Wowzers! Any photos of various components (hoses/water-reservoirs) from folks always very much appreciated by people who come across these forums and as a resource for understanding these issues Replacing these fouled, smelling, tasting components (plastics, hoses etc. if they are emitting chemicals) is often reasonably easy and for that reason, that could be a very important repair/mod/refurbishing of any food/beverage machine. Food safe silicone and teflon tubing is quite affordable.

Metals likewise should not be excessively in human diets. Certain metals can be harmful to human health.

Post-script correction to the below post (apologies) - I was informed the issue was TCP which upon investigation I took to mean 1,2,3-Trichloropropanel, what they actually meant was TCP-like characteristics (TCP is a disinfectant sold in the UK) which give off a metallic taste, but it is usually caused by the presence of higher concentrations of metals, like copper or zinc. I should add, I only use Tesco Ashbeck in my Bianca so it's not linked to the water supply as mentioned as a possible cause in a latter post.

I have had a similar issue with the Lelit Bianca. I think Lelit need to come clean as many customers have reported something similar. In my case, a sample of the water identifed there were high traces of TCP .

I was advised 'it is not contamination, rather, a reaction between chlorine and non-cured silicone tubing or seals'. The fix is to soak these hoses and seals in hydrogen peroxide tand ensure thorough curing of silicone.

It worked in my case for over a year, then the issue returned again. I'm pretty disappointed, for the price of the machine, Lelit and/or the distributor need to offer a free of charge, permanent, fix or recall the product.

Oh that's interesting. Did you also come to this via the plastic taste in water? I've been discussing this with Lelit for almost a year now and recently they sent me a new tank with the black plastic parts made of an apparently different material. So far I haven't noticed any plastic taste or smell. I only yesterday put the lelit filter because I first wanted to test the effect of keeping that filter holder in a bowl of water. One thing I did notice is a slippery layer building up on the filter holder after 12h. I asked Lelit what that was, and they replied it's limescale from water. I've now put the filter into the tank so I'll see if any issues arrise. I am concerned though there could be the problem you mention, so let me know if there is any way I can detect it (without sending the water for analysis). Absolutely agree that Lelit should come clean on this.

I missed the original posts in this thread as I'm not a Bianca owner; so late to the thread.

Plastic taste from boiler-heated water can be from a municipality treating water with chloramine, or using a water treatment process that produces chloramine.

Chlorine can do something similar, but chlorine will escape from the water just from the water sitting in the machine's reservoir overnight. Chlorine is also readily filtered with a charcoal filter.

Chloramine does not leave water without countermeasures. It stays in the water after (home) distillation and reverse osmosis systems. Removal is best done with a specific type of activated charcoal, often called "catalytic carbon."

BTDT, I spent many hours chasing this down, as my municipality sometimes uses chloramine.

Thanks for the input - that's also what I initially thought was the problem, but the taste persisted even with Brita-filtered water outside of the machine just by leaving the plastic filter holder sitting in it. This is when I asked Lelit for help, and after a few months (and another unsuccessful tank replacement) they sent me a new tank, which so far hasn't shown this issue. Let's see if things remain that way.

Yep I've tried all that too.
1. New tank (although not sure if this is a different plastic, like you've described, mine was supplied 18 months ago.
2. I don't use any filter.
3. I wash the rubber components and tank regularly.
4. I only use Tesco Ashbeck water.

The distributor was confident the cause was the interaction with silicone, as the hydrogen peroxide treatment worked (albeit temporarily).

I have been in contact with a chap at https://www.suez.com/en/uk (Andrew Barnes) who has been very helpful over email, and am planning to send a water sample this week for analysis (at my own cost). I'll let you know what comes back.

Thanks for explaining! But in your case it was not a plastic taste in the water, but a metal taste, right? How did you test the water, btw - is this something Lelit did for you, or you used a home-kit, or you sent the water to a lab?

It's difficult to describe other than the fact that once the water passes through the machine it tastes awful. I'd describe it as metallic, my wife describes it a plastic-metallic taste.

In the first instance, I sent the distributor a sample of the water and that's when they came back with a 'TCP verdict'. I took this at face value as they performed a treatment (hydrogen peroxide) which fixed the issue. But the fact it has now returned 18 months later, I thought it best to get a UKAS certified test done myself, and assuming it identifies the culprit I'll then pursue a remedy. I alerted the distributor (BB) to the issue reoccurring a second time and they unhelpfully responded with -

Try this. I soaked the hoses and seals in hydrogen Peroxide to ensure thorough curing of silicone to ensure no further TCP issues.

Oh I see. Damn, that sounds annoying. It seems to be a different issue than the one I encountered, since the taste from the machine with the new tank has been fine. But to be on the safe side, I'll get a test too (I am in Germany and I see online there are specialized kits one can order to use at home).

Sterling wrote:It's difficult to describe other than the fact that once the water passes through the machine it tastes awful. I'd describe it as metallic, my wife describes it a plastic-metallic taste.

In the first instance, I sent the distributor a sample of the water and that's when they came back with a 'TCP verdict'. I took this at face value as they performed a treatment (hydrogen peroxide) which fixed the issue. But the fact it has now returned 18 months later, I thought it best to get a UKAS certified test done myself, and assuming it identifies the culprit I'll then pursue a remedy. I alerted the distributor (BB) to the issue reoccurring a second time and they unhelpfully responded with -

Try this. I soaked the hoses and seals in hydrogen Peroxide to ensure thorough curing of silicone to ensure no further TCP issues.

What was the % of H2O2? 3% or stronger?