How do I put a Breville Barista Express into descale mode?

Start with the Barista Express switched off and the descaling solution in the tank. Press and hold the 2 CUP button, then press and hold POWER at the same time. The POWER button flashes while the machine heats, and it is in descale mode when POWER, 1 CUP, the CLEAN/DESCALE light and the HOT WATER/STEAM light are all lit solid. Press POWER again when you have finished to leave descale mode.

Where is descale in the Breville Barista Pro menu?

Press the MENU button and turn the GRIND AMOUNT dial until DESCALE shows on the LCD, then press the dial to select it. The 1 CUP button lights up, and pressing it starts the cycle. The Barista Pro descales in three stages, coffee, hot water and steam, and you turn the STEAM dial by hand when the screen asks. A rinse cycle with the same three stages follows.

Why is the clean/descale light flashing on my Breville Barista Express?

A flashing CLEAN/DESCALE light on the Barista Express means the machine wants a cleaning cycle, which uses a cleaning tablet in the portafilter. It does not mean descale. The descale signal is the same light lit solid. Breville's manual treats them as two separate jobs with separate procedures.

How do I know when my Breville Bambino Plus needs descaling?

The Bambino Plus flashes its 1 CUP and STEAM buttons alternately with the 2 CUP button for 15 seconds. Pressing any of those buttons cancels the alert, so if you saw the lights and cleared them, the machine was asking for a descale. To start one, switch it off, let it cool, then hold 1 CUP and STEAM for five seconds.

Do I take the water filter out before descaling a Breville?

Yes. Breville's manuals for the Barista Pro and Bambino Plus both tell you to remove the water filter from the tank before adding the descaling agent, so the solution does not pass through it. Put the filter back once the rinse has finished.

How to Descale a Breville Espresso Machine

Before you start

The short answer depends on the model. On the Barista Express, start with the machine off, press and hold the 2 CUP button, then press and hold POWER as well. On the Barista Pro, press MENU, turn the GRIND AMOUNT dial to DESCALE, press the dial to select it, then press 1 CUP. On the Bambino Plus, switch the machine off, let it cool, then hold 1 CUP and STEAM together for five seconds. Every one of them finishes with a fresh-water rinse before you brew again. The full sequence for each model is below, and it comes from Breville's own instruction booklets rather than from memory.

Breville sells these machines under the Sage name in the UK and Europe. You need a descaling solution, fresh water and a large container. Breville's own powder comes in sachets, and on the Barista Express one sachet goes into 1 litre (34 fl oz) of water. Take the water filter out of the tank before the solution goes in: the Barista Pro and Bambino Plus manuals both say so.

One warning appears in both the Barista Express and Bambino Plus manuals: never remove or completely empty the water tank while the descale is running.

Barista Express (BES870)

Check the light first. A solid CLEAN/DESCALE light means the machine wants descaling. A flashing one means it wants a cleaning cycle with a cleaning tablet in the portafilter, which is a different job. Breville's manual draws exactly that line, and it is worth knowing before you spend a sachet.

Dissolve one descaling sachet in 1 litre (34 fl oz) of water and fill the tank. With the machine off, press and hold 2 CUP, then press and hold POWER at the same time. The POWER button flashes while the machine heats. It is ready when POWER, 1 CUP, the CLEAN/DESCALE light and the HOT WATER/STEAM light are all lit solid.

Press 1 CUP to descale the coffee side, which runs for about 25 seconds. Then turn the steam dial right towards the steam icon for about 13 seconds, and left towards the hot water icon for about 8 seconds. Turning the dial back to STANDBY stops either one early. After one round about half the solution, roughly 0.5 litres, is still in the tank, so repeat the coffee, steam and hot water steps until it is used up.

To rinse, take the tank out, rinse it, refill it with fresh cold water to the 2 litre (68 fl oz) maximum and run the same coffee, steam and hot water steps again. Press POWER to leave descale mode, and the lights go off. If the machine sits untouched for five minutes in descale mode it switches itself off, and you start again from the button hold.

Barista Pro (BES878)

The Barista Pro shows a DESCALE alert on its LCD when it is due. Breville's manual warns that hot steam can escape during the cycle, so it asks you to turn the machine off and let it cool for at least an hour first, with the drip tray empty and pushed fully home. Switch it back on when you are ready to start.

Remove the filter from the tank, fill the tank to the DESCALE line and add the descaling agent. Press MENU, turn the GRIND AMOUNT dial to DESCALE and press the dial to select it. The 1 CUP button lights up; press it to start.

The cycle runs in three stages: coffee, hot water and steam. The machine beeps after each one, and you turn the STEAM dial by hand to the hot water or steam position when the LCD tells you to. This is the step people miss, because nothing moves until you do it.

When the descale finishes, empty the drip tray, pour away any solution left in the tank, refill to MAX and press 1 CUP for the rinse. The rinse repeats the same three stages with the same dial prompts. A final beep returns the machine to READY.

Bambino Plus (BES500)

The Bambino Plus asks for a descale by flashing the 1 CUP and STEAM buttons alternately with the 2 CUP button for 15 seconds. Pressing any of those buttons dismisses the alert, so it is easy to clear without noticing what it meant.

Empty the drip tray, fill the tank to the DESCALE line, add the descaling agent and put a 2 litre (68 fl oz) container under the portafilter and steam wand. Turn the machine off by pressing 1 CUP and STEAM together, and let it cool completely.

With the machine off, hold 1 CUP and STEAM for five seconds. Both buttons light when it is ready; press either one to start. When the tank runs dry the cycle pauses. Empty the container, refill the tank to MAX, and press 1 CUP or STEAM to carry on with fresh water. The 1 CUP and STEAM buttons flash alternately when it is done, and the machine drops into standby.

Finishing up

Rinse and dry the drip tray and the water tank, put the water filter back in, and pull one shot you throw away before the first real drink. That last shot clears whatever residue the rinse missed.

The Barista Touch, the Oracle range and the Dual Boiler use their own sequences, which this page does not cover. Breville publishes the instruction booklet for each model number on its support site, and the descale steps sit in the Care and Cleaning section.

How often Breville machines need it

Breville keys descaling frequency to water hardness: roughly every 2 to 3 months on moderately hard water, more often on hard water. If your model has a descale alert, respect it when it appears. The ThermoJet heaters in newer models such as the Barista Pro and Bambino Plus are compact, and compact heaters scale up fast.

Day to day, filtered water plus a quick purge of the steam wand after each use keeps both scale and milk residue under control between cycles.