March 2007
A coffee maker is used in German households for an average of four years, and then a new one is purchased. Unless a replacement is down to a desire for a change in the kitchen, with the right care the service life of a coffee maker can usually be prolonged significantly. The most important thing is to clean and descale regularly. This not only improves the taste of teh coffee, but also saves electricity and keeps the coffee maker working properly.The path taken by water and lime
In the coffee maker the water runs from the water tank into the continuous flow heater. This is usually located beneath the hot plate and simultaneously emits heat for the pot on the hot plate. There, the water is heated and then re-channelled upwards. It flows at an optimum temperature of 93 to 96 degrees Celsius via the outlet onto the coffee. The heat transfer deteriorates as the degree of lime deposited in the heater and pipes increases. The performance and service life of the appliance is reduced. Also, the coffee tastes worse.
Coffee makers: descale regularly
As a rule of thumb, coffee makers should be descaled once after each pack of 40 coffee filters, i.e. after filtering 40 times. Various products are available in stores in powder, tablet or liquid form, for example from Swirl. In areas with hard water (hardness level 3 onwards) it is recommended to descale more often. Information on the hardness of the water can be obtained from the regional water company.
With good products descaling is convenient and simple: fill the glass coffee pot with ½ a litre of cold water, add the descaling agent and stir until completely dissolved. Pour the solution into the coffee maker's water tank and allow half of the liquid to circulate. Switch the appliance off and leave to take effect for 10 to 30 minutes. Then circulate the remaining water and repeat the process with two full water tanks of fresh water. Always observe the instructions for use on the descaling agent pack and from the manufacturer of the coffee maker.
Coffee makers: clean regularly
The external parts of the coffee maker should be regularly wiped clean with a damp cloth. Descaling agents with active oxygen, e.g. from Swirl, descale the coffee maker and clean the water tank and filter body in a single operation.
Fully automatic coffee systems and single portion units: descale regularly
Fully automatic coffee systems and single portion units have extremely thin pipes. It is best to use fluid descaling agents such as Swirl's Fluid Descaler or special powder descaling agents such as Swirl's Organic Descaler to descale these properly.
For average coffee consumption, the following applies to fully automatic coffee systems and single portion units: fully automatic systems should be descaled every four to six weeks and single portion units at the latest every six weeks (depending on water hardness). When doing so, observe the manufacturer's instructions.
Swirl® Fluid Descaler, easy dosage
- Fluid Descaler, easy dosage
- No dissolving process
- Also ideal for modern fully automatic coffee systems and single portion units
- 250 ml bottle, RRP: EUR 2.39
- With high-grade, finest citric acid
- Also ideal for modern fully automatic coffee systems and single portion units
- Double pack, each containing 20 g, RRP: EUR 1.19
Swirl® Active Descaler tablets with active oxygen
- Descaling and cleaning in a single operation
- For coffee makers, boilers and water heaters
- Clean with the power of active oxygen
- As a powder: double pack, each containing 15 g, RRP: EUR 0.69
