Descaling

JesmondJester

Too much time on my hands and a conversation with another espresso machine owner has made me paranoid about whether I need to descale

I’ve owned my ECM Mechanika Max for a couple of years. It’s a heat exchanger machine that has only ever had a coffee water recipe through it: zero water with a touch of baking soda.

I’ve not noticed a dip in performance or the sounds it makes: should I put a descaler through it?

MediumRoastSteam

JesmondJester - I wouldn’t. My machine has been having the same water as yours (Lelit Elizabeth) and it’s good as new. It’s been 5.5 years :-)

So my question is… Do you check the ZeroWater filters? When do you change them?

Sodium bicarbonate does not scale - so there’s nothing for the citric acid to dissolve. Just make sure that you drain the steam boiler periodically - through the hot water tap - Every couple of months at least to make sure the water in there is recycled and with an acceptable TDS level.

JesmondJester

Thought as much - thanks!

Yes - I check the TDS of the water flowing through the filter at the same time I do a puly infused back flush - every 90 shots so about once a month. Probably overkill on the filter check but it is a habit and only takes ten seconds to do.

hmmmm, I don’t empty the steam boiler in the way you mentioned. I’ll add that into the same time as the puly / tds check.

Thanks for the quick response and reassurance!