Drinking good coffee is often the fuel that many of us use every day.
But if tartar builds up in your coffee maker then your coffee will taste unpleasant.
It is therefore important to maintain your coffee machine by descaling it regularly, at the risk of drinking really uninspiring coffee, but also to ensure the proper functioning of your coffee maker.
You will thus avoid the limestone debris in the tank (and which can then be found in the cup!), But also the fact of having to wait for long minutes for the coffee to finally deign to pass.
So how do you clean your coffee machine thoroughly to remove lime scale?
Which products to use?
Practical advice to follow.
Why descale a coffee maker?
The water you use to make coffee (often tap water) contains more or less lime depending on the region where you live.
Once the water is brought to a boil, a chemical reaction takes place.
Then, when stopped, all the minerals are deposited inside the machine: this is tartar or limestone.
Whatever the model of your coffee machine (classic tank or pod), it is important to maintain it regularly, quite simply to maximize its lifespan and thus have quality coffee.
On some coffee makers there is an indicator light or warning device that indicates it is time to descale your coffee machine.
Usually and depending on how you use it, it's about once a month.
If you do not have an indicator, you can observe some signals that inform you that descaling is necessary: the water flow is very slow, the coffee is worse and less hot, the coffee maker makes more noise than usual ...
Descaling your coffee maker keeps your espresso machine in good working order and improves its lifespan.
But removing the lime also preserves all the aromas of the coffee, which is much more pleasant, especially for morning coffee and a good start to the day!
Products for descaling your coffee machine
To descale a coffee maker, you have several solutions: either use natural products, or buy a descaling product ready-made directly in the store.
In this case, read the user manual carefully before descaling your coffee machine.
For natural products, the use of white vinegar is common, simple and economical.
The results are impeccable, because it has no equal for dissolving tartar and limescale.
Just mix half vinegar and half water.
On the other hand, do not forget to rinse your coffee maker several times with clear water, to remove the taste and smell of the vinegar.
You can also use baking soda, at the rate of two teaspoons of powder to one liter of water.
The advantage is that it does not leave an unpleasant taste.
And have you thought about lemon?
It's a real miracle remedy for descaling a coffee maker.
It eliminates the scale which is embedded in the heating system of your appliances.
Just mix a lemon juice in half a liter of water.
As with vinegar, rinse several times so that your coffee does not have a lemony taste.
Finally, you can also use citric acid, completely natural, to descale your coffee machine.
One liter of water mixed with two tablespoons is enough to get rid of tartar, but it must be left to act for a few hours and then rinsed off.
How to descale your coffee maker?
To find out how to descale a coffee maker, start by reading the instructions for your machine.
Some recommend certain commercial scale removers.
But you can absolutely use white vinegar, which is natural and very effective.
To begin with, make sure that there is no more filter or pod in your coffee machine.
Then prepare your descaling solution.
You have the choice of using a ready-made coffee maker descaler or white vinegar.
For the descaler, read the instructions carefully, because it indicates the amount of water to add to dilute it.
For white vinegar, it is considered that one third of vinegar is needed for two thirds of water relative to the volume of the water tank.
Pour your solution into the tank then start your coffee maker.
The water then circulates in the conduits through which the coffee usually flows.
When a third of the reservoir has passed, stop your coffee maker and let stand for 10 to 20 minutes.
This will allow the descaling solution to attack the lime all over the machine.
Once this time has passed, restart your coffee maker and run the rest of the water.
Finally, you must rinse your coffee machine to remove all traces of the descaling solution.
Rinse the jug and all detachable parts with water.
Clean the exterior parts with a cloth, not forgetting the nozzle from which the coffee comes out.
Fill the tank with clean water again, turn on your coffee maker and pass the water through.
This allows cleaning of all interior ducts.
Your coffee maker is descaled and you can enjoy a good coffee again!
