Is your Breville coffee machine asking for cleaning? Learn how to descale it properly and reset the cleaning light in just a few minutes. A clean machine is the first step to better coffee! Follow this step-by-step guide to clean your Breville coffee machine, remove buildup, run a cleaning cycle, and reset the cleaning light.
To clean a Breville espresso machine, you must run a purge and backwash on the device. Then run a descaling solution through the device. Finally, you will run water through the machine to clear out the cleaning solution. Clean the steam wand, change the filters and reset the light.
How Often Should You Clean a Breville Coffee Machine?
- Daily: Rinse portafilter, wipe steam wand, empty drip tray
- Weekly: Wash removable parts with warm soapy water
- Every 2–3 months: Run a descaling cycle
- When the light appears: Run the cleaning cycle and reset the alert
Purge and Backwash the Breville espresso Machine
The first step in cleaning a Breville coffee machine is essential to maintaining the device, and it involves purging and back washing. Purging and back washing remove any small pieces of coffee or anything else from inside that can interfere with how it functions.
Purging the coffee machine is a simple task; all you need to do is make yourself a few shots of espresso without putting coffee into the machine. In other words, you’re just running water through the device, which helps to catch tiny morsels of coffee beans trapped inside.
Purging a Breville coffee machine should be done before and after daily use for device maintenance.
Backwashing a Breville coffee machine is similar to purging, except you place the coffee head on the device. However, instead of filling this piece with coffee, you will use a rubber stop to prevent the water from flowing. As a result, when the device is switched on, it will build up pressure and wash out small pieces of coffee or dirt trapped inside.
Purging and backwashing a Breville coffee machine is an excellent way of maintaining it and ensuring that the flavor of your coffee remains good. For more information about keeping your Breville coffee machine, check out this helpful guide from Breville.
Empty the Water Reservoir
To deep clean a Breville coffee machine, you must first understand what you’re cleaning. Limescale is a deposit that accumulates in appliances that use water to function, and you can find it in kettles, dishwashers, coffee machines, and even faucets. It can make the machine less efficient and your coffee taste weird.
Removing limescale is a straightforward process as long as you know what you’re doing, and it starts with removing the water from the water reservoir in your machine.
Fill the Water Compartment With Descaling Solution
To descale your Breville machine, you need to create a descaling solution. While this sounds like a challenge, in reality, all you have to do is mix some water with a mild acid like white vinegar or citric acid. If you don’t feel like making your descaling solution, you can always buy some online.
As a general rule, use about 5 parts water to 1 part acid; however, you can use more or less.
The acid in the descaling solution will react with the alkaline limescale buildup inside the machine. This reaction will dissolve the limescale and cause it to mix into the solution and leave the device. However, to get the solution to the limescale inside, you must get it into the machine first.
Fill the water reservoir with your homemade descaling solution, making sure that there is enough of the solution to fill the water reservoir. However, ensure that you don’t overfill this compartment as it could damage the coffee machine.
You can find Breville cleaning tablets like the CleanEspresso Espresso Machine Cleaning Tablets, as well as Impresa Espresso Cleaning Discs (both available on Amazon. These cleaning tablets and discs will help you stay on top of your regular Breville cleaning schedule.
Run the Machine Until the Descaling Mixture Is Empty
Once you’ve filled the water reservoir with your descaling solution, you’ll need to turn the device on. You should activate the one-shot setting on the Breville machine but do not put any coffee into the device.
After a moment, the solution will pass through the device and out of the spout, and you may want to place a mug underneath the nozzle to catch the cleaning solution as it leaves the machine.
Repeat this step until all the descaling mixture has left the reservoir and run through the machine and into your collection cup. Your Breville coffee machine has now been successfully descaled, but your job is not finished just yet.
Clean Out the Coffee Machine with Water
The descaling solutions I mentioned earlier are safe to consume. However, they contain very sour-tasting ingredients, such as vinegar and citric acid, which will ruin your coffee taste if not rinsed out.
Fill the water reservoir with clean water and switch the coffee machine on without including coffee. Run the machine until the water has cleared through, carrying the cleaning solution with it. Repeat this step up to 5 times without coffee in the machine. (Picture below is not a Breville Water Tank)
- Cleaning cycle: removes coffee oils from internal parts
- Descaling: removes mineral buildup from hard water
Clean the Steam Wand
The steam wand is the piece of the machine that you use to make hot bubbly milk. This piece works by forcing pressurized steam through small holes that, when placed into milk, make it frothy and creamy. However, the steam wand is prone to getting dirty and festering bacteria when not properly cleaned. To fully clean the steam wand, use it without placing the nozzle into the milk.
- Purge the steam wand after every use
- Fill a cup with water and run steam through the water inside from the nozzle
- Soak the tip in warm water if milk residue hardens
- Use a needle to clear clogged holes
Change the Filters
The last step in cleaning your Breville coffee machine is to change the filters. This step can differ depending on the type of filter that you’re using, as some filters can be cleaned and used again while others need replacing.
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Lastly, place your new filter into the holder and select the correct month on top. Once the new filter is in place, your coffee machine is completely clean.
How Do You Reset the Breville Cleaning Light?
You don’t have to do a factory reset every time you descale your Breville machine; this is just an extra step you can take to help solve a glitch or if your settings don’t suit you anymore.
To reset your espresso machine:
- Press the Program button and hold it in until the machine beeps three times.
- Release the Program button, and your machine will be reset to original factory settings.
If you want a basic power-down procedure, simply:
- Press the Power button and unplug the machine.
- Leave it unplugged for around 15 seconds, then plug it back in and turn it on. The cleaning light should be off.
If your Breville coffee machine won’t turn on or has other issues click here.
Mineral Buildup and Water Quality
Mineral buildup is the biggest cause of cleaning alerts. These tips help prevent frequent cleaning alerts:
- Use filtered or softened water
- Avoid distilled water unless recommended
- Replace water filters regularly
Mineral buildup can affect more than just taste: it can stop your coffee from being adequately hot and even cause nozzles and pipes in the machine itself to clog, causing it to stop working.
Breville Espresso Machine blinking Lights FAQs
Your Breville espresso machine’s lights are flashing because the machine is dirty or clogged, it needs a cleaning or descaling cycle, or the steam wand is clogged or dirty. You can fix this by cleaning the machine, running a descaling cycle, or cleaning the steam wand.
“1 Cup and 2 Cups” Lights Flashing
When you notice “1 cup and 2 cups” flashing on your Breville Espresso machine, it means that the machine requires a cleaning cycle. Your espresso machine will need a clean after brewing 200 espressos but it can vary, depending on your machine type.
With regular use, your espresso maker can accumulate minerals from the water you use. While not harmful, these deposits may affect your machine’s performance, temperature, and water flow. It can also impact the espresso’s flavor.
Milk Temperature and Milk Foam Lights Flashing
When the “milk temperature and milk foam” lights flash, it means the machine’s steam wand needs cleaning.The steam wand heats and froths the milk used by the machine, is connected to the heating vessel, and is put into steaming mode to work.
Over time, the wand can become clogged with milk residue, causing malfunctioning and reducing the quality of your espresso. For example, you may notice that your espresso machine is dispensing the coffee slowly or intermittently because of the clogged wand.
When these lights flash, experts recommend cleaning the steam wand by hand, and if it persists, running a complete steam cycle.
“2 Cup Button” Lights Flashing
The ‘2 Cup Button’ lights indicate that the machine needs a descaling cycle.Descaling removes hard mineral deposits, such as calcium or limescale that accumulate if you regularly use hard water to prepare your espresso products.
Descaling allows your machine to extract coffee grounds efficiently, and helps improve your espresso’s flavor.
You should descale your espresso machine every 200 uses or twice a year, whichever comes first. The frequency may vary depending on whether you use soft or hard water when brewing coffee in your espresso machine.
You can descale your espresso machine by adding some descaling solution to the water in the reservoir and flushing it down the machine.
Most Breville espresso machines have automatic cleaning, steaming, and descaling cycles. However, if the lights are flashing, you should perform a manual cleaning or descaling cycle.
Troubleshooting Breville Grinding, Frother, and Other Issues
To get a more detailed description of how to fix common problems with your Breville, click the link below.
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