Improved cleaning with a blind filter membrane

Some time ago, I bought a small rubber device, a blind filter membrane. Its diameter is 49 mm, exactly the diameter of the filter basket of the Elektra. It seals the basket completely, much like a blind filter does. I missed having a blind filter for detergent cleaning of the shower screen, and for applying "portafilter wiggle" as a daily rinsing of the group gasket. I don´t know if Elektra sell blind filters?

Portafilter + blind filter membrane

I couldn´t really see why these routines should be much more difficult or less necessary with a spring piston machine. And although there are a lot of good news about the cleaning of home lever machines -all you have to do is to run some water through the group after brewing. Because there are no three-way-valve involved to even out the pressure, all the coffee will go downwards and the brew chamber won´t become too messy.

But coffee deposits have a tendency to build up and add taste. I will not believe that detergent cleaning every week, or every two weeks, shoudn´t be necessary. I don´t want to remove the entire piston that often, so cleaning the group head from the bottom will be my prefered tactic.

And it is really easy. I put the membrane into the filter basket, and then I hold the portafilter loosely in the grouphead, and wiggle it back and forth while carefully holding the lever on the point where I can control the water flow into the piston brew chamber. Water will slosh around and clean the gasket and the shower screen. I don´t do the wiggle every day with this machine. I usually clean the gasket and the shower screen with a cloth.

Completely sealed. There´s no dripping even when pressure is applied.

I sometimes add detergent, one little tea spoon, and then I insert the PF and pull the lever. The lever will not rise as there is now a water column over the PF. I´m pretty confident that no detergent enters the boiler. I am really careful when I take out the PF after a minute or so, after all there´s some hot water involved.... But if the lever is held firmly, there´s no problem. The water that comes out is sligthly dirty. I run a lot of water through the group after this. I´m convinced that the shower screen and the piston chamber need this routine.