Tiller
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2013
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- 1,455
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- Location
- Charleston, SC
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I went into Goodwill yesterday to look at books, and on the wall, I see an espresso machine. It was $6 so I thought, 'why not?' I didn't check it out at the store, because they had everything taped down and I knew absolutely nothing about espresso makers.
So today I started to play with it. I took off the cap where you pour the water and discovered a thick layer of white film covering the opening. It looks like the film you find after a battery has corroded. I cleaned it out with a paper towel and water as best I could, but there was no way I could get all of it.
I decided to run some water through it without the portafilter on, and maybe that would clean some of it out. I put some water in and set the machine to brew. To say that the water output was sporadic would be generous. It would drip for a while, then do nothing, and then rush out in a sudden burst.
When it was finally finished, the water was milky and overall nasty looking. I emptied out the water in the sink and there was a residue, almost sandlike left in the cup. I tried this about 4 more times in the hopes that it would clean itself out, but to no avail. I kept getting the same residue each time.
So should I toss it? Or is there a way to clean it out well enough for it to be safe?
So today I started to play with it. I took off the cap where you pour the water and discovered a thick layer of white film covering the opening. It looks like the film you find after a battery has corroded. I cleaned it out with a paper towel and water as best I could, but there was no way I could get all of it.
I decided to run some water through it without the portafilter on, and maybe that would clean some of it out. I put some water in and set the machine to brew. To say that the water output was sporadic would be generous. It would drip for a while, then do nothing, and then rush out in a sudden burst.
When it was finally finished, the water was milky and overall nasty looking. I emptied out the water in the sink and there was a residue, almost sandlike left in the cup. I tried this about 4 more times in the hopes that it would clean itself out, but to no avail. I kept getting the same residue each time.
So should I toss it? Or is there a way to clean it out well enough for it to be safe?