Descaling vs. Cleaning: What is the Difference?

Cleaning your coffee maker is a process you’re probably familiar with, but what about descaling? Many people don’t know what descaling is, how it differs from general cleaning and why it’s an important maintenance step for coffee makers and other machines.

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place for all the details on descaling. Keep reading to learn why both descaling and cleaning are key for keeping your coffee maker in tip-top shape.

Have you ever noticed that layer of white crust that builds up in your appliances that use tap water? These can include your coffee or espresso machine, your soda maker, your clothes iron and even your washing machine. Anything that interacts with tap water is likely to acquire mineral deposits.

That’s what the white scaley crust is: mineral buildup. And if you have what some people call “hard” water (very mineral-rich water), you might even notice mineral deposits in sinks, toilet bowls and tubs. Common minerals in your water may include calcium, magnesium, sodium and fluoride. While these elements are not unhealthy for you in the amounts found in your water, they can impact the wear and tear on your home appliances.

In fact, some people with hard water consider investing in a whole home water softener to be a household essential. This is because doing so at the point of water’s entry to your home not only helps all your appliances develop less mineral build-up, but it can also increase their lifespans. Plus, fewer mineral deposits in the water can make daily chores like scrubbing the tub much easier, which saves you valuable time.

Mineral deposits that build up in water-based appliances are not just visually unappealing, but they can also begin to interfere with an appliance’s functionality. As the deposits (also called limescale) thicken, they narrow the passageways that water moves through. And if pieces of buildup dislodge from the sides of pipes and tubes, they can block those water channels completely.

For this reason, descaling your coffee maker and other water-reliant appliances is necessary. Descaling is the process of removing mineral deposits that have built up in order to extend the life of your appliance and improve its efficiency. Descaling can also improve the quality of the water coming out of your machine. This is beneficial because no one appreciates tiny pieces of limescale floating around in their freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Furthermore, these deposits can alter the taste of your favorite brew, which is why many people decide to only use filtered water in their coffee pots and tea kettles. While this extra step may help cut back on deposits, it’s hard to completely prevent them from building up at all over time. One homemade method for descaling these small kitchen appliances involves mixing up a citric acid-based solution and running it through the coffee or espresso machine.

The best option is to use a descaling solution designed specifically for coffee machines and kettles. Some coffee machines have a solution that’s made by their same brand and there are also several cleaning product brands that offer solutions that work with multiple small appliances. Whatever you choose, you want to make sure it is not too heavy-duty for your machine; some descaling fluids are meant for industrial-level jobs and are not suitable for in-home use. Always refer to the manufacturers instructions before cleaning your equipment.

While descaling addresses mineral buildup, minerals aren’t the only deposits that build up in coffee makers. In fact, oils can prove to be equally problematic. Since coffee beans are rich in oil, they leave some residue behind in both your coffee bean grinder and your coffee maker. As time goes by without cleaning, the oil will eventually become rancid, and may negatively influence the flavor of the beverages your machine produces. Therefore, you should clean your machine regularly to ensure the best tasting coffee.

At minimum, cleaning should take place every three to six months. To clean a standard coffee machine, remove the brew basket and carafes and wash them with soap and warm water, rinse and then set out to dry completely before placing them back in the coffee maker. If your model of coffee machine is more complicated, reference the user manual for your machine before taking anything apart so that you don’t void any warranty in place.

Taking time to clean and to descale your machine on a regular basis can make a world of difference in both the time it takes to make coffee and the quality of the final product. This is also true of appliance cleaners for other machines in your home.

You often don’t realize when you’re sacrificing flavor or efficiency because changes can happen so gradually that you don’t notice that the quality has diminished. When you give your machine a quick clean and a descale, you’ll remember what the device is truly capable of delivering. If you need help remembering when it’s time for maintenance again, put a note on your calendar or set a reminder in your smartphone.