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  • Commercial Machine Cleaning

    Hi All!

    Im after a few pearls of wisdom regarding cleaning of commercial espresso machines. The church I attend has a couple of machines; an ECM Veneziano A3 and a 3 group Conti (not sure of the model) Both machines are not new although they are in fairly good condition. Anyway they could use a good clean. Any tips/suggestions? Is the chemical backflush of the group head a similar procedure to a domestic machine with solenoid valve? What about cleaning of the steam wand?

    Cheers.

    Flo

  • #2
    Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

    Flo,

    Generally the backflush chemical used for domestic machines IS the commercial cleaner...

    Backflushing a commercial is just the same (except you can leave the pump on longer without damage....)

    Should be done daily (if heavy use) but as mine is a home use machine I do it once a week. Do the on/off, let stand on/off etc until no more "suds" comes out of the relief pipe- then empty, clean the blind filter and backflush again... several times. (Instructions are normally on the container)

    The interior of the PF should also be cleaned - a scourer pad (cut into strips) and rubbed round the inside works well (you can also soak the PF in the same cleaning solution - but it can cause problems getting into the thread of the handle etc.....)

    Baskets can be soaked in the solution...

    Before brewing for someone to drink the espresso, brew with a shot of coffee in each PF (I use my old grounds) to season the machine.

    The milk wand should be wiped clean each time and then steam flushed.... if this hasnt been done then the same cleaning solution can be used (just soak the end of the wand in the solution).

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

      Ive got no experience with cleaning a commercially used machine, but hope the HB article gives you an idea of how to get about it...


      http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machine-cleaning.html
      http://www.home-barista.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=717


      http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/dirtygrouphead

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

        Yep, pretty much the same backflush procedure, but, seeing as youll be standing around the machine for a while, you can go one better!

        This is what I do at work:

        (a) Clean water backflush and portafilter wiggle to clean gasket and front of shower screen.

        (b) Add detergent to hot water in blind filter and lock into group.

        (c) Run pump for five seconds, then turn it off.

        (d) Let it sit in the machine for five minutes or so. (The pump MUST NOT be running - youre just letting the detergent eat away all of the oils)

        (e) If the machine has been abused, you can repeat (c) and (d) a few times.

        (f) Finish off as normal - run some water through the group, do a clean water backflush, run heaps more water through.

        After you have done that, its a good idea to remove the shower screen and scrub back the dispersion block. I tend to use disposable paper towel for this. If you have done the extra step of letting the detergent soak (d, above), the muck on the block should scrub off really easily. In fact, the technique is so successful that we dont really need to scrub the stainless steel dispersion blocks on our synesso at all. Typical brass dispersion blocks tend to get a little scummy.

        As for cleaning the steam wand, I dont think that theres really that much that can be done beyond using a cold, damp cloth to wipe off the milk that bakes on the outside (this should be done immediately after each use).

        Over a long period of time, especially if not purged after each use, milk can bake on to the inside of the steam wands and travel up into the valves, which will require a rebuild. Ideally, one would scrub the inside of the steam wand every week or so. If you do this regularly, you tend to get a tiny bit of white flaky stuff. If you do it once in a blue moon, you get a bit more! My boss Pete from Veneziano humored me in importing the steamy wanda brush. Our accounts thought it was useful enough that we are now the Australian importer for Pallo products!

        The ECM Veneziano steam wands are interesting ... theyre "cool-touch" wands with a teflon sleeve inside. Eventually, the sleeve breaks down and needs to be removed or replaced. Im not sure if brushing these wands out will have any impact on how long it takes for the inner tube to fail. The conti should have a standard steam wand.

        Dont forget to clean out the mess under the drip tray for that extra half a point in competitions ;P

        Hope that helps,

        Luca

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        • #5
          Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

          I like my steamy wanda brush.

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          • #6
            Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

            One other thing you might want to do, Flo is get the group head brush and use it to scrub the seals after youve done the backflush of the group head.

            My method is to do the backflush, pretty much as the guys above describe it and definitely leave that portafiller on so as to soak for a bit! Then once youve done that, remove the portafiller, grab the brush and give the seals a bit of a scrub. I will then run a bit of water through and use that to help me clean the seals. Just remember that the water is going to be hot though!

            Actually, probably wouldnt hurt to have a good eyeball of those seals and see what sort of condition theyre in too. What say the rest of you about that?

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            • #7
              Re: Commercial Machine Cleaning

              Cheers guys (and Gals!)

              Ill let you know how I get on.

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