water, wash the portafilter and filter basket, clean the shower screen (at least monthly) |
| Every 1 to 3 months | Replace the water filter, depending on use and water hardness |
| Every 3 months | Backflush with group head cleaner, clean the grinder, deep-clean the steam wand |
| Every 3 months, or once a year with a water filter | Descale your machine |
This schedule is a guideline. Make a lot of coffee or have hard water? Do it more often. If your machine shows a message (like Clean Me or Descale on a Sage), follow it.
Daily maintenance
After every espresso, knock out the puck, wipe your portafilter, brush the group head and purge the steam wand. It takes half a minute, and your machine is ready for the next one.
What you need:
Knocking out and cleaning your portafilter
Tap the used puck out on the rubber bar of your knock box or knock box drawer. One or two firm taps is enough. Read more in our guide to knock boxes.
Then wipe the coffee residue out of your filter basket with a barista cloth, lock the portafilter back in and run a little water through to flush out the last bits.
Brushing the group head
After brewing, coffee residue sticks to the shower screen and the rubber gasket of your group head. Brush it away with a group head brush, run a short flush and wipe everything dry with a barista cloth.
Cleaning the steam wand
After steaming, milk residue always stays in and on your steam wand. That isn’t hygienic, and milk can clog the wand. So briefly open the steam again after use to blow the milk out.
Tip from Hugo, our coffee expert: “Wrap a barista cloth around the steam wand and open the steam for a moment. The cloth gets damp and cleans the wand straight away.”
Weekly maintenance
Once a week, backflush your machine with water, wash your portafilter and filter basket and clean the shower screen.
What you need:
Washing your portafilter and filter basket
Take the filter basket out of your portafilter and wash both with warm water and a little washing-up liquid. Brush the inside of the portafilter clean with the group head brush, then dry everything with a barista cloth.
Cleaning the shower screen
The shower screen is the metal plate in your group head that the water flows through. Can you unscrew it? Take it off and wash it with warm water and soap. Do this at least once a month, ideally every week.
“A dirty shower screen has a direct effect on the taste of your coffee,” says Hugo. “I do mine once a month, but the more often the better.”
Backflushing with water
Backflushing rinses the inside of your group head using a blind filter: a filter basket without holes. The water can’t get through, flows back through the group head and takes coffee residue and oils with it. Read more about how backflushing works.
Not every machine can be backflushed. Here’s how it works per machine:
E61 group head: turn your machine on and let it heat up. Swap the filter basket for a blind filter, lock in the portafilter and run the machine for 5 seconds. Repeat a few times until the water runs clean. Then rinse your portafilter.
Sage and Solis: these machines have their own cleaning programme, and a Sage tells you when it’s time (Clean Me). How to start it on your model is explained in our Sage coffee machine cleaning guide.
De’Longhi: De’Longhi machines can’t be backflushed, so you don’t need a blind filter. Run the machine a few times without coffee and brush the group head clean. If your machine has its own cleaning programme, like the La Specialista, follow the manual.
Read more about the group head in our group head cleaning guide.
Replacing your water filter: every 1 to 3 months
How often you replace your water filter depends on how much coffee you make and how hard your water is: every 1 to 3 months.
Not every filter lasts equally long:
- Sage water filter: up to 3 months or 40 litres
- De’Longhi water filter: 2 months at most
- Water filter pouch: 1 to 3 months, for any espresso machine with a water tank
To use the water filter pouch, rinse it under the tap and place it in a full water tank. After 8 hours it’s fully effective. So change it in the evening, and it’s ready for your first coffee in the morning.
If your machine has an intake hose in the water tank, like Expobar, VBM, ECM, Isomac, Bezzera, Rocket or La Nuova Era, use the water filter with spout: 10 cm tall, 4 cm in diameter, with a 6 mm hose connection. Connect it to the intake hose, submerge it and let it soak for half an hour. Note: not suitable for De’Longhi, Sage and Solis.
Quarterly maintenance
Every 3 months, backflush with group head cleaner, clean your grinder and give your steam wand a deep clean.
Backflushing with group head cleaner
This works just like weekly backflushing, but with half a sachet of group head cleaner (our Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder) in the blind filter. On an E61 group head, run the machine for 5 seconds and repeat a few times. Then rinse the blind filter and backflush a few more times with just water, until no cleaner residue comes out. Finally, rinse your portafilter well. Got a Sage or Solis? Follow the cleaning programme in our Sage guide.
Cleaning your grinder
Your grinder, or your machine’s built-in grinder, also collects coffee oils and residue. Grind a full sachet of coffee grinder cleaner, then grind 45 g of beans and throw them away. No need to take anything apart.
Deep-cleaning your steam wand
After every use you purge and wipe your steam wand. Every 3 months, give it a thorough clean with steam wand cleaner, so no milk residue stays behind on the inside either.
Descaling your espresso machine
Without a water filter, descale your espresso machine every 3 months, more often with hard water. With a water filter, once a year is usually enough. Seeing a descale message or limescale flakes in your water tank? Descale sooner.
Don’t use vinegar: it can be too harsh on parts of your espresso machine. Use an espresso machine descaler instead. Many machines have their own descaling programme; check your manual for it.
In general, fill the water tank to the max line, add the descaler and let the machine run until the tank is empty. Then flush again with clean water.
On a machine with an E61 group head, descaling depends on the boiler:
- Single boiler: descale the one boiler.
- Heat exchanger (HX): descale both the coffee side and the steam and hot water side.
- Dual boiler: descale both boilers.
How to descale your exact model is explained in your espresso machine’s manual.
Espresso machine maintenance: frequently asked questions
How often should you descale an espresso machine?
Without a water filter every 3 months, and a bit more often with hard water. With a water filter, you’ll usually be fine with once a year. If your machine tells you sooner, go with that.
Can you descale an espresso machine with vinegar?
Better not. Vinegar sounds like a handy home remedy, but it can be too harsh on the seals and parts of your machine. An espresso machine descaler is just as easy, and a lot safer.
How often should you backflush your espresso machine?
Once a week with just water, and every 3 months with half a sachet of group head cleaner. That way you flush out coffee residue and oils before you taste them in your espresso.
Can every espresso machine be backflushed?
No, unfortunately not. Machines with an E61 group head and Sage and Solis machines can, De’Longhi machines can’t. Not sure? Your machine’s manual will tell you for certain.
How often should you clean the shower screen?
At least once a month, and every week if you can manage it. A dirty shower screen affects the taste of your espresso directly.
How often should you replace your water filter?
Somewhere between 1 and 3 months, depending on how much coffee you make and how hard your water is. A De’Longhi filter should be replaced after 2 months at the latest.
In short
After every espresso, clean your portafilter, group head and steam wand. Every week, backflush with water, wash your portafilter and clean the shower screen. Every 1 to 3 months, replace your water filter, and every 3 months backflush with group head cleaner and clean your grinder and steam wand. Descaling: every 3 months without a water filter, usually once a year with one.
That way your machine lasts longer and your coffee keeps tasting great. You’ll find everything you need in our cleaning & maintenance collection. Got a question? Send us a message, we’re happy to help.
