Coffee machine descaler
Descaler for your coffee machine
A coffee machine descaler removes the limescale that tap water leaves in the pipes, boiler and heating element. Descaling keeps the water flowing and hot enough for good coffee. We stock universal descalers as liquid, powder and tablets.
Browse descalers for coffee machines, descalers for coffee makers, or by machine: De'Longhi, Dolce Gusto and Senseo.
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Limescale slows the water down and insulates the heating element, so your coffee is brewed cooler and more slowly than it should be. An espresso from a scaled-up machine often tastes flat or sour for exactly that reason. Regular descaling keeps the taste right and saves wear on the machine.
Which descaler do we sell?
- Bottle Descaler 500 ml: a universal liquid, enough for four descaling cycles.
- Bag of descaling powder: a universal powder for a single descaling cycle.
- Café du Jour Descaler 4 x 50 g: descaling powder in four sachets of 50 g, also sold as a single 50 g sachet.
- Café du Jour Descaling tablets: a pack of six tablets.
Liquid, powder or tablets?
- Liquid goes straight into the water tank with water. It's the quickest to use and easy to dose from the bottle.
- Powder is dissolved in water first. It's flexible and suits filter coffee makers as well as espresso and bean-to-cup machines.
- Tablets are pre-dosed and take up little space. You dissolve them in the water tank and start the programme.
All of them do the same job, as an espresso machine descaler or for a filter coffee maker. Pick the form that your machine's manual asks for, or the one you find easiest.
How often should you descale?
That depends on how hard your water is and how much coffee you make. Water hardness differs a lot from one area to the next, so let your machine guide you: most espresso and bean-to-cup machines show a descaling alert. Machines without an alert need descaling when the coffee runs more slowly, the machine gets noisier or the coffee is less hot. A water filter in the tank slows the build-up of limescale.
How descaling works
The exact steps differ per model, so always follow your manual. The basics are the same for most machines:
- Remove the water filter from the tank, if your machine has one.
- Add the descaler to the tank as described on the pack.
- Top up with water to the level shown.
- Start the descaling programme from the menu or with the button on the machine.
- Let the programme run to the end.
- Rinse the tank twice with clean water.
- Run a rinse cycle so no descaler is left in the system.
- Put the water filter back in.
Can you use vinegar?
Vinegar does dissolve limescale, but its smell can get into seals and tubing and is hard to rinse out, and it isn't made for the materials in modern machines. Manufacturers advise against it; a proper descaler is the safer choice.
Your warranty
Some manufacturers ask you to use their own descaler while your machine is under warranty. Check your manual before you use a universal descaler on a new machine.
Other care for your machine
Descaling is one part of looking after a coffee machine. Coffee oils build up in the brew group and milk residue in the milk system; for those you need cleaning tablets or a cleaning liquid, which you'll find under maintenance and cleaning. For filters and other small parts, see our coffee accessories and water filters.