You have to spend a significant sum to acquire a DeLonghi espresso machine. Therefore, you expect your coffee maker to give you a long-lasting service. However, that may not be possible without proper maintenance. Simple practices like descaling the DeLonghi espresso machine with vinegar go a long way in maintaining its effectiveness.

Fill the water reservoir with a mixture of water and white vinegar to descale your DeLonghi espresso machine. Plug the brewer into the power outlet and run a cleaning cycle with the white vinegar mixture. Afterward, thoroughly rinse your espresso machine with clean water.

When to Descale the DeLonghi Espresso Machine

Like any other coffee maker, descaling DeLonghi espresso machine with vinegar should be a regular process. Remember, coffee material builds up inside the espresso machine over time. That’s especially if you use hard water whenever brewing.

Most modern DeLonghi espresso machines notify you when they are due for a descale. Even so, you can still tell if it’s time to descale your brewing machine by observing its operations. Some of the things you may spot include:

• Reduction in performance
• Leakages
• Change in taste of your brew
• Unusual noises
• Lack of heat
• Reduced water pressure

All these are due to clogging or blockages in your Delonghi espresso machine. And if you are experiencing any of them, it’s time to give your brewer proper cleaning. Even so, you can still avoid dealing with the above issues by making it a habit to descale your espresso machine after every 2-3 months.

How to Clean a Delonghi Espresso Machine with Vinegar

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can clean your Delonghi espresso machine using vinegar. Read on to learn.

Step 1: Fill the Water Tank with White Vinegar Solution

Measure a cup of white vinegar and pour it into the water tank. Then fill the tank with water to reach somewhere below the line on the machine’s gauge. The cleaning solution you make should be enough to descale your entire espresso machine

Step 2: Take Out the Portafilter from the Espresso Machine

You can clean the filter basket and the filter separately on your sink with warm soapy water. Also, remember not to put coffee grounds in the espresso machine. That’s because you don’t have to use them during the descaling process.

Step 3: Plug the Delonghi Espresso Machine into a Power Outlet

It’s time to prepare your espresso machine for a brew cycle. As the brewer preheats, put an empty carafe on the heat plate to hold the descaling solution when it brews.

Step 4: Run a Cleaning Cycle

Running a cleaning cycle with white vinegar helps soften and clear all materials and minerals from hard-to-reach internal sections of your brewer.

 If you often use hard water to brew, the best thing to do would be to repeat this process immediately after the first cycle. The aim is to ensure that you get rid of all the gunk, including tough grime.

Step 5: Rinse Your DeLonghi Espresso Machine

You wouldn’t want to feel the taste of the cleaning solution in your next espresso shot. To avoid that, you have to give your brewing machine proper rinsing.

To do so, rinse and fill your water reservoir with clean cold water. Thereafter, run water only brew cycle to eliminate traces of white vinegar from your brewing machine. With this one, repeat the process several times while observing the brewed liquid coming out.

At some point, you may have to sniff the brewed water to ensure it smells pure water and not vinegar.

And if the brewed water appears a bit cloudy, I advise you to start the whole process again. The purpose is to ensure that no descaling solution flavor remains lingering in your DeLonghi brewer. And once the brewed water is clear with no vinegar smell, you can get to making your coffee once again.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Thoughts

Descaling your DeLonghi espresso machine with vinegar not only makes your brewer serve you longer but also enables it to give you a better-tasting cup. Besides, your coffee machine gets to perform best, giving you a shorter brewing time. The white vinegar is quite affordable and available in any market near you. Therefore, don’t be hesitant to try it out.