Descale
Descaling is a workshop job
Lelit says the hydraulic circuit must be descaled every year, and tells you to contact your reseller first so they can judge the machine's condition. It gives owners no procedure, and its earlier manual says never to add descaler to the tank.
So the owner's part is prevention: keep the softener filter fresh and use water with chloride under 30 ppm. See water and filters.
One US retailer does publish a method for owners. The next two screens summarise it, so you can see what is involved. It is not Lelit's method.
A retailer's method: the descaler
This is a retailer's published method (1st-line, United States), in our words. The retailer accepts no liability for it.
- Take the softener filter out of the tank and let the machine heat up.
- Put a container of at least 1 litre under the hot-water outlet and press the hot-water button until it stops. Switch off straight away.
- Fill the tank with 1 litre of fresh water and a light descaler, dosed as its label says. Switch on. The steam boiler refills with the solution.
- In the menu, set pre-infusion on button 1 to off.
- Put a jug under the group and run button 1 until the solution in the tank runs out.
- Switch off and leave it at least 30 minutes.
A retailer's method: the rinse
Still the retailer's method, not Lelit's.
- Switch on and let it heat. Rinse the tank and refill it with fresh water.
- In the menu, set the brewing time on button 1 to off.
- Press the hot-water button and let it run until it stops.
- Run the group with button 1 until it stops by itself, at 99 seconds.
- Wait about 2 minutes between runs so the pump does not overheat.
- Repeat until at least 3 full tanks of fresh water have gone through.
Then put your own pre-infusion and brewing time back, and refit the softener filter.