Last Updated on September 23, 2022 by Jorian
Maybe you woke up this morning, craving a nice cappuccino. You turned on your Breville espresso machine to froth the milk. But it didn’t work or it’s only half working.
If this is the case, then you landed on the right page because in this article I discuss the problems you can have with a Breville frother and the possible solutions.
How To Fix A Breville Steamer That Is Not Working?
When the frother is not working on your Breville, the first thing you should try is unclogging the tip of the wand from any limescale and milk residue. If this does not solve the problem, it’s best to run a full descaling cycle with the machine to clean out the rest of the steam wand.
Table of Contents
- How To Fix A Breville Steamer That Is Not Working?
- The Steam Wand of Breville Oracle is Leaking
- The Steam Wand Is Still Not Working
- Conclusion
Do The Obvious Checks
There are a few obvious things that can cause the steam wand to not work. The first thing you want to check is that your Breville machine is turned on.
The second thing to check is that there is water in the tank and the third thing is that you set the steam dial to the steam position and not the standby or the hot water position.
The Steam Wand Needs Unclogging
If you do not clean the steam wand every time you use it, it can happen that it gets clogged with dried milk inside. Causing the steamer to only drip some water out without steaming or to not work at all.
To unclog the steam wand. First, take the small tool with a pin on it and a hole in the center of the tool. The tool came with your machine when you first bought it.
Take the pin and insert it into the hole of the steam wand. Wiggle it a little to get all the dried milk loose. When that’s done, use the hole of the small tool to unscrew the end tip of the steam wand.
Get some hot water with Cafiza in it (the same stuff you use to descale your machine). Soak the steam wand tip in it for about 10 minutes. This will remove all the old dried milk, then rinse it with tap water and it should all be cleaned out.
Alternatively, you can use the water/ descaling solution that is left over after you descaled your espresso machine.
Now when you go to test if the steam wand is working, you should stand back and put the steam wand in a cup or tray, as it may sputter a lot of hot water when first using it again.
Prevent The Steam Wand From Getting Clogged
To prevent the steam wand from getting clogged in the future, you should do a quick clean every time you used it. First, wipe off the steam wand with a damp cloth to remove all the milk residue.
Then point the wand to the drip tray or in a container and turn the Steam/ hot water dial to steam for 10 seconds to get all the milk residue out of the inside of the steam wand.
Do A Descaling Cycle On The Breville Espresso Machine
Doing a full descaling cycle with your Breville espresso machine ensures that the rest of the steam wand also gets cleaned.
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. 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.
If you also want to clean the rest of your Breville espresso machine, make sure to check this article out where I explain how to clean the Breville Barista Express.
Now the steam wand should be completely clean and working again!
The Steam Wand of Breville Oracle is Leaking
When the steam wand on your Breville Oracle is leaking at the tip, there are usually two things that can cause this to happen.
The first problem may be that you did not tighten the end of the steam wand firmly enough. This may cause some water to leak through.
The second problem could be that the O ring that sits between the tip of the steam wand and the steam wand itself, is broken or has a small tear in it.
It is quite easy to replace the O ring. All you have to do is unscrew the tip from the steam wand and apply a new O ring, then screw the tip back on firmly.
The Steam Wand Is Still Not Working
If you’ve tried everything described in this article and your Breville espresso machine is still not working, It’s probably best to contact Breville customer support.
If you’re still under guarantee, they will usually take your machine in and repair it for you. Or the person on the phone can guide you to fix it.
Conclusion
It can be annoying when you want to make a cappuccino but the steam wand is not working. Luckily, there usually is a simple solution to this problem. To summarize, here are the things you can do to get your steam wand to work again:
- Unclog the steam wand
- Run a descaling cycle
- Make sure the machine is plugged in and has water in the tank
- Contact customer support if nothing worked
I hoped that this article helped you to get the steam wand on your espresso machine working again and that you can enjoy a nice cappuccino now!
Thanks for reading!