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What Does Descale Mean? What Is A Descaling Solution?
I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
If you are a new owner of coffee maker, you may have heard about descaling. What does descale mean and why is it important? Understanding descaling is one of the most important things you can do to keep your coffee maker and coffee pot in great shape. Keep reading to get answers to common descaling questions.
The water used to brew coffee causes limescale buildup inside your machine. While not toxic, this can impact the machine’s water flow, temperature and performance. It can even affect the taste of your drink. Descaling, also known as deliming or decalcifying, is the name of the deep cleaning process that removes these minerals.
A good rule of thumb is that a you should descale every 2 or 3 months. This is true if you are using filtered water, bottled water or tap water with a low to normal mineral count. Regular descaling will extend the life of your machine.
You should descale your machine monthly if your tap has “hard water,” meaning it contains higher level of minerals. This will cause the limescale to buildup inside your machine even faster. If you are not sure about the level of minerals in your water, you can always get a low-cost water testing kit.
If you start to have any of these issues, you will also want to descale your coffee maker ASAP:
If you look in your coffee maker user manual, you may see descaling instructions with vinegar. If you have some around and you are comfortable using a homemade solution, go for it. Follow the steps below. Just know that many other manufacturers advise against using vinegar. White vinegar contains 5-8% acetic acid and apple cider vinegar has 5-6%. This type of acid can wear down metal and cause leaks. Vinegar is also less effective than other cleaners at removing oils left by used coffee beans. Plus, it may leave a taste or odor which may make your drink unpleasant. That isn’t how I like my coffee to taste…
When it comes to descaling solution vs vinegar, I personally think the best way to deep clean your coffee pot and coffee maker is with one of the below descaling solutions. I only use descaling solution for my own coffee machines, never vinegar.
A descaling solution is a formula specially made with safe and effective acids to deep clean your coffee maker. The ingredients are also odorless so they won’t impact the taste of your drink.
The Impresa descaler is a top selling coffee machine cleaner. It has citric and sulfamic acids. Both of these are gentle on metal. Each pack contains two bottles. Each bottle can be used twice.
The Essential Values cleaning solution has a citric acid that is both odorless and powerful. Each bottle is good for two uses. A two pack will provide four doses. That’s a year supply if you descale every three months.
Follow these steps for descaling a coffee machine with a homemade vinegar solution.
If you have a machine from one of these brands, click the relevant link for more specific steps I have written on how to descale your specific coffee maker:
If you also drink tea, check out my guide on how to descale a tea kettle.
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