Cleaning your espresso machine: backflushing, descaling and gaskets

Backflushing with a blind basket only works on machines with a three-way solenoid valve, and 3 to 5 grams of powder suffice per cleaning cycle.Daily, weekly and yearly tasks, manufacturer advice on descaling and replacement intervals for gasket and shower screen.

Coffee leaves behind oils that turn rancid in the group head, basket and valve. The good news: day to day, the care takes you only seconds. Once a week or month, you add a few minutes with cleaning powder, and once a year a gasket change.

One important point first: your machine’s manual always takes priority. The figures here come from manufacturers and specialist retailers and are guide values.

Our selection is editorial, there are no paid placements. Links marked * are affiliate links to Amazon Germany (amazon.de): if you buy through them, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We have not tested the products ourselves; pros and cons are based on manufacturer information and retailer descriptions. Prices are guide prices from German shops as of October 2026, and price and availability on Amazon may differ.

The routine: seconds a day, minutes a month

After every shot, you knock out the puck, rinse the portafilter with hot water and briefly run water through the empty group head. Wipe the steam wand straight away with a damp cloth and purge a little steam. That way no milk dries onto the tip.

At the end of the day, it is worth taking a quick look at the group. Remove coffee residue at the edge of the gasket with a group head brush. For a thorough clean, you can soak the steam tip in milk system cleaner and clear it with a toothpick.

The intervals in the table are ranges from several sources. La Marzocco recommends weekly backflushing for its home machines. For E61 machines, the US retailer Clive Coffee advises a water backflush after each day of use. With powder, it advises one every 50 to 100 shots.

Backflushing with a blind basket: only with a three-way valve

For backflushing, you fit a blind basket without holes instead of the normal basket. The water builds up in the group and drains into the drip tray via the three-way solenoid valve. If your machine has no such valve, the water cannot escape, and you should not backflush. According to a US specialist retailer, this applies to the Bambino models and most entry-level machines from DeLonghi and Saeco. It also applies to bean-to-cup machines and manual lever machines.

Machines that can be backflushed include E61 models from brands such as Rocket, ECM, Profitec, Bezzera and Quick Mill. The Rancilio Silvia and most Sage models from the mid-range upwards also qualify. Check your manual anyway. We explain which type you have in single boiler, heat exchanger, dual boiler.

A cleaning cycle with powder works like this: put 3 to 5 grams, about one teaspoon, into the blind basket. Then run the pump five times for 10 seconds, with a 10-second pause each time. Afterwards, rinse several times with clean water until no more foam appears, and pour away the first espresso. Sage machines have their own cleaning programme with a tablet, which starts when the service light flashes.

There is a catch with the E61: the cleaning powder also washes the grease off the cam in the lever. Clive Coffee recommends regreasing the cam with food-safe grease after every third powder backflush. If you backflush more often, you grease more often.

Soaking baskets and portafilter: a bath for stubborn oils

Baskets, shower screen and portafilter need a bath now and then. For Puly Caff, a specialist retailer gives 10 grams of powder to 1 litre of hot water and 15 minutes of soaking. For Cafetto EVO, a German shop gives two measuring scoops (around 8 grams) and 10 minutes. A 1-litre milk jug works well as a container.

Keep plastic handles out of the solution, then rinse everything thoroughly. Clean the shower screen with a soft brush. Hard bristles can damage the fine mesh, and then the water spreads unevenly over the coffee.

To descale or not: why many manufacturers prefer to rely on water

On single boilers and many entry-level machines, descaling is part of routine care, often with its own programme. Heat exchangers and dual boilers are a different matter. Acid can attack gaskets, fittings and boilers made of brass or copper. Many manufacturers therefore advise against descaling the boiler yourself as a matter of principle. A German specialist retailer states explicitly on its descaler page that it advises against descaling heat exchangers and dual boilers yourself.

The better strategy is soft water from the start. The Specialty Coffee Association gives a total hardness of 35 to 85 ppm. From 15 °dH (German degrees of hardness, about 268 mg/l calcium carbonate, our conversion), a water filter makes sense. From 21 °dH, one is strongly recommended. Our guide to water for coffee explains how to adjust your water. Your warranty depends on it too: La Marzocco states that water outside the manufacturer’s specifications can put the warranty at risk.

If you descale yourself, use only the product your manufacturer names. Vinegar is unsuitable, and DeLonghi warns that it attacks gaskets. Saeco and Philips advise against citric acid at too high a concentration, giving a maximum of 1.5 to 2 per cent. Depending on the manufacturer, a third-party product can affect the warranty. According to Clive Coffee, limescale damage is usually not covered anyway.

Gasket and shower screen: the annual check for the group head

The group gasket hardens over time. Typical signs: the portafilter turns past the 6 o’clock position, coffee leaks at the group, or the espresso tastes flat. Clive Coffee gives 12 to 18 months for replacing it, and around a year for the shower screen.

On the E61, gaskets 8 and 8.5 millimetres high are the most common. The thicker version helps if the handle turns too far. Measure before you buy, or check the spare parts list for your model. When fitting, the bevelled edge faces down towards the portafilter.

1. Switch off the machine and let the group cool down completely.
2. Undo the centre screw and remove the shower screen and dispersion plate.
3. Lever out the old gasket with a thin screwdriver or hook.
4. Clean the groove, screen and plate, fit the new gasket with the bevel facing down and reassemble everything.
5. Test with an empty portafilter: the handle should sit at about 6 o’clock.

Grinder and warranty: rice does not belong in the burrs

The grinder collects oils too. For cleaning granules such as Grindz, one retailer gives 35 grams per cycle. Then you flush through two rounds of normal beans, which you throw away. As a rule of thumb, clean once every 15 kilograms of coffee. Rice is not a good idea: it can be harder than beans, and many conical and flat burr sets do not cope well with it. You’ll find more on burrs in electric coffee grinders.

Our recommendations

Our selection is editorial, there are no paid placements. Links marked * are affiliate links to Amazon Germany (amazon.de): if you buy through them, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We have not tested the products ourselves; pros and cons are based on manufacturer information and retailer descriptions. Prices are guide prices from German shops as of October 2026, and price and availability on Amazon may differ.

You can taste clean equipment: rinse after every shot, clean regularly with a little powder and replace the gasket once a year. For backflushing and descaling, your machine’s manual has the final say. You’ll find the right tools for daily brewing in our piece on espresso accessories.

All prices are guide prices from German shops and may change. We have not tested the products ourselves.

Last updated: 24 October 2026.