Descale needed · Sage / Breville Barista Express
Sage / Breville Barista Express: CLEAN / DESCALE light on steadily
Descaling is required (Breville US and Canada machine). On a Sage machine the CLEAN ME light is for cleaning only; Sage says to descale every 90 days at water hardness 4 and every 60 days at hardness 6.
- Which light
- Descale light or symbol
- Colour
- Colour not named by the maker
- Steady or flashing
- Steady
What Sage / Breville says to do
- Dissolve one sachet of descaling powder in 1 litre of water and fill the tank; take the water filter out first.
- Hold 2 CUP, then hold POWER as well, to enter descale mode. POWER flashes while it heats; it is ready when POWER, 1 CUP, the CLEAN light and the STEAM/HOT WATER light are all steady.
- Press 1 CUP to descale the coffee side (about 25 seconds), then turn the dial to steam (about 13 seconds) and to hot water (about 8 seconds). Repeat until the tank is empty.
- Rinse the tank, fill it with fresh water to MAX, repeat the same steps to rinse, then press POWER to leave descale mode. The machine turns itself off after 5 minutes of no action in descale mode.
From the Barista Express® — Instruction Book: Functions, Care & Cleaning (Cleaning cycle, Descaling) and Troubleshooting and the Barista Express™ BES875 / SES875 — User Guide: Functions, Care & Cleaning and Troubleshooting. This is the Barista Express’s pattern; another Sage / Breville machine may use the same light for something else — check the manual for your model.
Other Sage / Breville Barista Express 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 Sage / Breville’s own documents, read on the date shown. Nothing is taken from third-party manual sites.
- Breville: the Barista Express® — Instruction Book: Functions, Care & Cleaning (Cleaning cycle, Descaling) and Troubleshooting — Barista Express BES870, US and Canada instruction book (V23 edition). assets.breville.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- Sage: the Barista Express™ BES875 / SES875 — User Guide: Functions, Care & Cleaning and Troubleshooting — Barista Express SES875, UK user guide (UG2 A25 edition). assets.sageappliances.com Checked 2026-09-29.