# Chemical taste from Ascaso steel uno



## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Hi.

I've got an Ascaso uno and it's boiler packed up several months ago and had to be replaced. Since then I've never been happy with the taste of my flat whites and recently it was getting worse so I ran some water into a cup and let it cool and compared it to boiled tap water that had cooled and it's got a definate chemically taste to it. My father in law reckons it just needs a good clean and I've only started noticing it when the boiler was done cos I was on the look out for something that wasn't right.

So I've 2 questions really, 1, Do you think he might be right that it's just a coincidence, and 2, How do I clean it. It's an old model and doesn't have a 3 way valve, am I right in thinking I can't backflush it?

Limescale shouldn't be an issue as I live in a neutral to soft water area, so I've never really bothered cleaning it's insides but regularly clean the portafilter, reservior and drip tray. I've had it about 18 months but it was an ex demo model from fairfax so is qiute old. I'd say 5 or 6 years.


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## MonkeyHarris (Dec 3, 2010)

Not sure about the backflushing but I'd definitely descale right away. Was the replacement boiler new?


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Yes, replacement boiler was new. I didn't think I'd need to de scale in this area as the water is always just below ph 7.0 but I'll give it a go.

Any idea whats the best thing to use?


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

By the way. I'm not some wierdo who tests their water everyday for no reason. I keep discus so have to monitor water quality pretty closely.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

You won't be able to backflush it if it has no solenoid

Try taking the shower screen off and cleaning around the head too (if you have not already done so)

Run descaler through, see if that has any effect

It's likely that there will be some trace amounts and these can affect the flavour over time

Is there any corrosion in the pipes or even the bottom of the portafilter (under the basket)?

This could also be a contributory factor


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

I'll buy some de-scaler and see if it helps. I think most of the pipes are plastic and the portafilter is fine but I'll open it up at weekend and have a look.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Does anybody know what I can use to clean and de-scale. I've been in touch with hasbean and they don't sell anything suitable, presumably because I can't backflush.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

http://www.fairfaxcoffee.com/Coffee-Machine/Coffee-Machine-Accessories/Ascaso-Accessories/Ascaso-Descale-Powder.aspx


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Cheers. Ordered.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

It arrived at 8 am this morning ( quick or what) and when I cleaned the machine the water I collected was green. Yuk. It now tastes much better.


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