8 products
Cafetto LOD Liquid Organic Descaler 1L
Cafetto Tevo Organic Espresso Clean Maxi Tablets 150 pack
Cafetto Espresso Clean Tablets
How to choose cleaning products for a Lelit espresso machine
A Lelit needs three things looked after: the group head, which collects coffee oils and needs a regular backflush; the water, which should be softened before it reaches the boiler; and limescale, which Lelit would rather you prevent than remove. Choose by the job, then by your model, because Lelit's own advice on descaling changes from the Anna to the Bianca.
Backflush cleaner: the weekly or monthly job
Every Lelit from the Anna to the Bianca comes with a blind filter for backflushing. Lelit's Mara X and Bianca manuals say to backflush weekly. The Anna manual says at least once a week or every 100 coffees. The Victoria and Elizabeth manuals say once a month, using the automatic washing cycle on the LCC display, and the Kate is the Victoria with a grinder. The method is the same on all of them: blind filter in, one dose of cleaner on top, run the group for ten seconds, rest for ten, repeat, then rinse with the blind filter and no cleaner until the water runs clear, and throw away the first shot. Soak the portafilter and baskets in the same cleaner for ten minutes while you are at it.
- Cafetto Espresso Clean powder in 500 g or 1 kg tubs with a scoop: the lowest cost per backflush, and the tub doubles as the soaking solution for portafilters and baskets.
- Espresso Clean 5 g sachets, 12 to a box: one sachet is one backflush, nothing to measure.
- Espresso Clean tablets, 150 to a tub: one tablet per backflush, or one dissolved in 500 ml of hot water to soak the portafilter. Safe on brass, stainless steel and copper.
- Cafetto Tevo organic maxi tablets, 150 to a tub: the same job, certified organic and free of phosphate.
Lelit's own detergent dose is 3 to 5 g of powder per backflush. One Cafetto scoop, sachet or tablet is that dose.
The in-tank water filter: Lelit's answer to limescale
Lelit's manuals recommend a resin filter in the tank rather than descaling, and the Lelit MC747PLUS anti-scale filter is that filter. It is a sodium-based cation exchanger: it swaps the calcium and magnesium in your tap water, the minerals that form scale, for sodium. Lelit says it is compatible with all Lelit coffee machines, and the Anna, Victoria, Elizabeth, Mara X and Bianca manuals all tell you to use one. Each filter is rated for 70 litres. Lelit's rule is to replace it after 28 full tanks or four months, whichever comes first, and to fit a new one if the machine has sat unused for a month. Soak a new filter in a jug of water for about three minutes to purge the air, then fit it to the rubber support in the bottom of the tank and push the pump's intake tube onto its nozzle. The 2 pack covers eight months. A tank filter only treats water drawn from the tank, so a plumbed-in Bianca needs filtration on the supply line instead.
Descaling: check your model before you buy a descaler
This is where Lelit's advice differs by machine, and it is why the descalers come last on this page.
- Mara X and Bianca: Lelit's manuals say the hydraulic circuit should be descaled once a year by a specialised technician, after the machine's condition has been checked, to avoid damaging internal parts. We service the machines we sell at our own service centres in Melbourne and Sydney, so book it in with us.
- Elizabeth: the manual is blunt: never, under any circumstances, add descaling products to the water tank. Prevent scale with the filter and have the boilers descaled at service time.
- Anna, Anita, Victoria and Kate: the manuals allow descaling through the tank but say to add only natural descaling products. Cafetto Renew and Cafetto LOD are blends of organic acids, registered by Australian Certified Organic and safe on brass, stainless steel and aluminium. One Renew sachet makes a litre of solution; LOD is 100 ml to 500 ml of cold water. Run about a cup through the group and a quarter cup through the steam wand, let it stand for 15 minutes, repeat until the solution is used up, then flush a full tank of fresh water through the group and wand before you brew.
Skip Cafetto LOD Black for a Lelit unless a technician asks for it. It is the heavy-duty descaler, and Cafetto does not recommend it on aluminium.
How to choose: the short version
- Every Lelit: a backflush cleaner in the format you prefer, and the MC747PLUS filter replaced every four months.
- Mara X, Bianca and Elizabeth: nothing more. Descaling is a workshop job once a year.
- Anna, Anita, Victoria and Kate: add Renew sachets or LOD for the occasional descale, timed by your water hardness and how much you brew.
Delivery
Orders over $200 ship free Australia-wide, and delivery under $200 is a flat $9.95. In-stock orders placed before 3pm Melbourne time are dispatched the same day. Cleaning a different brand? See our full range of coffee machine cleaners.
FAQs
How do I backflush a Lelit Mara X?
Put the blind filter in the portafilter, add one dose of cleaner (a Cafetto Espresso Clean sachet, a scoop of powder or a tablet), lock the portafilter into the group and lift the lever for ten seconds. Lower it and wait ten seconds. Lelit's manual says to repeat that ten times. Take the portafilter off, rinse it under hot water from the group, lock it back in and run five more ten-second cycles with no cleaner. Remove the blind filter, empty the drip tray, and rinse the portafilter, baskets and tray under the tap. Lelit's Mara X manual lists this as a weekly job.
How often should I backflush a Lelit?
It depends on the model, so follow your manual. Lelit's Mara X and Bianca manuals put the backflush in the weekly cleaning section. The Anna manual says at least once a week or every 100 coffees. The Victoria and Elizabeth manuals say once a month, using the automatic washing cycle on the LCC display, and the Kate uses the same control centre as the Victoria. Backflushing more often than that does no harm.
How often do I change the Lelit water filter?
The MC747PLUS is rated for 70 litres. Lelit's rule for the 70 litre filter is to replace it after 28 full tanks or after four months of use, whichever comes first, and to fit a new one if the machine has sat unused for a month. Lelit puts slider tabs on the tank handles so you can count the fills. The 2 pack covers about eight months of soft water.
Which Lelit machines does the MC747PLUS filter fit?
All of them. Lelit says the filter is compatible with all Lelit coffee machines, and the Anna, Victoria, Elizabeth, Mara X and Bianca manuals each recommend it. It sits in the rubber support at the bottom of the water tank with the pump's intake tube pushed onto its nozzle. It works in any home espresso machine that runs from a built-in tank, not only Lelit. It does not do anything for a Bianca that is plumbed into a water line, which needs filtration on the supply instead.
Can I descale a Lelit myself?
Check your model. Lelit's Mara X and Bianca manuals say descaling of the hydraulic circuit must be done once a year by a specialised technician. The Elizabeth manual says never, under any circumstances, to add descaling products to the water tank. The Anna, Victoria and Kate manuals allow it, with only natural descaling products in the tank: Cafetto Renew and Cafetto LOD are certified organic blends of organic acids and are safe on brass, stainless steel and aluminium. On every model the better plan is the in-tank filter, replaced on schedule, so that scale never forms in the first place.
Does Cafetto Espresso Clean work in a Lelit?
Yes. Cafetto lists Lelit among the machines Espresso Clean is suitable for, and it does the same job as Lelit's own PL103 detergent powder: one 3 to 5 g dose in the blind filter per backflush, or a dose in 500 ml of hot water to soak the portafilter and baskets. It dissolves fast, rinses away cleanly and leaves no odour. Choose the powder for the lowest cost per clean, the sachets or tablets if you would rather not measure.