Descaling the Rancilio Silvia
SeattleCoffeeGear аѕkеd:
Gail shows υѕ thе ins-аnd-outs οf descaling thе Rancilio Silvia, аlѕο discussing descaling іn general fοr single boiler & heat exchange espresso machines.
I wish we had a satellite store in Melbourne!!
Thanks for the feedback, so glad that you are finding the videos helpful 
– Kat
Hi Kat, love the videos, they are very informative; please keep them coming. Being pretty much a newbie to espresso coffee, I found that I’ve learnt so much, my only wish is that you and your store were based in Melbourne, not the other side of the planet!
On the Silvia you have to use the wand to remove the water from the boiler (faster than pulling it through the group head) so it’s going to flush it anyway as a result. Did that answer your question? Not sure what you’re getting at. – Kat
Thanks, this is good information. But — you mention that there is no need to flush the steam wand to eliminate the descaler, since steam is vapor. Right. Why, then, do you need to descale the steam wand at all? Presumably no calcium dissolves into the steam so there should be no build-up in the steam wand, especially if you only use it for steam, and not for hot water. But scale loosened from the boiler may be forced into the steam wand during descaling, causing it to clog. Please comment
Yes – it’s on my to-do list, once one of them in the shop need a descale again. I’ll check in this week and see what they’re looking like
– Kat
Hello, thanks for the informative video.
Is there any chance you could post an HX version? (I’m hoping to put my hands on an Oscar soon).
Thanks a lot
Thanks for the great feedback! – Kat
Thanks for the video. I purchased my Silvia and Baratza from Seattlecoffeegear. Fortunately, they are on the way home from work! They have been very helpful and a pleasure to do business with.
Thank you. I hope you continue to post informative videos.
Hmm I don’t think I can remove the brew head at all. Its a lower end machine! I am going to brew one tomorrow:)
Cool! Yeah, if you can remove the brew head screen to clean up behind that, you might try doing that, too, since that black junk sounds like old coffee — it can form into a cement if left without cleaning for awhile. Happy to hear you brought it back to life!
– Kat
Hey! I tried ! Took 2 packages of Descaler but I got it working. There was a big backup of black junk plugging it up! It popped at one point and now is working! I am going to run a couple cycles of just water through it to clear it all out!
No – this isn’t necessary, a lot of minerals are leached before they reach the brew head, so we never see machines with three-way valves that have scale build-up in the valve. If you backflush with detergent regularly, that is all you’ll need to do to maintain that system. – Kat
I would try it; depending on the machine, it could also be coffee caked up behind the brew screen. Feel free to message me with the machine model and I can see if I have any more tips for you. – Kat
Nice video. Would you recommend running a backflush (with the descaling solution) to descale the 3-way-valve?
I just got my parents old esspresso Machine and the pump works, the steamer works, but the Brewhead wont brew anything… Is it too late to Descale?
Thanks for the Vid, I already had cleancaf so i used that, but will go with dezcaf next
Thanks for your feedback — great to know that these are helpful for you
Kat
Great videos! Always succinct, easy to understand and REALLY helpful. Thank you
You videos have all been succinct, easy to understand adn REALLY helpful! Thank you so much.
Thanks for the feedback — glad to help!
Really great videos! Thinking of buying a silvia 09 and your videos helps alot!
Really helpful. Thanks.