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Descale with citric acid and rinse: Decent Espresso DE1, Decent Espresso DE1PRO and Decent Espresso DE1XL
Before you start
- Time
- About 6 minutes (the descale cycle itself; rinsing takes 7-8 L of water on top)
- Tools
- milk jug or container
- Supplies
- food-grade citric acid (80 g in 1,540 mL of water (5%)); filtered water for rinsing (about 7-8 L)
Warnings
- Descale with citric acid only; other descalers can damage the seals and clogging from them is not covered by warranty. Source: Decent docs: DE1 Descaling Instructions (updated 2026-09)
- Do not use hot water for the solution; room temperature to warm is enough. Source: Decent docs: DE1 Descaling Instructions (updated 2026-09)
- On early v1.0 or v1.1 machines keep the solution at 5% or weaker, or the old pressure sensor can be damaged. Source: Decent docs: DE1 Descaling Instructions (updated 2026-09)
- Never skip the rinse: solution stays in the water lines after the cycle. Source: Decent docs: DE1 Descaling Instructions (updated 2026-09)
Steps
- Turn the steam heater off on the Steam page before starting the descale function.
From the manual: “Disable the steam heater on the Steam page before using the Descale function.”
- Wait for the steam temperature to fall to 60 °C or below; this can take up to an hour.
From the manual: “This can take up to an hour.”
- Mix 80 g of citric acid into 1,540 mL of room-temperature to warm water and stir well.
From the manual: “We recommend using 1,540 mL of water with 80 g of citric acid”
- Pour the solution into the water tank.
From the manual: “until the solution in the water tank is used up.”
- Unscrew the steam tip.
From the manual: “Remove the steam tip.”
- On the tablet open Settings > Machine > Descale and tap Descale now to start the cycle, which runs about 6 minutes.
From the manual: “On the tablet, tap "Descale now" on the Descaling screen.”
- Empty the drip tray when the cycle ends.
From the manual: “Make sure to empty the drip tray at the end of each cycle.”
- Run the descale cycle again, up to 3 times in all, until the tank solution is used up. Optional
From the manual: “You can repeat the Descale cycle up to 3 times”
- Optionally use the Transport feature to purge as much leftover solution as possible. Optional
From the manual: “you can use the Transport feature to remove as much of the remaining solution as possible.”
- Switch the steam heater back on.
From the manual: “Turn the steam heater back on.”
- Empty and clean the water tank, then fill it right up with fresh filtered water.
From the manual: “Fill the reservoir completely with fresh filtered water.”
- Flush water through the group head until the app asks for a refill.
From the manual: “Flush water through the group head until the app displays the refill message.”
- Refill with fresh filtered water and flush the group again.
From the manual: “Refill the water reservoir with fresh filtered water.”
- Taste the water from the group; keep flushing fresh water while it tastes sour or smells of citrus. Repeat until no acidic taste or smell
From the manual: “If the water tastes acidic, continue flushing with fresh water.”
- With the steam tip still off, set the steam time to 100 seconds.
From the manual: “Set the steam time to 100 seconds”
- Run the steam cycle 5 times. Repeat 5
From the manual: “Run the steam cycle 5 times”
- Taste the steam-line water and run more steam cycles while any acid taste remains. Repeat until the taste is gone
From the manual: “continue running additional steam cycles until the taste is gone.”
- Screw the steam tip back on once the acid taste is gone.
From the manual: “Once you confirm that there is no more acidic taste, reinstall the steam tip.”
Sources
- Decent docs: DE1 Descaling Instructions (updated 2026-09) Maker’s support page
- Decent DE1 Quickstart Guide (PDF, June 2023; covers DE1PRO and DE1XL) Manual
Researched on .
Published: the sentence is on the maker’s own page or in the maker’s own document.