Cleanliness is next to Godliness

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Cleanliness is next to Godliness

Postby carolynb » Mon Dec 22, 2003 11:08 pm

Feeling guilty about not posting an article yet, so until I have time to sit down and write a review of the Isomac Rituale we are using in the office :D I am posting an article I wrote for our website on my pet subject - machine cleanliness... hope this is OK.

Keeping your machine clean:

prevents oily deposits spoiling the taste of your carefully made espresso;
helps keep your machine in good working order; and is important for good kitchen hygiene.

Every Time You Make A Coffee
After every cup of coffee you should clean the milk wand thoroughly with a damp cloth and release some steam to expel any milk and clean the nozzle holes. If you are not going to make another coffee for a while we recommend that you empty the grounds from the filter basket, wipe with a damp cloth and replace on the group head. Then run some water through it to rinse off remaining coffee grounds and coffee residues, empty, wipe, and replace again. If you leave coffee grounds in the filter for a long period they can get baked on and become difficult to remove.

Daily Routine
Wipe the chassis of the machine with a neutral cleaner to remove splashes and coffee grounds.

On machines with professional group heads (those that have a pressure release mechanism such as the E61 group head on the Isomac Millennium) you should carry out the backflush procedure using a blind filter (a blind filter looks similar to an ordinary filter but has no holes). Run water through the group head and jiggle the filter handle to rinse the water around the shower-screen and the seal on the underside of the group head. Then tighten the filter handle. Run water into the group head for about 10 seconds and release the pressure as if you had just finished drawing an espresso shot. Repeat this 3 or 4 times to rinse any residues through the pressure release mechanism.

Daily/Weekly Routine
Machines with professional group heads should be regularly cleaned using cleaning tablets or powder. We would recommend using a cleaning tablet or powder every 30 uses or so, or at least once a week. Place a cleaning tablet or the powder in the blind filter and run water into the group head for about 10 seconds and then release the pressure as if you had just finished drawing an espresso shot. Wait for a further 30 seconds to allow time for the cleaning tablet or powder to dissolve and for it to deal with the coffee residues and repeat. After repeating 3 or 4 times thoroughly wash all traces of the cleaning tablet or powder from the blind filter and repeat the backflushing process with plain water. Using an angled nylon brush carefully clean all remaining coffee grounds and residues from the underside of the group head paying particular attention to around the seal.

Dissolve another cleaning tablet or sachet of powder in a plastic or stainless steel bowl to soak the filter baskets and handles. After soaking for a while scrub them with a stiff bristle nylon brush to remove stubborn coffee residues (wear gloves to protect your hands from the cleaning chemicals). Thoroughly rinse the filter baskets and handles before using them again.

Thoroughly clean any milk residues from the steam wand and clean the inside of the wand using a fine pipe brush. You may also choose to use one of the cleaning products designed to help remove milk residues.

Every 3 to 6 Months
Even if you use filtered water you will need to occasionally descale your machine to remove traces of limescale from pipes, valves, and the boiler. If you are not using filtered water then we would recommend that you do - with soft water it will still remove other impurities, traces of metals, and improve the taste. The harder the water is the more often you will need to descale your machine. Water test strips can be used to find out how hard the water is in your area.

We would recommend that you use a citric acid based descaler. This is designed for use in espresso machines and any traces that remain after the descaling process are harmless. You can also use distilled white vinegar but you may find this leaves a slight lingering smell/taste.

Empty the water reservoir and fill with the descaling solution. Run the machine to fill the boiler and pipes with the descaling solution. Leave the machine switched on for several hours. Occasionally run some of the descaling solution through the steam wand and hot water wand, and also use the backflush procedure to run some of the descaling solution through the group head and pressure release valve. After a few hours empty the water reservoir and refill with clean water. Flush the clean water through the boiler, pipes, steam wand, hot water wand, group head, and pressure release valve - you will probably need to use 1 or 2 full reservoirs of clean water. When you are satisfied that the boiler is full of clean water make at least one cup of coffee and throw it away. You can also use PH test strips to check that all the descaling solution has been rinsed out.

The descaling procedure will vary depending on the type of machine and the descaling product being used. The procedure outlined above is intended as a rough guide but you should always follow the instructions from the manufacturer of the machine and the descaling product where available.

On some machines (mostly those with a heat exchanger) you can empty the boiler by switching the machine off (after it has been running at operating temperature) and then open the hot water tap - the steam pressure will force hot water out of the boiler and it will not refill because it is switched off. This can help speed up flushing the descaling solution from the machine after descaling.
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Postby phil » Tue Dec 23, 2003 12:23 am

Excellent Carolyn! With your permission I'll copy this into an article for you. Got any product photos you can give me permission to use to illustrate the text?
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Postby carolynb » Tue Dec 23, 2003 9:25 am

Yep, no prob I'll sort some out after Christmas. Thanks Phil!
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Postby Sunnyfield » Tue Dec 23, 2003 9:26 am

Very well written, I was going to suggest to publish it as an article as well.

After I have done my Urnex back-flush, I always do at least 10 clear water back-flushes. Next thing I run a lot of water through the PF (with basket) to flush any remaining detergent out of the PF. And finally I pull at least 1 shot of espresso that I discard. If I do not do these things, I can still taste the detergent, which is very bitter and slightly tingly on the tongue.

I find Urnex very aggressive. When I do not wear plastic gloves scrubbing the PF and filter basket, the skin of my hands feels tense and very dry. Clearly it dissolves oils thoroughly.
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Postby phil » Tue Dec 23, 2003 11:46 am

Interesting. I don't have the same experience with Pully Caff. Works well enough though as afar as I can tell.
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Postby alans » Tue Dec 23, 2003 11:58 am

Very nicely written! The throw away one shot is the only bit I don't get, if you've run all the water through why is the first shot still bad? My procedure's a little different, can't backflush a Pav pro so I run the urnex through the boiler, then flush it completly about five times (until I can no longer smell the urnex) and run all the water through the group head.
Last edited by alans on Tue Dec 23, 2003 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby phil » Tue Dec 23, 2003 12:21 pm

You know I never did anything like that with my Pav Pro in all the years I had it (I hope Oliver isn't reading this!).
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Postby alans » Tue Dec 23, 2003 12:53 pm

:lol: You're a dirty, dirty man Phil, and have therefore lost the right to upgrade to that nice commerical machine you've now got, I'll give you my address so you can send it somewhere it'll be treated properly :wink:
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Postby Sunnyfield » Tue Dec 23, 2003 2:01 pm

I only have a theory about the throwing away the first shot: any remaining detergent that doesn't wash away by flushing the group with water will dissolve with the coffee oils of the first shot. Therefore your first shot is going to be impure and possibly bitter. From experience it is bitter, I tried again this morning.

The first time I heard about it, is when I read David Schomer's book (which can be ordered in the UK from anothercoffee, btw). David does not give an explanation, but emperical evidence told him that the first shot was never good. He calls it 'seasoning' the metal PF and basket.

Make of it whatever you like. It works for me.
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Postby phil » Tue Dec 23, 2003 2:41 pm

I heard it was because the metals need seasoning after that nasty detergent has removed all of the oily deposits.
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Postby alans » Tue Dec 23, 2003 2:48 pm

Interesting, I wonder if that could be the reason I run so much more water through (over ten litres) than anyone else I've heard of. I'll have to give it a go!
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Postby Raf » Sun Dec 28, 2003 5:27 pm

A related question: I'm thinking of removing the group head gasket (yes, for the first time and I don't backflush weekly, you can boo me now), but I'm afraid I'll damage it. I tried with a flat screwdriver, but I chipped a tiny piece off the rubber and I stopped. Two questions:

1. I'd better have a spare gasket handy: any online sources in Europe for a VBM gruppa?
2. Any fool proof techniques to get the damn thing off? I read something about a needle?
3. If anyone can tell me how to disassemble the gruppa of a VBM, then I can soak it in the coffee cleaning stuff I have (or is this not advisable).

Thanks!
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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Postby carolynb » Sun Dec 28, 2003 6:22 pm

On some of the E61 group heads (eg. Isomacs) you can gently lever the shower screen down using a screwdriver in the groove near the bottom edge of the shower screen. The top edge of the shower screen is flared outwards and will pull the gasket out at the same time (the gasket holds the shower screen in place). Sometimes they can be more stuborn and in this case you generally need to use a spike in the rubber gasket to pull it down but you will then need a new gasket!

Of course if you backflush regularly with an appropriate cleaning powder (or tablets) then you shouldn't need to remove the shower screen or gasket .... !;)
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Postby Raf » Sun Dec 28, 2003 6:49 pm

I'm not sure I follow that: you wouldn't have any pictures, would you?
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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Postby michel » Sun Dec 28, 2003 6:57 pm

I've removed mine 3 times already Neku... It was terrifying the first time, a little frightening the next, while the third time I noticed myself whistling a happy tune...
My gasket is very stuborn but with a great amount of musscle power pointed to the side of the shower-screen, I've been able to pull it out every time... There seems to be no groove on my Giotto (as Carolyn writes about...) to put the screwdriver in, so the top of the screwdriver is just pushed against the side of the shower-screen, and then slowly pushed downwards... Be sure you don't slip up: towards the gaskett... and don't slip down, into the shower-screen (which happened to me the first time - luckely no damage was done...)
And to make the horror complete.. :twisted: In my case getting the thing out is terrifying, but getting the damn thing back in after cleaning took me 30 minutes last time...

Pictures on how this works on a giotto:
http://www.coffeeselect.com.au/referenc ... iotto.html

Good luck Neku.
(and if you manage to get it out... why not flame it..? :wink:
http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/articles/howtos/24639
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