descaling in Qld

[mmmcoffee Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mmmcoffee]

Ive been using filtered water (a Brita Filter jug) in my Silvia.
I live in Cleveland, Brisbane and our water isnt too bad (I think ).

My question I have is... do I still need to descale my machine if I use filtered water? Whats the best product- have seen citric acid (supermarket) but would think the descaler from our sponsors would have other goodies in it and be better??

Whats a rough guide on how and how often??

cheers guys

[bolb Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bolb]

Re: descaling in Qld

Hi there
I would suggest you use a mainstream descaling product that is sold by our site sponsors, this is the recommended solution from those in the know.

I use a brita jug and am in melbourne and have descaled once on the advice of Chris from Talk Coffee

Mal

[Dimal Mal Find all posts View Profile Close Dimal]

Re: descaling in Qld

Gday mmmc....

In order to reduce the onset of scale buildup before it causes problems is not an easy question to answer... Kind of a "How long is a piece of string?" sort of question. The correct type of filter will help, no doubt about it but just the use of ordinary particle/chemical/odour filter cartridges wont cut it Im afraid.

A single under-sink system like the one in the photos below, is quite economical to both buy and install. In the average coffee drinking household in Brissy for example, a cartridge should last ~12 months. Its a much better way of doing things than say, using a Brita Jug, and the expense of continually and very regularly replacing the filter cartridges in those.

There is also the option of "softening" the water, right at the source, by purchasing a small water softening cartridge that you attach to the end of the pump intake line inside the water reservoir. These can be regenerated very simply by soaking in a NaCl solution every couple of weeks or so and if these sound like the thing for you, contact Attilio at CosmoreX Coffee for not only these but also the under-sink systems from Bombora.

Even with all of these preventative measures, you will still need to descale your Silvia eventually and as it happens, Bombora also have a great solution for this problem too called "Triple Action Descaler" and works much more effectively than just Citric Acid on its own. Ive used it and can personally vouch for its efficacy. Hope some of this info is helpful to you mmmc ....

Mal.