# Descaling - Having second thoughts



## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Hi

Ok - so i posted a few days back to ask what people used for descaling their machines. (and thanks for the responses). I have ordered the citric acid and have been watching a few "how to" you-tube clips.

Then I came across the following posted by Seattle Coffee Gear






Essentially this is Andrew Meo, CEO from Rocket, telling us not to run descaling solutions through a Rocket espresso machine. So this makes me think it would be best not to descale at home.

I thought it might be useful to see what sort of experiences other Rocket owners (or similar HX machines) have had when using a descaling solution.

Cheers


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

He is right t say the 'answer' is to control the water you put in your machine, but if you have significant scale in your machine then you should obviously descale it.

The tap on an espresso machine can build up much more 'gunk' than the actual machine, as its exposed to the air and stagnant water sits in there. It doesn't necessarily mean your machine is scaled.

A good test of if your machine is scaled is to remove the e61 mushroom - if it has no scale on it you will be fine, if it has a fair bit then you need to descale.

Citric acid in small amounts wont harm you, and in any case if you flush the HX system properly afterward you wont get it in your coffee.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

^ this.

And if you have a separate steam boiler it's even harder to get the descaler out without dismantling. Fortunately for me when I bought my R58 this was explained to me so I've used Ashbeck, Waitrose Essential Stretton Hills and Volvic from the get go. So unless your machine is already showing signs that it *needs* to be descaled, prevention is better than cure (and probably results in better coffee with the right water). OTOH if it needs descaling (mushroom inspection as above is a good tip I believe) then you'll have to do it, but be prepared to either remove the boilers or keep flushing water until any descaler is at homoeopathic levels of no statistical significance.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Ok. Thanks for this.

However, the main question is still whether or not descaling solution should be run through the Rocket boiler. (this is a HX machine rather than a DB)

I will remove the mushroom to check scale build up. Perhaps as @Dylan says, the scale buildup is only in the water tap. There is a considerable amount of "solids" in the hot water, which is what alerted me to this potential problem. I have only ever used bottled water, but never paid too much attention to the chemical makeup. Only now just realising that not all waters are equal!


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I wouldn't bother descaling the boiler unless you are worried about major scale build up or you regularly use the water tap (which you said you don't). It will also probably be a royal PITA to do.

Descaling the HX system is important however if you can see evidence of moderate scale.


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