Oops
I was steaming some milk in my steam pump espresso machine (a small home model) a few days ago when an urgent situation came up that I had to tend to. I turned off the machine, but neglected to remove the wand from the pitcher of milk. When I returned a few minutes later, about half a cup of milk was missing from the pitcher. Since then, the machine has reeked of burnt milk, and today it barely produced enough steam to get 2cu of milk to 120. I thoroughly rinsed the boiler and purged the wand at the time but it seems to have not been enough. Is the machine salvageable or do I need to start planning for a new one?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by FixYourEspressoMachine on
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I recommend removing the tubing all the way back to the boiler and soaking it in Rinza and very hot water overnight. If it made it back to the boiler, then you will need to scrub the boiler and maybe use some acid to clean the inside. Try the soaking of the tubes first. Let us know if it works. Merry Christmas!!!
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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Perrine on
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I become a manager of a Starbucks that was poorly trained. I went through 2 boilers on one machine in 8 months because my baristas kept leaving the pitcher full of milk in the steam wand. I had to resort to sending them home the second they did it and writing them up all the time.
The longer you wait to clean it out, the worse it's going to get. Find a local shop and ask to purchase some heavy duty solvent. Explain the problem, they should be able to get you what you need. If not, ask someone here to sell you some.
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Permalink Reply by Shadow on
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Except for an emergency (and not even then for me), why would anybody leave a wand submersed in milk anyway? I'm a big believer in steaming only as much milk as needed per drink(s) ordered and always wipe/purge the wand after EVERY single use. I don't care what the customer volume is either.... Things like this should never be overlooked! Besides if the steam valve is shut OFF if this was to happen the milk should in theory only be drawn up into the wand and not into the boiler.
For your little steam machine it might be better/cheaper to just toss it and buy another one. BUT I simply can't imagine anybody in the coffee industry that routinely visits here would own a steam machine anyway... You can also dismantle the steam wand, piping, boiler, etc. and thoroughly clean with something like JoeGlo. Later!
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