Recently I was reading an article on ConsumerReports.Org about the importance of regular cleaning of our coffee machines at home.
In this article, CR’ test engineer for coffee machines, named as Ginny Lui; emphasizes the fact that its really important to clean your coffee maker every 3 to 6 months at least.
The frequency of coffee machine cleaning also depends on how many times you use it on a daily basis.
One of the most popular and widely used espresso coffee machine cleaner is Cafiza.
Today, we are going to learn more about Cafiza espresso machine cleaner.
It comes in powder as well tablet format.
I will try my best to provide every possible pros and cons of Cafiza cleaning solution here.
So without further delay, lets get to it.
Table of Contents
- Most Frequently Asked Questions About Cafiza Cleaner
- 7 Easy Steps to Clean Any Espresso Coffee Machine with Cafiza Cleaner
- How to Backflush Your Espresso Coffee Machine with Cafiza
- Wrapping Up
Most Frequently Asked Questions About Cafiza Cleaner
What is Cafiza Made of?
If you look at the Cafiza cleaning tablet bottle, then you can clearly see the actual ingredients.
The main ingredients that are used to make Cafiza cleaning powder or tablet are Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Sodium Percarbonate, Sulphamic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Alcohol, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, etc.
Is Cafiza a Descaler Solution?
No, Cafiza is not a typical descaler solution but it is an extremely effective coffee maker cleaner solution.
It should not be used to descale coffee makers.
But it is highly efficient in cleaning espresso coffee makers.
You can easily clean all the coffee machine parts with either Cafiza powder or tablets.
Especially, if your machine has lot of caked on coffee residue and oil stains; then you can surely use this cleaning solution.
With Cafiza cleaner solution, you can clean various internal and external coffee machine parts such as valves, lines, groupheads, coffee pots, filter baskets, portafilters, water reservoir, decanter, etc.
Is Cafiza Toxic or Harmful for Humans?
If you check out the Urnex instruction document for Cafiza, then you will know that Cafiza is organically listed by the Organic Material Review Institute.
It is also a NSF Certified product and its completely safe to clean your espresso coffee machines with Cafiza cleaner.
But if you refer to safety data sheet from Urnex, then you will understand few side effects of this cleaner.
There are certain ingredients of this product that can cause serious eye irritation, skin irritation and respiratory irritation if you come into close contact with this substance.
So, the manufacturer has advised to wear gloves and face mask when you handle this product with your hands.
Don’t touch it with your bare hands and try not to inhale the powder particles.
By analysing these facts, we can conclude that Cafiza might be harmful for humans if come in close contact with your skin or eyes. But it is not entirely toxic in nature.
Just use it while wearing gloves and possibly mask if you are using it in powder format to stay safe.
Want to Know How to Use CLR to Clean Your Coffee Maker? Check out Complete Guide Here.
7 Easy Steps to Clean Any Espresso Coffee Machine with Cafiza Cleaner
You have already seen how much coffee oil and coffee grime gets deposited on the porta filters of your espresso coffee maker.
These old hard stains are really difficult to remove with your traditional detergent soap and dishwashers.
And this is where Cafiza powder or cleaning tablets can come really handy and useful for you.
With this cleaning solution, you even don’t have to scrub your filters a lot unlike other cleaning products.
It also efficiently cleans all the coffee equipments like drip tray, filter basket, that have really hard to clean baked on coffee oil and residue deposited.
You can safely clean all types of plastic and metal surfaces with this solution.
What You will Need:
1 Teaspoon of Cafiza Cleaner Powder
32 Oz of Hot Water
Espresso Coffee Maker Cleaning Brush
Actual Cleaning Procedure:
1. First take 30-32 ounce of hot water in a glass bowl and take 1 tea spoon of Cafiza cleaning powder.
2. Mix the solution well and let it soak for next 30 minutes.
3. Once 30 minutes are completed, just rinse the solution with the brush again and your cleaning solution is now ready to remove all hard coffee oil residues.
4. Now take out the porta filter of your espresso coffee maker and in order to clean it, you only need to use our Cafiza diluted solution that we have prepared in the above steps.
5. Take your coffee maker cleaning brush and dip it inside the cleaning solution. Now start scrubbing your porta filter with it.
6. You won’t have to scrub it a lot. You can also pour some solution inside the porta filter to expedite the cleaning process.
7. Once you see good cleaning results, then just wash your porta filter under the clean tap water and install it back in the espresso machine.
Check out the following porta filter cleaning video to understand the cleaning process more vividly.
Click Here to Get Cafiza Cleaning Powder to Clean Your Espresso Coffee Machine Parts.
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How to Backflush Your Espresso Coffee Machine with Cafiza
Backflushing your espresso coffee machine is highly recommended in order to maintain the overall cleanliness of your machine.
It also keeps the taste and flavour of your coffee intact and prevents your machine from getting coffee oil residue and bacterial buildup.
You need to backflush your espresso coffee machine for at least once or twice in a month depending on the frequency of your coffee making.
Traditional cleaning solutions like vinegar and baking soda will not be able to clean your machine properly and they usually leave unwanted residue smell which affects the taste of your coffee.
In order to prevent these issues, I recommend you to use Cafiza cleaning powder which does not leave any residue smell and its very easy to backflush with this cleaning solution.
What You Need:
3 gm of Cafiza Cleaning Powder
Actual Backflushing Procedure:
1. First, take out the porta filter of your espresso coffee machine and pour 3 gm of Cafiza cleaning powder in the blind portafilter basket.
2. Now, insert back the portafilter in the machine and lock it safely.
3. After this, turn on the power and let the brew cycle run for next 10 seconds. You will need to run this brew cycle for at least 5 times to get the better results.
4. If your machine has automatic cleaning cycle, then just run it 5 times and you are green to do further steps.
5. After every 10 sec cycle, you will just need to switch off the power knob, remove the portafilter, dump the cleaning solution, rinse the filter under the water, and then repeat the whole cycle again for 5 more times.
6. To clean it further, you can even brew a real coffee using the portafilter and throw out that coffee to remove any remaining minor residue of the cleaning solution.
To understand the whole backflushing process more precisely, I recommend you to watch the following instructional video.
Caution:Let me tell you that this backflushing method is effective only when you have an espresso machine with 3-way valve.
My recommendation is don’t dry this method if you don’t have a 3-way valve machine at your home or office.
After 5 cleaning cycles are done, you will get a thoroughly cleaned and disinfected porta filter, safe for hygienicand tasty coffee brewing.
If you want, you can also clean other coffee machine parts with Cafiza, just like I mentioned in the above cleaning section.
Just remember, when you clean the coffee machine parts like coffee carafe or mug, filter basket, etc.; you will just need to add 6 gm of Cafiza powder to 1 litre of clean hot water.
Put all the parts in the solution, let them soak in the solution for about 20-30 minutes. After that, just rinse the parts with clean water again and you are good to go.
Wrapping Up
Cleaning your espresso coffee machine parts with Cafiza cleaning powder is really an easy and safe process.
There is no residue smell which you will experience in your coffee afterwards.
And the best thing is it is highly cost effective and produces quick results with minimal cleaning steps.
I highly recommend you to use this cleaning solution for backflushing as well as cleaning other espresso machine parts at your home or your office.
If you want to use substitute cleaning solutions, then check out our guide on Cafiza Alternative options.
References:
https://urnex.com/cafiza-espresso-machine-cleaning-powder
https://www.consumerreports.org/coffee-makers/how-to-clean-your-coffee-maker/
https://cdnimg.webstaurantstore.com/documents/sds/urnex_12-esp100-14_and_12-esp12-20_sds.pdf