Espresso machine water tank cleaning and water refreshing

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

Hello.
Those with espresso machines like Rancilio Silvia or gaggia classic which are not plumbed into water pipes I have water tank maintenance question.
How often is it recommended to empty tank from existing water and refill tank with 100% new water?
Every day? Every other day?

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

Hi there
I make approx. 4-6 coffees a day on my Silvia and find I need to top the water tank up almost every time I use it. I only remove the tank and clean and refill probably every 2 or 3 weeks.

[Dimal Mal Find all posts View Profile Close Dimal]

I remove mine once per year at the same time as I do my annual service/maintenance on the espresso machine. Never been a need to do it more often than this, with using high quality filtered water...

Mal.

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

Thanks, I replace all tank water every 24 hours and clean water tank every 7 days. Am I overdoing it then ? I was concerned about stale water in the tank growing various nasty bacteria etc.

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

I double filter the water I use and rarely replace the water or clean the tank. Perhaps I should do it more often.

Bacteria and algae cannot grow in pure water as they have nothing to feed on.

If the water inn your tank looks impure or dirty, chuck it out and clean the tank. The main test is how does your coffee taste. Most bugs will be destroyed by the heat of the boiler.

Enjoy your coffee.
Barry

[Dimal Mal Find all posts View Profile Close Dimal]

Thanks, I replace all tank water every 24 hours and clean water tank every 7 days. Am I overdoing it then ? I was concerned about stale water in the tank growing various nasty bacteria etc.

Individual circumstances probably vary quite a bit so if you think your water tank needs cleaning, there's nothing wrong with cleaning it every day if that makes you happy....

Mal.

[Gavisconi007 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gavisconi007]

Thanks, I replace all tank water every 24 hours and clean water tank every 7 days. Am I overdoing it then ? I was concerned about stale water in the tank growing various nasty bacteria etc.

I'll go out on a limb and say yes, you're over-doing it. No-one ever cleans the inside of their water-pipes in their house and many drink tap-water with no problems. If you're using your coffee machine daily then the tank is getting flushed through with fresh water and the water is boiled anyway

Mal's birthday bubble bath for Sir Kony is all that's needed.

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

If you can feel/see the walls of the tank are unclean in anyway when you clean it, shorten the cleaning interval.

Cheers

[Dimal Mal Find all posts View Profile Close Dimal]

Mal's birthday bubble bath for Sir Kony is all that's needed.

Indeed...

Mal.