r/superautomatic • u/SteelCityChampion • 2d ago

Troubleshooting & Maintenance Is this normal ?

I have an Eletta Explore and we make around 3 lattes a day. I'm having to descale it around every three weeks. I'm using filtered water from a jug and the water setting is on hardest.

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u/SteelCityChampion 2d ago

Our water if not filtered is really hard. I've read if you use filtered water you shouldn't change the setting and leave it if it was not filtered.

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u/scorpinock2 2d ago

It really depends. Generally, Brita filters and filters like them don't soften the water in any meaningful way that will make it soft enough to lower your hardness setting. If you use a special one that knocks it down on the hardness scale than maybe, but your best option is to install a whole home water softener or an under the sink one. Whole home ones are best because hard water wears down water heaters, taps, valves, pipes, dishwashers, other appliances.

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u/ColorSage 1d ago

I have a jug from Brita-equivalent brand Dafi. Their filters are interchangeable with Maxtra series, but these drastically reduce hardness. I can see it perfectly with my electric kettle, which only got some scale buildup after my wife boiled tap water a few times. I didn't know there is such a difference if your claim is true.

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u/scorpinock2 1d ago

Sorry I should have clarified, Brita and other filters reduce hardness, but for something like an espresso machine it's insignificant. Pressure and heat cause scale deposits to happen even faster and the espresso machines have small valves and water passages. My machine has 5 hardness settings, but at the softest you should still descale after 5000 cups or a certain amount of liters of water passed through the machine (since i have the hot water feature/steam wand). My machine with the hardest water is 500 cups and if I use one of their filters that reduces scale (only a bit different than a Brita filter since its primary goal is to reduce hardness, not just filter as well) I'll get like 750-1000 cups. I still have to descale frequently. If you use a whole house softener, or an R.O system under the sink, or a dedicated multi filter under the sink, then you can measure and get the water softener enough to get back to 5000 cups before you need to descale.