Coffee machines in South Africa – Maintenance Guidelines

Proper coffee machine maintenance services in South Africa can prolong your machine’s lifespan and save you money. While it’s easy to procrastinate when it comes to maintaining your coffee machine, this is a very necessary routine procedure if you want to ensure your machine lasts a long time.

Most people are in the unfortunate situation of not knowing how to adequately service and maintain their costly coffee machine investments. If your coffee machine has been irreparably damaged and you are wondering if you should replace it, remember that there are coffee machine rental companies that will take care of the repair and maintenance for you as part of the rental contract, making it a cost-effective and easy solution.

Tips on maintaining your coffee machine:

• Safety first: Before getting into the details of coffee machine maintenance, it is important to take the necessary safety precautions, such as unplugging your machine and allowing it to cool down after it has been unplugged.
• Maintenance specifications: Keep in mind that these maintenance tips are general – coffee machine manufacturers prescribe different maintenance checks for their products. Refer to you product manual to ensure that you follow the correct steps in servicing your coffee machine in accordance with specifications.
• Cleaning: Most coffee makers don’t require a lot of cleaning. Some machines have removable dishwasher-safe drip trays for easy washing. If you want to clean the outside of your machine, simply wipe the surface with a damp, nonabrasive cloth. Detachable reservoirs can be washed in a sink with warm, soapy water.

De-scaling your coffee machine

To protect heating elements and other components that come into contact with water, it is recommended that you de-scale once every 6 months. ‘Scale’ or ‘lime scale’ is the build-up of minerals inside your machine. To minimize scaling, some coffee machine manufacturers advise using bottled water to make your coffee. Some machines have a warning light to indicate when de-scaling is needed.

De-scaling is a 5 step process:

• Drain your coffee machine over a sink.
• Fill the machine with undiluted white vinegar.
• Run the brew process at least four times, pouring the cups of vinegar back into the coffee maker.
• Let your machine sit for 4 hours, then run the brew cycle again. Pour the vinegar into the sink and drain remaining vinegar.
• Fill your coffee maker with fresh water. Run multiple brew cycles to rinse out the machine before returning to normal use.

Whether you have a bean to cup or a capsule coffee machine, your equipment’s maintenance remains important and should be done regularly. When you partner with a leading coffee machine supplier, such as Aquaspresso,coffee machine maintenance in South Africa will be included in your contract.