Guide · Cleaning and maintenance
Cafiza vs descaler: which does what?
Espresso detergent such as Cafiza removes coffee oils from the group; a descaler removes mineral scale inside the machine. Why they are not interchangeable.
Short answer
They clean different things. Cafiza is an espresso-machine detergent: Urnex says it removes coffee residue and oils from group heads, valves and lines.[1] A descaler is usually an acid-based product that dissolves the mineral scale hard water leaves inside the boiler and pipes. Use each only as your machine's manual directs, and never one in place of the other.
Side by side
| Espresso detergent (such as Cafiza) | Descaler | |
|---|---|---|
| What it removes | Coffee residue and oils[1] | Mineral scale from water |
| Where it works | The group head, valves and lines, plus parts you soak[1] | The water path: tank, pump, boiler and pipes |
| How you use it | In a blind basket during a backflush, or as a soak for baskets and the portafilter head[1] | Run through the machine from the water tank, following the manual's descaling procedure |
| How often | The manual's schedule, for example about every 90 to 140 cups on Profitec and ECM machines[2][3] | The manual's schedule, which usually depends on your water |
| Which machines | Machines whose manual describes a backflush | Machines whose manual describes descaling |
The two products work on opposite sides of the brewing process. Detergent cleans where coffee has been. Descaler cleans where only water goes.
What Cafiza is for
Urnex's published instructions cover two uses:[1]
- Backflushing: up to 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) in a blind filter, brewing for 10 seconds and stopping for 10 seconds five times, rinsing, repeating five times without powder, then pulling an espresso to remove traces of cleaner and throwing it away.
- Soaking parts: 6 g of powder per liter of hot water for 30 minutes, then rinse. Urnex says not to submerge the handle if you soak a portafilter.
Urnex also says Cafiza is NSF and Kosher (pareve) certified. Its page describes cleaning, not descaling, so do not treat Cafiza as a descaler.[1]
Our backflushing guide walks through the routine and how to check that your machine is built for it.
What descaling is for
Tap water carries dissolved minerals. When it is heated, some of them come out as scale on the inside of the boiler, the heating element and the pipes. Scale builds up where coffee never goes, so a backflush cannot reach it.
Descaling procedures are machine-specific. They depend on how the machine heats water, what its parts are made of and whether it has a built-in descale program. Use the descaler and the steps your manual names. Breville keeps the two jobs apart explicitly: its Barista Express guide says the back-flushing cleaning cycle "is separate from descaling".[4]
We do not give a universal descaling schedule, because the right interval depends on your water and your machine. If your manual gives one, follow it.
Which one is your machine asking for?
Some machines prompt you, and the prompt tells you which job is due.
- A cleaning light is a detergent job. On the Barista Express, the CLEAN ME light calls for the back-flushing cleaning cycle with the 1 CUP basket, the cleaning disc and one cleaning tablet, which takes about 5 minutes.[4]
- A descale prompt is a scale job. If your machine has one, follow the descaling steps in its manual, with the product it names.
- No prompts at all? Use the schedules in the manual. Profitec and ECM, for example, give a detergent interval of about 90 to 140 cups.[2][3]
If you are not sure which process a prompt means, the manual's own wording settles it. Do not guess with chemicals.
Common mix-ups
- Running descaler through a blind basket. A backflush routine is for detergent or water, not for descaler, unless your manual says otherwise.
- Putting detergent in the water tank. Urnex's Cafiza instructions cover backflushing and soaking parts, not the tank.[1]
- Treating cleaning tablets as descaler. Breville's cleaning cycle uses a cleaning tablet with the cleaning disc in the 1 CUP basket; that cycle is the back-flushing clean, not a descale.[4]
- Cleaning with detergent too often. Profitec and ECM both warn that cleaning too often with detergent degreases the moving parts of the group, which can lead to squeaking and faster wear, and suggest occasional rinses without cleaner in between.[2][3]
- Skipping the plain-water routine. For the Barista Express, Breville recommends a clear-water backflush after each brewing session, separate from the detergent cycle.[5]
A simple maintenance rhythm
- After each session: rinse the basket and portafilter, wipe the group, and run a clear-water backflush if your manual calls for it.
- On your manual's detergent schedule: a detergent backflush, then a discarded shot.
- Now and then: soak baskets and the portafilter head (not the handle) in detergent solution.
- On your manual's descaling schedule: descale with the product it names, then flush as the manual directs.
Next
Questions
Can I descale with Cafiza?
No. Urnex describes Cafiza as removing coffee residue and oils, and its page does not present it as a descaler. Use the descaler your machine's manual names.[1]
Can I backflush with descaler?
Only if your manual says so. Breville, for example, describes its back-flushing cleaning cycle as separate from descaling, and the two use different products.[4]
Are Breville cleaning tablets a descaler?
No. Breville's Barista Express guide uses one cleaning tablet with the cleaning disc for its back-flushing cleaning cycle, which it says is separate from descaling.[4]
Is Cafiza safe to use on parts that touch coffee?
Urnex says Cafiza is NSF and Kosher (pareve) certified. Rinse thoroughly, and after a backflush pull and discard one espresso, as Urnex directs.[1]
Can I use vinegar to descale my espresso machine?
Use the descaler and procedure in your machine's manual. We have no verified source on vinegar for espresso machines, so we do not recommend improvising with it.