In this article, we’re going to show the steps on how to descale Breville coffee maker. First, we’ll find out if your coffee maker needs descaling or just external cleaning. The process of deep cleaning a Breville machine is not that complicated or long, it should take less than an hour to complete.
Even if you Breville coffee machine is clean, it is sometimes a good idea to do deep clean to remove any clogs waiting to happen. By cleaning your machine at set intervals, you make sure to get great tasting cups of coffee every day.
How to Clean a Breville Coffee Maker – Step by Step
Step 1
Press the “open” button (pictured below) on your Breville coffee maker.
Step 2
Remove the coffee filter (pictured below).
Step 3
Close the lid of the coffee basket (pictured below).
Close the coffee basket compartment like in the picture below.
Step 4
Check the screen (pictured below) and see if there is any water in the tank of your coffee machine. In our case, it is at the 3 mark level. If in your case your Breville coffee maker’s water tank is already empty you can junp to Step 9.
Step 5
We have to empty the tank first. To do so you will have to place the same amount of cups as there are in the tank to completely emty the tank. In our case we set the cups to 3 (pcitured below).
Step 6
Set the “Strengh” to “Pre Ground” (pictured below).
Step 7
Press the “Start” button (pictured below) so that your Breville brews the remaining water in the tank.
Step 8
Once your coffee machine completes, remove the carafe to discard the water. Then replace the carafe in Breville coffee maker.
Now you should see in the screen of your coffee machine that the water tank is empty (pcitured below).
Step 9
For this Breville coffee maker, 20 oz of white vinegar are needed to descale. We used to measuring cups to complete the 20 oz. In the picture below you can see there are 16 oz in one measuirng cup and 4 oz in the other.
Step 10
Go ahead and open the lid of the water reservoir (pictured below).
Step 11
Add the 20 oz of white vinegar to the water reservoir (pictured below).
When you add the 20 oz you should see the tank filled to the 3 mark (pictured below).
Step 12
Add fresh water to the water reservoir until it is completely filled to the 12 mark (pictured below). In the “Cup/Carafe” knob choose the 12 cups (pictured below) and in the “Strengh” leave it on “Pre Ground” (Pciutred below).
Step 13
Press the “Strength” button for 5 seconds.
Once you press the “Strength” button for 5 seconds your screen should be like the picture below. The word “DESCALING” should scroll under the word “BREWING”.
After a few seconds a timer should show up in it’s place, like in the picture below. In our case it is 26 minutes. This means the descaling process has started and you will have to wait for it to complete.
Step 14
Once the descaling process is complete you remove the carafe and discard the water and vinegar mix solution. Rinse the carafe with fresh water to remove any vinegar residue. Place back the carafe to your coffee maker.
Step 15
Remove the coffee basket (pictured below) and rinse it with fresh water to remove any vinegar residue and place it back.
Step 16
Now fill the water reservoir of your Breville coffee maker with just fresh water. We will brew just fresh water to rinse out the internal of your coffee machine to remove any vinegar residue.
Step 17
Set your coffee machine to 12 cups and “Pre ground” (pictured below).
Step 18
Press the “start” button. We recommend you do this fresh water brew a couple of times to completely remove any vinegar residue from the system.
If you don’t completely remove any white vinegar residue it could change the flavor of the coffee so it is better to make sure to do it well.
This completes the cleaning process of your Breville coffee maker. Now you can go ahead and start brewing your great tasting coffee.
FAQs on How to Clean a Breville Coffee Maker
How to Tell if You Need to Descale Your Coffee Maker?
If you have hard water where you live and you use it directly (not filtered) on your Breville coffee maker, you will have to descale more often. You can check your drains in your bathrooms and see if there is any white residue, that is a good indication that you have hard water.
Do I have to use white vinegar to descale Breville Coffee Maker?
Yes, it is the most effective to descale coffee makers. Balsamic, malt, cleaning vinegar and other kinds of vinegar won’t work.
Why do I need to descale my Breville coffee maker?
This is because of mineral deposits that build up on the tubes or pipes of your coffee maker, which can clog them and change the water flow and quality of coffee from your Breville machine. If descaling is not done regulary it can ruin your machine over time.
How long does the descaling cleaning process of Breville coffee maker take?
The process of descaling Breville coffee maker will take about 1 hour. If you haven’t descaled in a long time it might take a couple of hours because you will have to run a couple of cycles of the white vinegar mix.
The descaling process is slightly different depending on the brand of coffee maker. You can follow our step by step guides for specific brands:
Black and Decker
Braun
Bunn
Cuisinart
Hamilton Beach
Keurig
Mr. Coffee
Ninja
Oxo
Can I use citric acid to descale Breville coffee machine?
Yes, you can use citric acid to descale a coffee machine. However, citric acid may cause residue build-up. This means mineral deposits from water will from faster so you may have to descale more frequently. That is why we recommend white vinegar.
Where can I buy vinegar for my Breville coffee maker?
You can buy white vinegar and at any supermarket or grocery store and also online from Amazon.
How often should I descale my Breville coffee maker?
Breville recommends to descale every month. If your the water you use hard it is recommended to descale more frequently, like every 2 weeks.
You can also wait for your Breville coffee maker to let you know when to descale. It appears on screen when cleaning is needed and we recommend you to descale as you see the warning to clean.
Final Thoughts
It is really important that you descale your Breville coffee maker regularly. The process on how to clean a Breville coffee maker is straightforward and should not more than 1 hour to complete. By doing this process regularly you make sure your coffee machine maintains its optimal performance for a longer time.
Hello, I am Cristy. I love cooking but what I love most is keeping my kitchen tools and appliances top notch. I enjoy writing about everything I have learned around the kitchen. I believe that keeping your kitchen tools well cleaned and maintained produces the best dishes and drinks. Besides writing and cooking I enjoy traveling, camping, hiking and music.