Hi HBs,

I just recently acquired my first E61 and am not sure how clean or dirty to leave it after each use (probably a few hours between uses). Specifically should I scrub and rinse clean the shower screen and PF each time? I pull the bottomless PF shot, foam my milk, purge and clean the steamwand, and then knock out the puck but don't know if I should be paranoid about any grounds on the shower screen and PF if I'm not immediately reloading for another shot. So what's your typical routine after you've purged the steamwand and knocked out the puck. Thanks for the advice!

I always run water through the screen without the PF in place and then wipe it with a microfiber towel after each shot. Then a quick back flush without any detergent when I'm done with a session.

Do you rinse the PF or anything after knocking?

yes. portafilter needs to be dry and you might as well get out any old coffee still in there.

My new routine is showering the bottom side of the bottomless PF and then wiping the shower screen and PF dry. Let me know if that's not clean enough ha, thanks everyone

My routine is to run a quick flush out of the bare group head after each shot (this gets rid of a few residual grounds that may be stuck up there), but I don't bother drying (it's hot enough that by the time I get back to it not much water will be left...and I'm not bothered by a trace of water there anyway). I also do a quick rinse and dry of the portafilter (dry so that I can groom and tamp without any water present). When I'm done for the session, I do one last bare flush, then lock in my blind portafilter and pull a shot until the vibe pump begins to labor (this purges the e61 with clean water). Every week to 10-days I clean the drip tray, put a cleaning tablet in the blind portafilter and run a bunch of shots (to clean any oils/grunge that may have got into the e-61); then I run a shot or two out of the bare group head (to get rid of any cleaning residue). I pour the cleaning water out of the drip tray into a large mug (it's still quite clean and quite hot), take the basket out of the portafilter and soak both in the mug. Then I rinse/dry the portafilter and basket. Takes longer to describe than to actually do it...becomes second nature.

spearfish25 wrote:I always run water through the screen without the PF in place and then wipe it with a microfiber towel after each shot. Then a quick back flush without any detergent when I'm done with a session.

Exactly this.

No love for the portafilter wiggle anymore?

The finger burner?? I always do a rinsing flush along with a light brushing of the screen & gasket. PF gets rinsed under the hot water tap as does my cup.

Scrub and rinse the shower screen and PF after each session? Yes.

After each extraction? No.