How to Clean a Commercial Espresso Machine: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Checklist

A clean machine is the cheapest way to make better coffee. Coffee oils build up in the group head, basket and portafilter with every shot, and once they go stale they make espresso taste flat and bitter. No grinder adjustment fixes that. Milk left in a steam wand is a hygiene problem, and scale from hard water slowly damages the machine itself.

This is the routine we recommend for cafés using a commercial espresso machine with a portafilter. Always check your own machine’s manual and your cleaner’s label first, because they take priority over any general guide, this one included.

The core habit: backflush every group with espresso machine cleaner at closing, soak the baskets and portafilter heads, and wipe and purge the steam wand after every drink. Most taste problems from dirty machines start when one of these is skipped.

Before you start

Check that your machine can be backflushed. Backflushing works on machines with a three-way solenoid valve, which releases pressure into the drip tray. Most commercial machines have one. If your manual says not to backflush, don’t.
Use cleaner made for espresso machines, such as Cafiza, Puly Caff or the brand your machine supplier recommends. Don’t use dish soap or general kitchen cleaners.
Mind the heat. Group heads, steam wands and fresh soaking water are hot enough to burn.

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After every shot and every milk drink

Knock out the puck and wipe the basket dry with a clean cloth.
Flush the group for a second or two with the portafilter off to rinse loose grounds from the shower screen.
Purge the steam wand before and after steaming, then wipe it straight away with a damp cloth kept only for the wand.
Lock the portafilter back into the group so it stays hot.

During the day

Water backflush. Put the blind basket in and run a few on and off cycles with plain water. A La Marzocco trainer quoted on the company’s blog suggests every two to four hours, and more often on busy machines.
Brush the group. Use a group head brush to clear grounds from the gasket and the edge of the shower screen.
Empty and rinse the knock box and the drip tray before they overflow.

At closing: backflush with cleaner

This is the most important clean of the day. The steps below follow Urnex’s training guide for Cafiza powder. Other cleaners use different amounts, so follow the label of whatever you use.

Put the blind (solid) basket in the portafilter and add 3 g of Cafiza powder.
Lock the portafilter into the group.
Run the brew cycle for 10 seconds, then stop for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times.
Remove the portafilter. Run the group and rinse the portafilter head in the stream of water.
Lock it back in and repeat the 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off cycle 5 more times with no powder to rinse.
Pull one shot and throw it away to make sure no cleaner taste is left.

Do this on every group. La Marzocco also recommends leaving the shower screen in place during the detergent backflush, because it gets cleaned too.

At closing: soak baskets and portafilters

Remove the baskets from the portafilters.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon (6 g) of Cafiza per 1 litre of hot water in a container.
Soak the baskets, the metal portafilter heads and the drip tray grate for up to 30 minutes. Keep plastic or wooden handles out of the water.
Rinse everything well with clean water and dry before service.

At closing: steam wand, grinder and the rest

Steam wand: purge, then wipe off any dried milk. If milk has built up inside the tip, soak the tip in a milk-system cleaner made for steam wands, following its label, then purge with steam.
Grinder: brush out the chute and the area where grounds collect. Wipe the hopper so coffee oils don’t go rancid on it.
Drip tray and knock box: empty, wash and dry.
Outside of the machine: wipe down with a damp cloth. Avoid abrasive pads on polished metal.

Weekly

Remove and soak the shower screens. Unscrew them, soak them in cleaner solution with the baskets, then scrub them and the group with a brush before refitting. Barista Magazine recommends soaking the screen when grounds and oil have caked on.
Clean the grinder with grinder cleaning tablets, if your grinder’s maker allows them, and wipe out the hopper. Follow the maker’s advice on how often.
Check the group gaskets. If the portafilter handle turns further to the right than it used to, or water leaks around the edge during a shot, the gasket is wearing out.

Every few months, or as your manual says

Replace group gaskets and shower screens at the interval in your machine’s manual, or sooner if they leak or are damaged.
Replace the water filter cartridge at the interval the filter maker gives. This is what protects the boiler from scale.
Replace grinder burrs based on how much coffee goes through them. For example, one commercial machine maker’s manual (Astoria) gives about 400 to 500 kg of coffee for flat burrs and 800 to 900 kg for conical burrs.
Check the gauges. The same manual says brew pressure should read 8 to 9 bar while coffee is being made. If yours is outside that, call your technician.

Descaling: leave it to a technician

Hard water leaves mineral scale inside boilers, pipes and valves. On a commercial machine, descaling usually means taking parts apart and using strong chemicals that can damage seals and gaskets if they are used wrongly. Pro Coffee Gear advises that commercial machines generally shouldn’t be descaled by owners, and should be serviced by qualified technicians instead.

The better plan is to prevent scale in the first place with the right water filter or softener for your water, and a regular service visit. Signs that scale may be building up include slower water flow, weaker steam, and white crust around the steam wand or group.

As a reference, the Specialty Coffee Association’s brewing water standard targets a calcium hardness of 68 mg/L, with 17 to 85 mg/L considered acceptable. Ask your filter supplier to test your water and recommend a filter that brings it into a safe range for the machine.

Printable cleaning checklist

When	Task	Done by
Every shot	Knock out, wipe basket, flush group
Every milk drink	Purge and wipe steam wand
Every 2 to 4 hours	Water backflush, brush group
Closing	Backflush with cleaner on every group
Closing	Soak baskets and portafilter heads
Closing	Clean steam wand, grinder chute, drip tray, knock box
Weekly	Remove and soak shower screens
Weekly or per maker	Clean grinder and hopper
Weekly	Check gaskets for wear
Per manual	Replace gaskets, screens, filter cartridge, burrs
Per service plan	Technician service and descale

Why it pays off

Better taste. Seattle Coffee Gear notes that a dirty portafilter, basket or group with rancid oil causes a flat bitterness that grind changes won’t fix. If your shots taste wrong, check our espresso troubleshooting guide.
Fewer repairs. Replacing a gasket or a filter cartridge on time costs far less than a technician’s repair visit.
Less waste. A clean, well-maintained machine needs fewer shots to dial in.

Running a café?

Put this checklist into your daily opening and closing routine and train every barista on the closing backflush. Our Café Business Resource Center has more guides on running a café in the Philippines, and cafés buying 10 kg or more of coffee can see wholesale pricing.