You need to descale

 

London = Regular descaling.

If you haven't up to this point I would buy a kg tub of Dezcal (cheaper than sachets) and do the descaling procedure a LOT. I mean 1-2 times a week for 3-4 weeks. You likely have serious build up in your machine.

Brita helps, but the carts run out a lot sooner in hard water areas and only remove a certain amount of scale. If you want to improve the life of your machine and the taste of your coffee, consider using Tesco Ashbeck (regarded as one of the best for coffee) exclusively with your machine.

 

Cafiza is used for back flushing not descaling. Do not try to use if for descaling. Use a Gaggia's own product or Puly Caff.

 

My bad, I meant Dezcal, edited to reflect

 

I second that

 

You'll need to descale, you can buy big bottles of Ashbeck from tescos for about £1.20. It's pretty kind to machines

 

Thanks all - will get on the case

 

I thought flushing = descaling?

 

Flushing is the term used when you run clean water through the brew head to remove coffee grounds and loose waste.

Back Flushing is fitting a "blind" filter basket, operating the machine and allowing the water to discharge through exhaust valve. Cleaning agents can be included to remove coffee oils and taint from the brew head.

Descaling means adding descaler to water reservoir and running through boiler (s)

 

Unless yoiu use your machine a huge amount. I would descale no more than twice a year - Its very tough on the machine if you don't have boiler drain valves.

 

I'm probably the definition of light user at the moment - on average two coffees a week, maybe the odd espresso if I've cooked an indulgent Saturday dinner!

Of course that will no doubt change now I'm about to ditch the pressurised basket and pre-ground coffee

 

How often would people recommend descaling if you only use bottled water?

 

How often would people recommend descaling if you only use bottled water?

Very good question. I'm using Tesco's Ashbeck and I'm hoping never to have to descale my machine.

 

Some members recommend descaling at least every six months even if using bottled water. Some even descale more often than that. Not sure it's a good idea to never descale if you want your machine to last and your coffee to taste great!

 

Every 6 months if you use bottled water.

 

So what if you live in Edinburgh and have soft Scottish water?

Do you ever need to descale?

I recall some rather vile kettles when I lived in England, but have never had any issues in Scotland.

 

I would imagine descaling twice a year no matter what would be a good idea. We get very soft water in the North East but still get some minor scale after regular use.

 

Thanks Tom.

I did some reading yesterday on general maintenance of grinder & coffee machine & even specific instructions for my pavoni, and they did confirm your assertion of a 6 month descaling cycle in soft water areas.

Cheers!

 

As I said de scaling is very hard on the machine and best avoided entirely.

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/chris-coffee-says-dont-descale-t34367.html#p389776