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Descale

Decide whether to descale

Profitec's position is cautious. Use water under 4 °dH and you should not need to descale. A preventive descale may be needed on harder water, and the manual says to contact your dealer first.

A machine that is already scaled, with slow flow or weak steam, is dealer-only. The boiler and pipes may need to come apart.

The steps that follow are an owner method for a preventive descale on a machine that still flows normally. They are not from the manual.

The owner method, start to finish

This is the owner method, not Profitec's. Keep the machine cool while the solution sits: cool solution dissolves scale gently, hot solution strips it off in pieces.

  1. With the machine off and cold, empty the drip tray and take the portafilter out. Lift the lid, pull the tank straight up and empty it. Remove any filter or softener pouch.
  2. Dissolve the descaler in 1 litre of water at the strength on its pack. Pour it into the tank and push the tank back down onto its valve.
  3. Rinse the jug and put it under the group. At 112 mm tall it fits with the portafilter out. Switch on and press the coffee button straight away. Run about 150 ml through, then stop. The boiler is now full of solution.
  4. Switch the machine off and leave it for 20 to 30 minutes. The wait is the important part.
  5. Switch on, let it heat up and run about 150 ml through the group. Swing the steam wand out over the worktop and put the jug under it. Open the steam valve and press the coffee button so the pump pushes about 150 ml out of the wand, then close the valve. The solution is hot and comes out in spurts, so keep the tip below the rim of the jug. Switch off, wait 20 minutes, and repeat until the tank is empty.
  6. Rinse the tank well and fill it with fresh water. Run one full tank through the group, a jug at a time, and a second tank mostly through the steam wand. Refit the filter. Pull one shot and throw it away.

If the flow is weaker afterwards than before, stop and get the machine checked. A flake has lodged somewhere.

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