When it comes to automatic coffee machines, Nespresso is easily one of the best brands on the market to go for. They’ve been leading the way for many years in giving customers the most convenient and affordable ways to get hold of a fresh cup of coffee in the morning.
Their Vertuo machine is just one of those products that take all the hassle out of making coffee. There’s no grinding coffee beans, no measuring out grounds, no steaming your own milk, and you don’t even have to pour the drink yourself. Talk about an all-in-one coffee experience!
In fact, the only thing you have to do for yourself with this machine is to make sure it stays in good working condition by cleaning it regularly. Don’t worry if you’ve never cleaned a coffee machine before because Nespresso does a good job of making it as simple as it is to use their products.
In this guide, we’ll run you through the step-by-step process for cleaning your Nespresso Vertuo and give you all the handy tips and tricks for keeping it in great condition and extending its lifespan as far as possible.
Step-By-Step Process For Cleaning A Nespresso Vertuo
All of the information from this guide comes from Nespresso’s own manual for cleaning this product but feel free to consult their website if you have any other issues.
Water Tank
The first place to start is with the water tank/reservoir that goes at the back of the Vertuo machine. This step is as simple as removing the tank from the rest of the machine and cleaning it and its lid in the sink, just like you would with normal dishes
Once you’ve cleaned the tank and its lid, rinsed off any soapy residue, and dried the outside, simply refill it with water and put the tank back in its place on the machine.
Cup Support
The cup that goes underneath the spout of your Vertuo machine also needs to be cleaned. This is often much cleaner already than the water tank so will only need to be rinsed.
However, once you’ve cleaned the cup support, don’t reattach it and instead put a large glass or container (at least 1 liter or 34-ounce capacity) under the coffee outlet to prepare for the next steps in the process.
Cleaning The Insides
The next thing you need to do is open up the machine head and eject any used capsules that may be left inside. These can be discarded in the trash.
You should then empty the capsule container of any unused capsules that may be inside it so that you can rinse this component off in your sink. Similarly, remove the drip tray from under the coffee outlet and rinse under running water as well.
Lock The Machine Head
Simply close the machine head again, making sure there are definitely no capsules left inside.
Then, turn the handle to the left to put the machine in its locked position and wait for the machine to heat up. The display will show a blinking light while the machine is heating up and then a steady light once it is ready.
Waiting for the steady light is crucial and won’t take more than a couple of minutes.
Activate The Cleaning Procedure
Remember what we said about Nespresso making the cleaning process as easy as using the machine? Well, they even have an automatic cleaning procedure that you can run through the machine and not have to lift a finger!
Once the machine is heated up fully, and displays a steady white light, push the button 3 times quickly, within 2 seconds. The button will then blink rapidly to indicate that the procedure has been started. After a couple of minutes, a stream of water will start to flow out of the coffee outlet, into the container you prepared earlier.
The whole procedure will last for around 7 minutes so don’t worry about having to watch or keep an eye on it, just make sure your separate container has enough capacity to hold all the cleaning water.
Relax!
As we said, you don’t have to stay with the machine to monitor the cleaning process so you can feel free to go away and do something else while you wait.
However, if you’re not sure about it and want to keep an eye on things, you can always stop the cleaning procedure at any point by pressing the button again. The button will then change to a steady white light again.
You can then restart the cleaning procedure by pressing the button another time and the same flashing light will show.
Reassemble Your Machine
Once the cleaning procedure is finished, all that’s left to do is remove the separate container with the cleaning water (which can be poured down the sink) and put your machine back together.
Make sure all the components you removed are completely clean and dry before reattaching them but there’s no specific order in which you have to place them back.
Tips For Cleaning Your Nespresso Vertuo
Despite the automatic cleaning procedure being super straightforward and hassle-free, there are a few other things you should consider about keeping your machine clean.
Primarily, make sure you don’t use any strong or abrasive cleaning chemicals or solvents. This could end up doing damage to your machine and actually make it worse than it was in the first place.
Similarly, never put the machine in a dishwasher or submerge it in water. The internal components of the machine itself have a lot of electrical parts which will get damaged by exposure to water so it’s best to leave the machine to go through its own cleaning procedure.
How Often Should I Clean My Nespresso Vertuo?
This depends mostly on how often you use your Nespresso Vertuo. For example, if you use the machine to make multiple coffee drinks every day, it’s a good idea to run through the cleaning procedure once per week.
However, if you only make one drink every few days with the machine, you can get away with only cleaning it once per month.
Ultimately, you should judge for yourself whether the machine needs to be cleaned and go through the procedure whenever you feel it needs to be done.
Final Thoughts
See? Cleaning a Nespresso Vertuo really is just as easy as using the machine to make coffee!
Nespresso truly is one of the best brands out there for automatic coffee machines like the Vertuo because they take all the work out of making the drinks.
Now, armed with this knowledge, you’ll hardly have to do any work to keep it clean either!
