Hi all,
I am curious to know how often you all maintain your coffee machines, if you have them, to help inform any future articles on coffee machine cleaning.
I’m particularly interested in those who have fully automatic coffee machines, as these do need regular maintenance such as filters, descaling etc. Please let us know what type of machine you have and whether you think you clean it enough!
Breville Dual Boiler. I disagree with how Choice categorises many machines so take it as automatic, semi automatic, manual, or magical but no way is it a so-called superautomatic/fully automatic from grinding and brewing to adding milk when required. I am impressed the RRP has almost doubled in recent years 
The machine tells me when it needs a clean or descale cycle based on water quality settings and use cycles.
After each use I run water through the portafilter, wipe the steam wand, empty the drip tray and wipe it. The steam wand has not plugged up in a year.
I consider that I ‘clean it enough’.
I bought the CHOICE recommended Kmart machine a few years back.
Still makes a great brew.
Cleaning? I wipe it down once every few months, whether it needs it or not … 
Delonghi - Nescafe capsule machine used daily 3+ years - external wipe, empty trays and occasional rinse out of water container. Always run a short flush after last capsule. The optional milk warmer gets a good wipe out and rinse after every use.
Sunbeam EM4800 (very old) - external clean with regular rinse out of tray and water tank. It’s had an internal chemical clean only a few times in its many years after use in places with not so good water. Always wiped out the group head, clean wiped and flushed the steam wand asap.
The more expensive and larger Sunbeam one of the family used appears to have a blockage in the group head after approx 5 years, despite routine TLC and internal chemical cleaning. Available as a replacement part, the added cost of pro labour suggests it is more economical to buy new! Advanced DIY, risks attached, put to one side for now.
We have a maybe 20 year old Saeco Royal Capuccino. It lets us know when to descale so we do. It just works, every time. It may not now be the fanciest but I can’t function in the early morning without my medium black.
I loved my Saeco machines. Both lasted 15 years.
We did service them every 2 years
Easy to clean. Used filtered water
Switched now to Nespresso Breville Creatista. The machine informs you when to do everything. I use filtered water from the fridge water dispenser.
