My Calphalon Cleaning Mess & Fix

Alright look, I gotta be real with you guys. I flat out ignored cleaning my Calphalon espresso machine for way too long. Started acting funky – shots pulling slow, tasting kinda burnt, steam wand wheezing like an asthmatic squirrel. Figured it was time to stop being lazy. Here's exactly how it went down:

First things first, I gathered my supplies right on the counter. Nothing fancy, just what the manual said:

• The official Calphalon cleaning tablets (grabbed those online ages ago)
• Big jug of distilled water (Hard water here is the enemy)
• A small bowl for soaking
• Clean dish towels (the fluffy ones)
• My trusty little brush (the one that came with the machine)
• A pin or paperclip (for the sneaky bits)

Getting Down & Dirty

Step 1: Yanked out the water tank. Emptied any leftover gunk straight down the sink. Filled it up nice and full with the distilled water. Don't skip the distilled water, seriously. Stuff costs pennies and saves headaches later.

Step 2: Popped out the filter basket and porta filter. Soaked those suckers in the bowl filled with hot water and HALF a cleaning tablet. While that bubbled away, I pulled out the little gasket (that rubber ring thing) and the shower screen (the part with holes above where the portafilter locks in). Gave them a good look – yeah, nasty coffee oil buildup. Into the bowl they went too.

Step 3: Tablet time. Dropped the other half of the cleaning tablet into the empty water tank. Locked the tank back into the machine. Realized I forgot to put the backflush disk in the empty portafilter handle – rookie move. Got that sucker locked in tight.

Let the Machine Do Its Thing

Step 4: Turned the machine on. Waited for it to heat up. Flipped it to cleaning mode (my model has a button just for this). Then I just pressed the brew button. Held it down for like 5 seconds, then let go. Watched that dirty, bubbly water pump through into my cup. Repeated this like 4 or 5 times until the water running through wasn't brown anymore.

Step 5: Dumped out the cleaning water from the cup. Refilled the jug with fresh distilled water. Backflushed again, just with clean water this time, probably another 4 cycles. Couldn't smell chemicals anymore? Good enough.

The Tiny Bits Are Crucial

Step 6: Went back to my soaking bowl. Fished out all the parts – basket, portafilter, gasket, screen. Used that little brush like mad on the basket holes and the screen. The manual mentioned checking the steam wand tip holes. Sure enough, one was clogged solid. Took a pin and gently poked it out – disgusting plug of dried milk came flying out.

Step 7: Rinsed everything under super hot water till it all felt squeaky clean and no slippery residue. Dried them off with a clean towel. Put the shiny new-looking gasket and screen back into the group head. Snapped the portafilter back together.

Step 8: Filled the tank again with fresh distilled water just to be safe. Locked it in. Ran a blank shot through with the clean portafilter (no coffee) just to flush anything else out.

It Worked! (Mostly)

The steam wand? Went from wheeze to WHOOSH! Instant power. Pulled an espresso shot – water flowed like it was supposed to, nice and steady. Taste test? Worlds better. Not perfect perfection, but that burnt bitterness was totally gone. Machine just felt happier.

The whole takeaway? Don't wait until it sucks like I did. Setting up the backflush takes like 5 minutes tops. Dealing with the parts is another 10. Cheap tablets and distilled water are your best friends. Seriously, avoid the hassle I put myself through. Took me maybe 25 minutes total start to finish? Next time will be faster.