Descale needed · Nespresso Essenza Plus and CitiZ Platinum
Nespresso Essenza Plus and CitiZ Platinum: Descaling alert blinking
Descaling alert level 1: the machine counts the drinks you make and is telling you it is time to descale. It can blink in ready mode or while coffee is being made. Heavy use of Americano or hot water brings it on sooner.
- Which light
- Descale light or symbol
- Colour
- Colour not named by the maker
- Steady or flashing
- Flashing or blinking
What Nespresso says to do
- Descale soon: eject the capsule, empty the capsule container and drip tray, fill the tank to half with water plus Nespresso descaling agent, and place a 1 L container under the outlet.
- With the machine on, hold the three buttons the manual shows for your machine for more than 5 seconds to enter descaling mode, then start it; to back out at this point, press any coffee button.
- When the tank is empty, rinse it, fill it with fresh water to MAX, empty the container and press the hot water button; do this once more. The machine switches off by itself at the end.
From User manual of CitiZ Platinum and Essenza Plus: Descaling (alert levels), Water hardness setting and Troubleshooting. This is the Essenza Plus and CitiZ Platinum’s pattern; another Nespresso machine may use the same light for something else — check the manual for your model.
Other Nespresso Essenza Plus and CitiZ Platinum lights
Descale needed on other machines
The same need shows up as a different light on each machine — which is why a light cannot be read without the machine.
Sources
Every line on this page comes from Nespresso’s own documents, read on the date shown. Nothing is taken from third-party manual sites.
- Nespresso: User manual of CitiZ Platinum and Essenza Plus: Descaling (alert levels), Water hardness setting and Troubleshooting — CitiZ Platinum and Essenza Plus (shared multi-language manual). www.nespresso.com Checked 2026-09-29.