Descaling your bean-to-cup machine: the complete guide

Limescale is the number one enemy of bean-to-cup coffee machines. A machine that is never descaled can lose 30% of its extraction pressure in less than a year, which degrades the taste of your coffee and shortens the life of the boiler.

How often should you descale?

It all depends on the hardness of your water. In French-speaking Switzerland, water is typically between 15 and 25 °fH (French degrees):

• Soft water (<15 °fH) : descale every 4-6 months
• Moderately hard water (15-25 °fH) : descale every 2-3 months
• Hard water (>25 °fH) : descale every 1-2 months + a filter cartridge is recommended

Descaler products: brand or generic?

Manufacturers recommend their own tablets (Jura, Philips, Siemens) at €10-15 for a pack of 3. In practice, generic descalers for coffee machines work perfectly on most models, as long as they are citric- or lactic-acid based (no hydrochloric acid).

• Philips / De'Longhi: accept generic descalers without any problem
• Jura / Siemens: recommend their own tablets, but Jura-compatible generics work too
• Melitta: standard liquid descaler accepted

Annual cost of descaling

For 20 °fH water with descaling every 3 months: 4 descaling sessions × €5 (generic) = €20/year. With brand tablets: 4 × €12 = €48/year. Over 5 years, the difference is €140 — enough to buy a good stock of coffee beans.