How to descale the Delonghi Prestigio

Hello there! I have been getting a lot of requests from folks asking how to descale the Delonghi Prestigio. I wondered why so many requests were coming in, so I did a little hands-on research, and this is what I found.

When I used the manual from Delonghi to perform the descale step by step on the Prestigio I found the manual was unclear at the end of the sequence. This is where I can clear the confusion so you can keep the knowledge and reference for future descales.

Prestigio will not clear the descale warning light

The only way to clear the descaling light is to complete the process, this clears the warning light. No shortcuts here. The descaling process takes around 40 minutes to complete. Though you might be running into a situation where the process seems to be endless. I will go over why this happens.

For this reason, the machines that land on my workbench are mostly caused by user error. The reality is you might not be finishing the sequence, or you have accidentally started the cycle a second time and find yourself in the middle of the second descale. For this reason, I wrote out the process with the stages of the light indicators on the display to make it easy to follow. 

Please read Tips and Tricks and the end of this article as it can give you an understanding and best results when descaling to your keeping your Prestigio working for a long time to come! 

Step by step descale process for the Delonghi Prestigio

Before you begin descaling the Prestigio, make sure the descale light is on. The descaling process will take around 40 minutes to perform, though you don’t need to be around the machine for all that time – the Prestigio will do all the work. 

If you are using a filter in the water tank you will need to remove this before you start the process. If you don’t have one, you should consider getting one as you won’t have to descale half as frequently if installed. You can filters fairly cheap on Amazon.

To start the Prestigio descale, here are the easy steps:          

1. Turn Prestigio ON of course. Remove the portafilter and set it aside.  You will not use this in the descale cycle. Be sure to put a container under all the spouts large enough to catch the contents of the water tank.
2. THE DESCALE LIGHT IS ON SOLID RED, Pour the Delonghi Ecodecalk Descaler (found on Amazon) into the tank up to level “A” found at the bottom of the back of the tank. (Equal to 100ml or 3.3 fl oz), then add water up to level B which is also clearly marked on the back of the water tank. This ends up filling the tank just halfway
3. Turn the RIGHT selector dial to the descale position. THE OK BUTTON TURNS SOLID ORANGE AND DESCALE FLASHES ADD PICTURE 2
4. Press the “OK” button to start the descaling cycle.
5. BOTH THE OK BUTTON AND THE DESCALE FLASH and the descaling programme will start 
6. Once the delivery of the descaler empties the water tank, the Prestigio will signal to perform the rinse by indicating THE OK BUTTON IS SOLID WHITE AND THE DESCALE SYMBOL IS STILL FLASHING ADD PICTURE 3
7. Empty the catch container of the used solution. Replace the empty container under the spouts and boiler outlet empty the drip tray and return both to there positions.
8. Remove the water tank and empty any remaining descale solution, rinse well with running water and refill the tank with fresh water up to the Max level. Full tank of fresh water.
9. Press the “OK” button. The appliance will start the rinsing of the internal circuits and will deliver water from all three spouts. THE OK BUTTON WILL BE FLASHING WHITE AND THE DESCALE WILL FLASH RED
10. ONCE THE RINSE FINISHES THE CONTROL BOARD FLASHES ALL LIGHTS ON THE FRONT BRIEFLY TO SYMBOLIZE THE DESCALE PROCESS IS COMPLETE delivery will stop and THE OK BUTTON WILL BE SOLID ORANGE AND THE DESCALE SYMBOL WILL DISAPPEAR. This completes the descale cycle and you only need to turn the dial away from the descale symbol to prepare the Prestigio to be used again ADD PICTURE 4

IMPORTANT: DON’T PRESS OK BUTTON AGAIN AS IT WILL START THE CYCLE ALL OVER AGAIN

If you are performing the descaling procedure and it seems like it never ends and continues to ask for water this can be user error or a part failure with the flow meters sticking. 

The user error is when you unknowingly start the descale process a second time and if you do you need to complete the process to the end again because the machine won’t let you escape mid cycle. For this reason, I have made the step by step with the status of the lights at each step of the way I have come across this issue several times where the machine does not stop descaling.

Another reason is a result of a sticky flowmeter. The machine counts how much water is used through flow meters to gauge when the descale warning light comes on and is used to clear the descaling process. Unfortunately, this is not an easy fix, the Flowmeter is in the middle of the machine and requires a breakdown of the Prestigio to get at. This means, unless you’re wanting to spend a couple of hours figuring out the ins and outs of your machine (voiding your warranty) – your best bet is to get it serviced by a professional. I will make a future video on how to disassemble and reassemble the Prestigio on my UTUBE channel

Descaling tips for your Prestigio

1. REMOVE THE PORTAFILTER before starting the descale as it will stain the finish of the portafilter
2. SET YOUR WATER HARDNESS. If you set your machine to accommodate hard water, then the descale will be required sooner. Soft water you can operate longer before a descale is required. The machine counts how much water is used through flow meters to gauge when the to descale warning appears.
3. DO NOT USE VINEGAR as it hurts the machine. Use the Delonghi Ecodecalk Descaler made for this unit. Vinegar or powder descaler can and will cause blockages or damage to the internal water circuit.
4. IF YOU EXPERIENCE LOSS OF PRESSURE – The first thing to do is perform the descale and the backflush procedure 
5. IF YOU EXPERIENCE TOO MUCH PRESSURE – Also perform the descale and the backflush procedure. Also, ensure you haven’t overpacked the grinds in the portafilter cup or the grinds are too fine.

Descale your machine every 3 months minimum to keep it in good working order. Even inactivity or low usage can allow the scale inside your machine to build up and form causing issues.

If you use the Delonghi Water filter found on Amazon, You can extend the frequency between descaling your machine. In fact, using a water filter can double the time frame between descaling. 

Another tip is not to forget to set your water hardness in the program. To find out your regional water hardness you can purchase easy-to-use water hardness test strips for cheap on Amazon to get an accurate reading.

Remember to do your cleaning regularly and descaling when the machine calls for it. You will have great-tasting espresso for a very long time.