Cleaning & Care: Machine, Grinder & Milk System
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Most “defects” in an espresso machine, grinder or milk system aren’t defects at all — they’re a maintenance backlog. Rancid coffee oils, gummed-up burrs, dried-on milk proteins: all of it is easy to prevent with a few minutes of routine, instead of repairing it later or even calling in service. With a higher-end setup this pays off doubly — care is the simplest way to protect your investment. Here you’ll find, for each device, what to clean, with what, and how often — and where to find the matching troubleshooting page if something does snag.
1. Espresso machine: backflushing against rancid coffee oils
Tiny amounts of coffee oil are left behind in the group and valves with every shot. Over days and weeks these oils turn rancid and give every subsequent espresso a musty aftertaste — even if the beans themselves are perfectly fresh.
- Prerequisite for a true backflush: a three-way solenoid valve (most E61 or portafilter machines with a saturated group have one). Without this valve, the soak method for the portafilter and baskets works instead.
- Blind filter into the portafilter, add half a teaspoon (3 g) of Cafiza.
- Lock in the portafilter, 10 sec. on / 10 sec. off, repeat five times.
- Remove the portafilter, rinse clean under the group, then run another 5× 10/10 seconds without powder.
- Take out the blind filter, put the standard filter back in, pull a test espresso and discard it.
Recommendation: plain water with no cleaner daily, plus once a week (or every 50 shots) with Cafiza. Details, the soak variant and stop lines: First Aid: Espresso Machines — “Espresso tastes musty”.
Supplies: Urnex Cafiza (the industry standard) or the plant-based alternative Urnex Biocaf Coffee Equipment Cleaning Powder. Both exclusively for the machine, not for aluminium moka pots.
2. Grinder: freeing the burrs from coffee oils
Coffee oils also build up on the burrs and the inside of the grinding chamber over time — the result is a musty aftertaste regardless of how fresh the beans are, plus increasingly inconsistent dosing.
- Empty the hopper, get the last beans out of the chamber with the brush.
- For espresso grinders, 1 cap (35–40 g) of Grindz into the hopper; for large grinders, 2 caps (70–80 g).
- Set the grind to “medium” and let it run through completely.
- Wipe down the hopper, chute and doser with a brush/cloth.
- Flush through with double the amount of beans until no more yellowish powder comes out, then calibrate the grind back to espresso.
Recommendation: manufacturer guideline weekly (or every 15 kg of ground coffee) — with one to two shots a day, three to four weeks is usually enough in practice. Details and stop lines: First Aid: Grinders — “Grinder clogged”.
Stop line: not for integrated grinders in super-automatics with a brew chamber — there, Grindz swells with water and can clog it. That’s what SuperGrindz is for, which we don’t carry.
Supplies: Urnex Grindz Grinder Cleaning Tablets.
3. Milk system: steam wand, jug & frother
Milk proteins and fats dry onto the steam wand, jug and frother quickly — that doesn’t just smell rancid, it also noticeably worsens foam quality. With plant milk (oat, almond, soy), acid-based cleaners are risky: they can flocculate the plant proteins and clog the lines — which is why an alkaline formula belongs here.
- Steam wand/jug: mix 30 ml of cleaner with 500 ml of warm water in the jug, submerge the wand, let it work for 15–30 minutes (overnight for heavy build-up).
- Automatic frothers: mix 30 ml of cleaner with 500 ml of cold water, run it completely through the system.
- Rinse thoroughly with clear water, then run a short steam burst or rinse cycle without cleaner.
Recommendation: a brief cold rinse after every use, plus a weekly deep clean with cleaner. Accessory troubleshooting (NanoFoamer, Flick, Rhino thermometer) and detailed steps: First Aid: Milk & Foam — “Smells rancid or feels sticky”.
Supplies: Urnex Biocaf Alkaline Milk Cleaner — one formula for cow’s milk and plant milk, biodegradable and phosphate-free.
4. Water & limescale: the biggest lever of all
Limescale is problem driver number one in Switzerland — and the only point here where prevention matters more than cleaning. Descaling is also brand-dependent: some manufacturers (e.g. La Marzocco) don’t approve it at all, others (e.g. Profitec) advise against it.
Check water hardness, fit a filter, descale in line with your brand (or don’t) — the complete, manufacturer-specific guide: First Aid: Water & Descaling.
5. Cleaning plan at a glance
| Device | With what | How often (home use) |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso machine | Cafiza | Daily water, weekly with cleaner |
| Grinder | Grindz | Every 3–4 weeks (manufacturer: weekly) |
| Milk system | Biocaf Milk Cleaner | Rinse after every use, weekly deep clean |
| Water/limescale | Filter/descaler | Filter by capacity, at least every 6 months |
Guideline values for home use, based on Urnex’s manufacturer specifications and our own product pages. For intensive or commercial use, clean correspondingly more often.
Order all four Urnex cleaners together and save automatically
From 2 Urnex products (any combination: Cafiza, Biocaf powder, Biocaf milk cleaner, Grindz) 5% off, from 4 pieces 15%, from 13 pieces 40% — automatically in your cart, no code needed. Handy when you’re restocking machine, grinder and milk system all at once.
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Still not running smoothly despite cleaning? Espresso machine help · Grinders & scales · Milk & foam · Water & descaling · Back to overview
