Putting espresso machine away for a few weeks - Page 2
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BaristaBoy E61
- Posts: 3539
- Joined: 9 years ago
The biggest risk is to the user should pathogens grow in the standing water. After being left 'ON' for a couple of hours anything growing even in a DB brew boiler should be inert and definitely so in a single boiler machine.
As for anything else, you can probable leave water standing in a milk carton and nothing's likely to happen or leak.
As for anything else, you can probable leave water standing in a milk carton and nothing's likely to happen or leak.
"You didn't buy an Espresso Machine - You bought a Chemistry Set!"
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BaristaMcBob
- Posts: 275
- Joined: 4 years ago
Pavlis's water recipes are for drinking, where minerals are added to distilled water to produce a certain taste profile.
Distilled water is commonly used in household irons to avoid scale build-up. It's not "corrosive" to the same degree or even in the same sense as sulfuric acid, citric acid, or vinegar, which are highly corrosive and commonly used to clean machines. I use distilled water to clean windows and camera lenses. If it splashes on my hands or clothes - well then I get wet.
Distilled water does interact with certain metals under certain conditions. It can react with pure copper (leeching effect) at high temperatures and over a long period of time. But most espresso boilers are either brass or stainless steel.
In your case, the leeching effect is exactly what you want. The distilled water will leech (dissolve) away the scale inside your boiler, slowly over a long period of time. So a few weeks is perfect. However, as I said, given that all this will be at room temperature, it's possible the distilled water will have no effect whatsoever.
Besides, putting corrosive chemicals into your machine is not necessarily bad. Professional cleaning requires the use of sulfuric acid to dissolve the built up scale. Sulfuric acid will do it in a few minutes. Distilled water may do it in a few weeks.
Distilled water is commonly used in household irons to avoid scale build-up. It's not "corrosive" to the same degree or even in the same sense as sulfuric acid, citric acid, or vinegar, which are highly corrosive and commonly used to clean machines. I use distilled water to clean windows and camera lenses. If it splashes on my hands or clothes - well then I get wet.
Distilled water does interact with certain metals under certain conditions. It can react with pure copper (leeching effect) at high temperatures and over a long period of time. But most espresso boilers are either brass or stainless steel.
In your case, the leeching effect is exactly what you want. The distilled water will leech (dissolve) away the scale inside your boiler, slowly over a long period of time. So a few weeks is perfect. However, as I said, given that all this will be at room temperature, it's possible the distilled water will have no effect whatsoever.
Besides, putting corrosive chemicals into your machine is not necessarily bad. Professional cleaning requires the use of sulfuric acid to dissolve the built up scale. Sulfuric acid will do it in a few minutes. Distilled water may do it in a few weeks.
