How water hardness affects home espresso machines
Water facts for home espresso machines
Hard water leaves scale inside espresso machines. This site explains what hardness is, how to find and measure yours, and what makers say about water and filters. Read it before you buy a filter, a test kit or descaler.
Written for home owners and hobbyists who have an espresso machine, or are thinking about one, and want to understand their water first.
All the water notes
What Water Hardness Means for an Espresso MachineWhat hard and soft water mean, where the minerals come from, and why the maker of an espresso machine cares about them.- How Scale Forms Inside an Espresso MachineWhy limescale builds up when hard water is heated, where it collects in a machine, and what the maker's own guidance says to do about it.
Water Hardness Units: ppm, mg/L, dH and gpgHow to compare hardness numbers from a water report, a test strip and a machine manual, with a conversion table for the common units.- Finding Your Tap Water Hardness From a Utility ReportWhere to look up local water hardness for free, from your water supplier's annual report to a phone call, and how to read what you find.
- Using Water Hardness Test Strips and Drop KitsHow a hardness test strip works, how to take a reading from the water you actually use, and why your machine's own strip and scale matter.
What Your Machine's Manual Says About WaterWhere to find your espresso machine maker's water guidance, and what hardness levels, mineral content and filter terms mean in a manual.- Water Filter Cartridges in Espresso Machines: How They WorkWhat a filter cartridge in the water tank does, how household softeners work, and where to find the replacement schedule for your model.