THE EASY WAY To Descale the Delonghi ECP 3420, ECP 3120, ECP 35.31 etc.

Hey Tom! I’ve been using my Delonghi 3420 for a few days just fine. But for some reason now the expresso doesn’t want to come out. I tried a different puck, used the 1 shot basket instead of 2, cleaned it all out, and let it run water through the steam wand and the brew group, but I’m not sure why it’s all the sudden not working. Do you have an idea?

Hi Tom, hope you and your family are doing well, God bless you always, quick question, if I never use the steam wand, do I have to descale through the steam wand, or I do not have to?

Great blog and channel Tom, thinking on buying a 35.31, how can you figure out when to descale ? Since the machine does not have a warning sign you usually do it once a year ? Twice a year ? Thanks and keep up the good work 😊

Hi there thank you for your great videos. I ourchased a used ecp3420 in very good shape practically new, and I ordered the bottomless portafilter and and a few other little gadgets you suggested in one of your other video. I am wondering if I can replace the ruber steam tip without opening the whole machine. I find that the tip is too short when I remove the metal cylinder.

Hi, thanks for the video! I have a question because I’m a clean freak 😊 when you remove the shower screen it looks pretty filthy on the INSIDE of the machine, so I need not worry? Should that be wiped or left alone?

Thank you! Nice video.

subcribed thx

Tanks a lot for all your advices !
You helped me a lot chosing and understanding my brewer. :)

I don't know in your place but here (North of France) water is hard like hell. A Brita leaves at least 20mg of calcium per liter of water, so it is way more efficient to use bottled water (like Volvic @10mg/L or Cristalline @6.7mg/L) plus it is less expensive, and makes us able to descale with a light dillution of citric acid.

Do you think that such waters could also replace distilled one for the cleaning ?


Thanks by advance.

Can you do the exact same thing but with pure white vinegar instead of the chemical solution? Or maybe a 50-50 vinegar to water?

When you are rinsing the descaler through you don't have to wait for it to be heated right (we don't need green ready light on) we just run it through correct?

I have never descaled my machine and now is dripping.... is there a FIX that is worth it? shall I throw it away?

Nice videooo

Hi Tom, I have an ECP3630. It usually has to warm up to finally see the green light for making a serving. Do I do the same with each time I run the machine? Or can it be done before heating up the contents before running a descaling process each time?
Also, why not run the machine to make coffee with distilled water? Is it a taste thing?
Also, can a scaled machine lead to making bland espresso shots? I guess I haven't cleaned it for many months and wonder if that is why my shots come out nearly clear or like dirty water, as opposed to dark colored coffee shot. Please advise, thanks!

could you use white vinger to Descale

Thanks for a good and informative walkthrough)

Excelente, maravilhosa explicação! Obrigada

Thanks Tom! I recently got my first espresso maching. It's an ECP3630, great little starter. I appreciate your tips on keeping it in shape. 👍

Food grade citric acid powder is also great for descaling at a significantly lower cost than dedicated coffee machine descalers. They can also be used for descaling other appliances like the water kettles, washing machines, dishwashers etc.
I've been using it for my machines in the past and also works well for descaling glass jugs and cups in the dishwasher (just add some in the bottom and run the quick glass cycle).

hello tom here learning more every day from your videos, how often do you recommend doing this type of cleaning for household machines?!

Can I do the same process if I'm using the powder descaler? Thank you so much, sir!

how often should you descale? i have a Delonghi ecp3420 but not sure how often i should descale, though i use it almost everyday. thanks

Hey Tom, you are the man ! THX !

Zero water filter removes almost all scale.

Really appreciate this video! Made the process much easier than I expected.

If we use destilled water only in our brews, will this remove the need to descale?

Perfect explanation and demonstration. Much appreciated, thank you!

hi Tom, do you know where to buy ecp 35.31 water tank?

Good guy helping us with our machine 👍

Been using delonghi EC 230 Bk for abt 3 months. Initially when power on, green light immediately light up. Now it takes abt 1.5min. Recently while brewing coffee and steaming milk, green light goes off and on again twice. Is there an issue?

👍 thanks

Maybe you can try the Gaggia viva style or viva deluxe in the same price range, but i don’t know the differences.

What are the signs of a machine needing descaling? Bitter coffee taste or anything else? I've been using my machine for about two months now since new and today all the sudden, coffee tasted bitter. Is that a sign my machine needs descaling?

Thanks alot Tom! Easy to understand. Cheers👍

can i also use vinegar to clean it? if also could leave it 1 day in the machine?

Great video, I just bought one of these on Facebook market place used and the wand wasn’t working. After poking around with it I just think it was very clogged because it started to barely steam and the worst smell ever is coming out. I’m going to try to descale it to fix that. If my local store doesn’t have the descaler do you think a lemon would work since you mentioned it’s just citric acid? Thanks!

Very useful video. This 35.31 is a very interesting machine, it gives a lot of room to experience. Thank you for the video.

FYI Easy electric kettle clean: empty water, add fresh squeezed lemon juice. wait an hour or two. rinse with water and the scale is gone!

do tou have a recommendation budget grinder( no manual pls) for new comers, trying to switch to non-presurized basket but heard it needs a good grinder

According to you which is the best espresso machine for making latte or cappuccino at home considering the budget. Please reply that would be helpful

Awesome video Tom, thanks. Watching couple of past videos about dedica v ecp i decided to buy the same delonghi machine like in the video (EU ecp31.21) and love it. With advanced gear makes one hell of a cup of coffe ;)

I've seen in a video someone using citric acid with water to descale machine. He says It works, just run lots of water after to clean any sour taste left. Do you think that might be an easy and good solution and how often do we need to descale our machines?(making 5-6 espresso per day)

Thanks for video!

I've disassembled my stilosa, which I'm going to assume has the same boiler/group on it as others that are similar from delonghi. The boiler cup I'll call it held 149g of water with meniscus. The top of the boiler which carries the element held 30g of water with meniscus. So I kind of estimated that the volume the element takes up basically is the same volume the top can hold. So I think it carries around 150g/ml of water. Which honestly blew my mind. I expected it to be much smaller. The element inside these boilers is also a super big coil and 1000W which is why they can heat up so quickly lol.

ty. how often should you clean it if making one a day

I find it more convenient to purchase a powder to make the descale solution for my Dedica. What is your opinion of Dezcal by Urnex?

What’s that on the interior side when you removed the shower screen? Residual coffee or is it rust?

How frequent do you descale your machines? I own a sage barista express and the descaling lights lights up, whenever it's time to descale? Should i rely on that or descale it ones in a while even the light doesnt turn on?
I live in Germany too and my water over here doesnt look that bad.

Thanx for the video! Looking forward for pid installation on ECP))