Your “clean me” light came on and you’ve done the cleaning cycle, But the light is still on. You’ve searched all over the internet, maybe even referred to the Breville manual but you still couldn’t find the answer.
Luckily for you, you’ve landed on this page. I will tell you exactly how to turn off that clean me descale light.
How To Turn Off The Clean Me Light?
Most people only do the cleaning cycle and think they’re done, but you also got to do the descaling cycle to turn off the “clean me” light.
To perform the descaling cycle, simply dissolve the descaling solution in the tank per instructions on the bottle. Then turn the machine off, hold the single-shot and power button for 5 seconds until the lights start blinking. Hold the one-cup button for 25 seconds, then turn the hot water on for 10 seconds and finally turn the steamer on for 15 seconds. Repeat this process until you emptied the water tank.
Now the descaling light should be off again, Let’s dive into some more detail now.
Table of Contents
The newer Breville Barista Express not only has a dedicated cleaning process but also a descaling process. In order for the “clean me” light to turn off, you have to do both processes and you have to do them the right way.
Cleaning Cycle On The Breville Espresso Machine
Take out the portafilter, and put the one-cup basket and the cleaning disk in. Get a cleaning tablet and place it in the center of the portafilter. Then reinstall the portafilter.
Make sure to not use the branded Breville cleaning tablets. They are way more expensive than some generic cleaning tablets that do exactly the same. These third-party cleaning tablets work perfectly for me.
Place a large container under the portafilter. Then press and hold the one-cup, two-cup, and power buttons for 10 seconds until the cleaning cycle begins.
Wait until it’s finished, and then your clean me light is still on probably…
Descaling Cycle On The Breville Espresso Machine
Before you start the descaling process it’s important to know that you cannot use white vinegar to descale your Breville espresso machine, this will damage the machine.
What you need to use is a descaling solution. Again, make sure to not use the branded Breville solution. They are way more expensive than a non-branded descaling solution. I always use this descaling solution for my machine.
Once you have the descaling solution, you want to follow the instructions on the bottle to dissolve it in the water tank. I usually use a one-to-one ratio of solution to water.
Then you need to turn your machine off, hold the two-cup button and the power button for 5 seconds. Then some lights will start flashing and you’re in descaling mode.
Now that you’re in descaling mode you first need to hold the one-cup button for 25 seconds so the water can run through the portafilter.
Then turn the hot water on for 10 seconds and finally turn the steamer on for 15 seconds. Repeat the cycle until the water tank is empty. Once the tank is empty, you can turn it off.
When you turn your Breville back on again the clean me descaling light should be off.
The “Clean me” Light Is Still On
If you’ve performed these two cycles and the clean me light is still on. The first thing you want to try is unplugging your machine and waiting a few minutes, then plugging it back in again.
If that didn’t work your best shot is to do both the cycles again. Sometimes when you make one small mistake it can mess up the cycle and the light will stay on even though you’ve descaled your machine.
This time you don’t have to use the cleaning tablets or descaling solution, since you’ve already done that.
If after the second time doing the cycle, the “clean me” light is still on. You should contact Breville customer support. They might know a fix or they can repair your machine if you’re still under guarantee.
Conclusion
It can be annoying when you’ve done the cleaning cycle but that clean me light still stays on. luckily there is a simple solution and that is to do the descaling cycle which is different from the cleaning cycle.
To summarize, here is how you perform the descaling cycle to turn off that clean light again:
- Dissolve the descaling solution in the tank per instructions on the bottle
- Turn the machine off
- Hold the single-shot and power button for 5 seconds until the lights start blinking
- Hold the one-cup button for 25 seconds
- Turn the hot water on for 10 seconds
- Turn the steamer on for 15 seconds
- Repeat this process until you emptied the water tank
I hope your clean descaling light is now off and that you can enjoy a nice espresso again!
Thanks for reading!