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Welcome Sweet Pals!
You have been enjoying Delicious coffee cups from Nespresso Citiz for quite some time, and So do I. But Now the machine is giving me signs, and I can expect Yours too -for Descaling- by minimizing coffee quality and quantity. This means now it’s our turn to give the Nespresso Citiz machine a little payback. I am gladly here to be your helper on our Descaling journey, and I will guide you on giving a proper Descale to your coffee machine as I have done for mine.
Before starting the procedure, I would be pleased to present you Best Nespresso Machines Guide as it will surely be a great deal of help in knowing more about the best Nespresso Machines and to help you choose which one falls best on your wishes.
Related: Nespresso Descaling Solution Review →
Grab & place your Nespresso Citiz in front of you and let’s get going 🙂
A Step-By-Step Guide On How You Can Descale Your Nespresso Citiz
Descaling is an excellent way to keep your brewer in good working condition. It removes dirt, coffee grounds buildups, dust residues, etc., which can also harm your health. So let’s clean your coffee machine right away.
Instruction:-
- First thing first, empty your machine. Remove any capsule if present by lifting and closing the liver.
- Empty the drip tray, capsule container, and water tank as well.
- Place a container of 1L under the coffee outlet.
- Pour a half liter of clean water into the water tank.
- Grab your Nespresso Descaling Kit and add 1 whole sachet into the water tank.
- Turn ON the machine by pressing either Espresso or Lungo button.
- The machine will then start heating up. It will take approx. 25 seconds (represented by the blinking of LEDs)
- After 25 seconds, LEDs will become still, which means the machine is heated up and ready.
- Now, it’s time to enter the machine in descaling mode. To do this, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo buttons altogether for 3 seconds.
- The Espresso and Lungo lights will start blinking.
- Press and hold the Lungo button until the whole water from the water tank is poured into the 1 L container.
- Refill the water tank with the poured liquid in the container.
- Repeat the procedure from points 12 to 13 about 4 times or more if necessary (6 times).
- After this, empty and clean the water tank and the container thoroughly.
- Fill the water tank with fresh water.
- Place the container back under the coffee outlet.
- To start the rinsing process, press and hold the Lungo button until the water is empty. Rinsing has been done.
- Discard the poured water and exit the descaling mode.
- To exit the descaling mode simultaneously, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button for 3 seconds.
- Your machine is now descaled.
Note: The whole descaling process will hardly take 20-25 minutes of yours. And throughout the process, you must be careful with the descaling solution and follow the recommended safety precautions.
When Is The Right Time To Descale Your Nespresso Citiz?
I have prepared a table based on the water hardness, which will show you the descaling frequency required for the optimum performance of your Nespresso Citiz machine.
| Water Hardness French Grade (fH) | Water Hardness German Grade (dH) | Water Hardness Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) | Descale After |
| 36 | 20 | 360 mg/l | 300 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 18 | 10 | 180 mg/l | 600 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 0 | 0 | 0 mg/l | 1200 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
Video On How To Descale Your Nespresso Citiz
Besides reading, watching a video is also a much nicer way to learn the process. So click on the video below on how to descale your Nespresso Citiz machine.
Video Link:
Guide On How To Descale Your Nespresso Citiz
To further give you an understanding related to descaling and the Nespresso Citiz machine, I would recommend reading the guide below, as it would help give answers to your in-the-light or under-the-shadows questions.
What Is Nespresso Descaling Mode?
Descaling mode allows your machine to perform the descaling process, which is a significant part of Nespresso machine life. Descaling helps your machine in giving a nice extraction of flavors from the coffee capsule into the coffee cups. It removes all sorts of deposits, including calcium or magnesium deposits due to hard water, coffee ground deposits due to continuous usage, and dirt deposits.
What Happens If You Don’t Descale Your Nespresso?
If you don’t descale your Nespresso on time, you will start to feel your coffee volume has been decreasing gradually, and so has the coffee quality. The prolonged use of machines causes the residue to build up in the machine, which can spread their spoiled taste into the newly formed coffee. These deposits can also partially block the coffee flow. Further, the calcium/magnesium deposit in the water pipes from the hard water can also minimize the thorough saturation of coffee grounds and hence affect the coffee. All-and-all you must descale your coffee machine on time which is twice a year.
Can You Descale Nespresso With Just Water?
Simple cleaning can be done by internally rinsing the machine using water. However, you cannot descale your machine with only water as those hard-to-break residues or deposits will not be removed by just water. They need some strong cleaning agent. You can add vinegar to water and use it for descaling, but it is not advisable by Nespresso as vinegar can affect the machine’s internal parts. For descaling, Nespresso Descaling Kit is recommended.
How Do You Activate The Descaling Mode In Nespresso Citiz?
To enter the machine in Descaling mode, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds. Both the Espresso and Lungo Buttons LEDs will start blinking means the machine has been entered into the descaling mode.
What Buttons Do You Press To Descale A Nespresso Citiz Machine?
Firstly you have to enter the machine in descaling mode. To do this, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button for 3 seconds simultaneously. The LEDs will start blinking means the descaling mode has been activated. Then to perform the descaling process, press and hold the Lungo button until the water tank is emptied and all the solution from the tank has been poured into the container.
How Do I Know If My Nespresso Is In Descaling Mode?
When both the Espresso and Lungo buttons’ LEDs are flashing, then it means your machine is in descaling mode. If not, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button for three seconds; your machine will then enter the descaling mode.
How Do I Reset My Nespresso Citiz After Descaling?
To reset your Nespresso Citiz, you have to turn OFF the machine. For this, press both the Espresso and Lungo button simultaneously. After this, press and hold the Lungo button for 5 seconds. The LEDs will start blinking fastly for three seconds, ensuring resetting has been done. After this, the machine LEDs will normally blink for approx. 25 seconds. It means the machine has been heating up.
Is Descaling Nespresso Citiz Necessary?
Descaling is necessary for Nespresso Citiz as it internally cleans the brewer by removing all sorts of residues, buildups, and dirt particles that can be harmful to your health and the coffee quality.
Why Is The Descaling Light Still On After Descaling Nespresso?
If your Nespresso descaling light is still on after descaling, then you should repeat the rinsing cycle with clean water until the light disappears. For rinsing, fill the tank with fresh water and place a container under the coffee outlet. Press and hold the Lungo button until the whole tank becomes empty.
Why Is My Nespresso Machine Still Blinking After Descaling?
If your Nespresso machine is blinking, it means the machine has not exited the descaling mode. To exit the descaling mode simultaneously, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button for 3 seconds.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have A Descaling Solution?
If you don’t have a Descaling solution, then you can use vinegar instead. But prolonged usage of vinegar will affect your machine’s internal parts, and also it is not recommended by Nespresso itself. Rather use Nespresso Descaling Kit for descaling.
Is A Nespresso Descaling Kit Necessary for the descaling process?
Yes, if you want to descale your Nespresso machine, then you must have a Nespresso Descaling kit, as the Nespresso descaling solution is specially made according to the machine’s internal parts sensitivity. The more acidic solution can affect the machine internally.
What Buttons Do I Press To Descale My Nespresso Citiz Machine?
To start the descaling process, first, you have to enter the machine in descaling mode. Press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button together for 3 seconds. The machine will enter into the descaling mode. Then press and hold the Lungo button until the water tank empties.
How Often Do You Need To Descale Nespresso?
The general guideline from Nespresso says that you should descale your Nespresso Twice a year. However, water hardness and some other factors can play a role in determining when you should descale your brewer. The table below will give you more detail on when you should descale your brewer.
| Water Hardness French Grade (fH) | Water Hardness German Grade (dH) | Water Hardness Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) | Descale After |
| 36 | 20 | 360 mg/l | 300 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 18 | 10 | 180 mg/l | 600 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 0 | 0 | 0 mg/l | 1200 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
Which Acid Is Best For Descaling?
Generally, Citric acid is said to be considered best for descaling your coffee machine. You can also use vinegar which has acetic acid in it.
How Many Times Rinse After Descaling?
You should rinse at least 4 times after descaling your machine. However, if the water still comes out lathering, then you can rinse more than four times until clean water starts coming out.
Conclusion
As you have now acknowledged the descaling procedure and things related to descaling in-depth, I am hoping that in the future, you will not have any problem in descaling your Nespresso Citiz after following my guidelines.
If you want to know more processes relating to Nespresso Citiz, then you can see our Review on the Nespresso Citiz machine and How to Use Nespresso Citiz guides as well.
Adieu, Sweet Pals!
Faqs
When Should I Descale My Nespresso Citiz?
The generally recommended period to descale your Nespresso Citiz is twice a year. The descaling period can be changed according to the usage and water hardness. According to the below table, you can see when you should descale your Nespresso Citiz.
| Water Hardness French Grade (fH) | Water Hardness German Grade (dH) | Water Hardness Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) | Descale After |
| 36 | 20 | 360 mg/l | 300 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 18 | 10 | 180 mg/l | 600 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
| 0 | 0 | 0 mg/l | 1200 Cups (40 ml or 1.35 oz) |
How Do I Descale My Nespresso Citiz?
To descale your Nespresso Citiz, you have to turn the machine ON (by pressing either Espresso or Lungo button). Grab your Nespresso Descaling sachet and pour it into the tank. Add 1 liter of water to the tank. Place a minimum 1 Liter container under the Coffee outlet. Enter the descaling mode by pressing and holding the Espresso and Lungo button for 3 secs. Now press and hold the Lungo button until the tank becomes empty. Refill the tank with the solution that has been poured into the container. And repeat the process one more time. Then clean and refill the tank with fresh water and rinse your machine 4-6 times. To exit the descaling mode, press the Lungo button and Espresso button simultaneously for 3 seconds.
How Do I Force Descale My Nespresso Citiz Coffee Machines?
To force descale your Nespresso Citiz machine, press and hold the Espresso and Lungo button for three seconds. The machine will then enter into the descaling mode.
Can I Use Vinegar And Water To Descale My Nespresso Citiz Machine?
You can use vinegar by adding it to water for descaling. But it is not advisable by Nespresso as vinegar can affect the machine. You should only use the Nespresso Descaling kit for descaling Nespresso Citiz.
