Espresso Machine & Grinder Cleaning Guide: Better Flavor and Longer Lifespan

Updated for 2026

If you’ve invested in a home espresso machine, you know how quickly it pays for itself. But that’s only satisfying as long as the coffee your machine is producing actually tastes good. Step 1 towards improving your coffee’s flavor is to make sure certain components of your espresso machine are clean. When your equipment is clean, you get the added benefit of protecting the longevity of your machine too.

In this article, we’ll be doing some spring cleaning on different types of espresso machines, from super-automatics, to single-boilers, heat exchangers, and dual-boilers. We’ll cover backflushing, descaling, and milk system cleaning. Then, we'll take a short dive into grinder cleaning. Along the way, I’ll show you some inexpensive products that keep your equipment ripping great shots and steaming quality milk. By the end, my hope is that the idea of “Spring Cleaning” becomes a regular part of your routine.

Feel free to use the Table of Contents to navigate to the type of espresso machine you’re working with.

First Things First: Water

I can’t kick this off without acknowledging how much the quality of your water will influence some of this material. If you REALLY want to keep your espresso machine in good condition (and I know you do), you need to feed it safe water. Scale-forming minerals like calcium will eventually form limescale, and even a small piece of limescale can block one of those tiny pathways the water needs to get through. This leads to water flow issues, and sometimes, outright damage.

Good to know: Damage due to scale is almost never covered under warranty.

Indeed, you can descale super-automatic and single-boiler espresso machines, but if your machine gets too full of scale, a descaling solution can only do so much. When it comes to heat exchanger and dual-boiler espresso machines, it’s absolutely essential to use good water; we do not recommend attempting to descale these kinds of machines yourself.

You’ve already got a water-softening system? Great!
Do you know with 100% certainty that it eliminates scale-causing minerals like calcium? Very few do.

BWT makes water filtration products that are specifically meant for use in coffee machines. Most of their products will exchange ions from calcium with magnesium, which won't produce scale, and will improve taste. I prefer the BWT Aqualizer pitcher, but their lineup includes sachets that live in your reservoir, in-line filtration systems for machines that can be plumbed in, and even a water hardness test kit to ensure your water is safe for your machine.

Super-Automatic Espresso Machine Cleaning

Coffee lovers sometimes get into owning a super-auto with the idea that the push of a button is the last thing they’ll ever need to do. While it’s true that super-automatics boast convenience, I am here to report that there are no espresso machines that require zero human intervention. But don’t fret – it’s super easy to clean a super-automatic espresso machine, and I’ll show you how.

Cleaning Tablets

Making sure the brew group and interior lines are clean will have the biggest impact on the flavor of your coffee. Most manufacturers have a preferred tablet for cleaning these components like Gaggia Coffee Clean tablets or JURA 3-Phase Cleaning Tablets.

Navigating to cleaning cycles will be different for every machine’s interface, but most of the time, if it doesn’t say “Cleaning” or something to that effect, you should be able to find cleaning cycles under “Settings.”

Most machines will walk you through the steps. On the Gaggia Cadorna Prestige for example, simply put the Coffee Clean tablet in the bypass chute and run the cycle. Even though there’s a drip tray, I still like to place a cup beneath the spouts to catch any rinse water. You’ll want to consult your manual to find out how often this should be done, but in the case of the Gaggia Cadorna Prestige, it needs to be done once a month.

Some models have additional, machine-specific instructions. For example, Gaggia recommends taking the group out of the housing once a week and running it under warm water – no soap.

Milk Carafe Cleaning

The milk carafes on super-automatic machines are pretty complicated. There are a lot of small parts that milk travels through, so it’s very important that those tiny pathways are cleared, not just to keep things flowing properly, but to avoid old milk buildup.

Each week, Gaggia recommends disassembling the milk carafe and cleaning the major components under running water.

Once a month, Gaggia recommends that the milk system is cleaned. For this, Rinza is our best friend. Dissolve one tablet or liquid portion of Rinza into the carafe, and start the “DEEP CLEANING” process. The solution will be drawn into the frothing assembly, cleaning the lines that milk flows through.

Jura, on the other hand, uses JURA Milk System Cleaner Mini Tabs in conjunction with a provided cleaning tray.

Most interfaces will walk you through a step where you run an additional rinse cycle with just water to make sure any remaining cleaner residue (Rinzadue?) is cleaned out.

Steam wands

Some super-automatic espresso machines come with steam wands, and spoiler alert; we’re going to clean these the exact same way we’ll clean semi-automatic steam wands.

Dissolve one tablet or liquid portion of Rinza into a pitcher of hot water. Then, soak the tip of your steam wand in the solution for 15 minutes. This will break down any milk residue still hanging around on the steam wand.

Give the steam wand a long purge (about 10 seconds), and wipe down the steam wand well. Some users even like to steam into clean water afterwards, just to be sure all of the Rinza is gone.

If your machine has a panarello wand, it's important to completely disassemble the wand and soak the entire assembly.

Descaling

My friends, this is one of the most important cleaning steps when it comes to the longevity of your machine.

Most super-automatic espresso machines will come with a water hardness test strip. Upon startup, most machines will ask you what your water’s hardness level is. This will determine how often it prompts you to descale. Our recommendation is to simply descale when prompted.

A couple "Good To Knows": Descaling usually takes about 25 minutes. If the water you use in your machine changes for any reason, you must update the water hardness setting in your machine.

Juras are easy: the 3-Phase Cleaning Tablets cover descaling. For Gaggia machines, use Gaggia Decalcifier Liquid Descaler. You’d be hard pressed to find a super-automatic that doesn’t walk you through the entire process right on the screen, but put simply, you’ll add a bottle of decalcifier and more water to the reservoir, and press start.

Some machines have additional steps that will be laid out clearly on the screen, and most require 2 phases: a cycle with the decalcifying solution, and a cycle with just water for rinsing. It’s always a good idea to place a large container like a bowl right beneath the spouts to catch this amount of water.

As always, check out your machine’s manual for the recommended descaling product and procedure.

Super-Automatic Grinders

The grinding mechanism on a super-auto doesn’t often need to be cleaned, but the perfectionist in me wants to clean it anyway. More importantly, if you’ve become concerned that the grinder in your machine might be getting clogged or otherwise dirty in any way, it’s SuperGrindz to the rescue.

To clean your machine's grinder with SuperGrindz, simply empty your hopper of any coffee beans and drop a capful of SuperGrindz in it. Then, have the machine brew an espresso. The pellet-like product will go through the grinder and will take a lot of coffee residue with it.

We don’t recommend using oily beans in a super-automatic machine (very oily beans will eventually become a problem in any grinder, not just on super-autos), but if you’re concerned that the beans you’ve been using might be the culprit of a dirty grinding mechanism, run some SuperGrindz through it occasionally.

Here's another Good To Know: There's another product called Grindz that works in standalone grinders, and they are NOT interchangeable. More on that later.

Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine Cleaning

There will be a few subtle differences between single-boiler and HX/dual-boiler cleaning routines, but they’re mostly very similar. The biggest difference is that we do not recommend descaling a heat exchanger or dual-boiler. Instead, make sure you’re using safe water and changing your filters on time (see above).

Backflushing

You know that disc with no holes that comes with some espresso machines? That’s a backflush disc, and you’ll need it for this cleaning routine.

Backflushing is my favorite of the cleaning routines. It’s the most “instant satisfaction” one of them all. I personally notice that my shots are immediately tasting better after a good backflush with an appropriate detergent.

This is a process that cleans the inner workings of your espresso machine’s grouphead. Coffee oils will coat as many surfaces as they come into contact with, and those old oils will eventually find their way into your cup, tainting your coffee’s flavor. Backflushing alone will provide a good rinse, but the real cleaning happens when you use a little backflush detergent.

Urnex Cafiza, Biocaf Cleaning Powder, or Pallo JoeGlo are must-haves at work and at home for me. To use it, just pop in your backflush disc and add 3 grams of detergent powder to the disc. Then put the portafilter in the grouphead and run the pump for 10 seconds. When you disengage the pump, you might see some soapy-looking stuff with some brown residue coming out of the 3-way solenoid vlave. That’s exactly what you want to see; it’s the powder doing its job and getting all those oils out of there.

Wait another 10 seconds, and repeat that process four more times. Now rinse the backflush disc and do the same routine again, but with just water. This will rinse out any detergent residue leftover.

It’s taking a lot for me to not make this section into its own essay; I love this stuff. I use backflush detergent for more than just backflushing. Put a little in your pour-over server or Chemex, add hot water, and wait 10 or 15 minutes. It’s amazing how much coffee residue detaches from glass. I also use it to clean the inside of my Technivorm Moccamaster decanter.

You can even soak your portafilter baskets, group screen, and dispersion screws. I even soak the head of my portafilters in it.

Steam Wand Cleaning

I went through this above in the super-automatic section, but we’ll hit it again for this section too. Again, Rinza, which breaks down milk residue, will be your best friend here.

Dissolve one tablet or liquid portion of either Rinza or Biocaf Milk Frother Cleaning Liquid into a pitcher of hot water. Then, soak the tip of your steam wand in the solution for 15 minutes. This will break down any milk residue still hanging around on the steam wand.

Give the steam wand a long purge (about 10 seconds), and wipe down the steam wand well. Some users even like to steam into clean water afterwards, just to be sure all of the Rinza is gone.

If you’ve never done this before, you might notice more consistent and powerful steam.

Descaling

When it comes to descaling semi-automatics, this will only apply to single-boiler espresso machines. For heat exchanger and dual-boiler machines, we strongly recommend just using safe water that won’t cause scale in your machine.

Other than that caveat, descaling a single-boiler espresso machine is a pretty similar process compared to super-automatics, sans the step-by-step guide on the screen. Simply dilute the descaling liquid into the recommended amount of water (you can find this on the descaler’s package), and turn your steam wand on while running the pump.

Accomplishing this is different from machine to machine, so be sure to consult your espresso machine’s manual. For example, on the Gaggia Classic E24, you’ll use half a bottle of Gaggia descaling solution and a full reservoir of water. You’ll open the steam valve and empty about 2 cups of water out of the boiler in order to fill the boiler with the descaling solution. Let that solution sit in the boiler for 20 minutes, and the magic will begin.

Best to consult your manual for the rest, or one of our support videos, like this one:

Grinder Cleaning

If you’ve read my pieces before, you know how much I prioritize the grinder as part of my coffee setup. No surprise then, that I’ve got cleaning tips for grinders too. Truth be told, you can’t clean your grinder too much, so I hesitate to put a specific timeframe on how often you should clean your grinder.

For the sake of making sure you don’t wait too long:
Every 3 months

If you’ve got the time and love chasing the perfect shot:
Every week

A quick way to clean the burr chamber is with another of my favorite products: Urnex Grindz. This product is similar to SuperGrindz for super-automatic grinders, but meant for any other grinder, and to be clear: Grindz and SuperGrindz are NOT interchangeable. Grindz are coffee bean-shaped, food-safe pellets that will take a lot of coffee residue with them when ground. After grinding a capful, have a look at the ground result. Seeing fine brown particles in the bed is a sign that the product is doing its job.

However, my preferred method of grinder cleaning is the Deep Clean: Opening it up and accessing the burr chamber. Small crevices and screw slots will often have coffee buildup that Grindz can’t get out. Some of that coffee will come out little by little and mix with your fresh coffee, affecting the flavor of your shot or pour-over. Sometimes, it will even affect how your coffee is ground, or how it exits the chute.

Accessing the burr chamber will be a little different for every grinder, but once you're in there, I recommend using a small brush and some sort of metal pick for scraping. I also recommend using the hose end of a vacuum cleaner to get rid of everything you’ve scraped off (be sure not to vacuum up any springs!) Having a look at your burrs after a nice deep clean is one of life’s simple pleasures. Call me crazy, but for me, the process is actually quite satisfying.

Finally, be sure to clean your hopper every now and then. Below, I’ll show you one of my favorite products for wiping out grinder hoppers, but be sure to avoid the dishwasher and abrasive materials. If you’re too aggressive with the hopper, all you’ll accomplish is making it cloudy by scratching it over and over. When finished, be sure to let it dry completely before reattaching it to the grinder.

Exteriors

We’ve covered cleaning routines that will boost the longevity of your equipment while also improving your coffee’s flavor, but everyone appreciates a nice-looking machine on their counter too.

It can be tough to wipe down milk splashes, coffee sprays, or just streaks in general. Urnex Cafe Wipz and Urnex Cafe Sprayz are meant for anything and everything, from exterior machine panels to grinder hoppers, steam wands, knockboxes, even just countertops.

I use simple damp cloths for most things related to workflow, like cleaning the steam wand, wiping the drip tray, etc. I find Wipz or Sprayz are most handy for the exterior of an espresso machine when I simply can’t get a smudge out; especially on chrome. I also use these to wipe down grinder hoppers; especially Wipz since they’re not abrasive, helping me avoid scratching.

Final Thoughts

Coming from the commercial world, I sometimes look around a coffee bar and note how clean the espresso station is. I keep my mouth shut no matter what I see (I know my place; I’m not a shop manager anymore), but this is usually an early indicator of the quality of beverage I can expect. After all, good espresso doesn’t usually come from dirty equipment.

Whether my taste buds are being influenced by placebo effect is a whole separate issue, but it’s certainly undisputed that keeping your equipment clean helps avoid problems down the road (...the number of technical support inquiries we receive that stem from a lack of cleaning is not zero). With the added benefit of better-tasting coffee, there’s every reason to adopt a good cleaning routine for any espresso machine that graces your countertop.

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