In recent years, our coffee culture has expanded greatly. In many places, the "normal" cup or pot of coffee is replaced by milk-based mixed drinks. But what do we do if the milk frother is defective? I would like to list the most common causes and the solutions below.
Generally
In the beginning we got to know and love the cafe au lait, the latte macchiato and the cappuccino in the coffee houses. The milk foam, often also decoratively designed, simply belongs to it.
With the progressive development of the machines, it is now no problem to enjoy these drinks at home or in the office.
No problem? Well … Not uncommon that the milk foam does not want to arise. What can happen:
- No milk is sucked in
- The milk only sprays out of the nozzle
- A foam formation arises hardly or not at all
Maintenance and care
We use coffee and espresso machines to prepare food. Water, heat and organic matter are an optimal nutrient medium. Here, with insufficient care, a "life of its own" develops quickly. So it is absolutely necessary to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. the error message "milk frother defective" often turns out to be the result of inadequate cleaning.
How milk foam is created
The milk foam is created by the foaming of the milk, whereby its proteins and fats form structures that enclose air bubbles. (wikipedia)
in fully automatic coffee machines, the milk is heated by hot steam and mixed with air in the process. The fat content of the milk (and therefore the emulsifier content) has two important functions: to support the formation of bubbles and to bind the taste of the milk.
the quality of the milk foam is dependent on the protein and fat content, the temperature of the milk and the duration of frothing. From a temperature of approx. 60°C coagulates the egg white.
Milk froth can be created with modern machines with many types of milk. Since tastes differ, I hope everyone enjoys finding their own individual variety.
Milk frothing systems
This article is about frother on coffee machines. Therefore, I would like to leave out the other types at this point.
Pannarello
A pannarello usually consists of an inner nozzle and an outer attachment. You put it on the steam nozzle of the machine. The outer attachment has a small hole in the upper part, through which air is sucked in. A blockage often leads to the assumption that the milk frother is defective.
The disadvantage of this type is the relatively large-pored shape of the resulting foam. If you want the foam finer pored, you must either (partially) close the small hole, or omit the attachment altogether. However, this requires some practice.
Cappuccinatore
The cappuccinatore is attached to the steam nozzle, or it is already integrated in higher-quality appliances. In contrast to the pannarello, you do not need an extra vessel for frothing. The milk is sucked in by negative pressure (venturi principle), heated and mixed with air. Depending on the amount of air, the milk is either heated or foamed. It is also necessary to regulate the air supply depending on the fat content and temperature of the milk. milk/milk foam goes directly into the cup or glass.
Milk frother defective – causes and solutions
Calcification
Distilled water is produced during steam generation. The components dissolved in the water remain in the water system of the machine and settle there in the form of lime. Therefore, the more milk-based beverages you use, the more often you will have to descale the machine. Limescale impairs the heating of the water to steam temperature and can clog the system. If you assume that the milk frother is defective, you are very much mistaken. The avoidance of this error can be achieved by using a regular descaling.
Air supply in the pannarello
A common fault with the pannarello is milk residue clogging the small hole in the top of the attachment. This means that the admixture of air is no longer guaranteed and the milk is only warmed up. A thorough cleaning of the frothing aid after each use is appropriate.
Cleaning the cappuccinatore
the same applies to all types of cappuccinatore. If you use this for a longer period of time after the last froth extraction (from approx. 15 minutes) you should not use at least one start automatic cleaning. Bfor cheaper machines, this means disassembling and rinsing. The warm milk residues still present in the frother clump together very quickly. In these cases, the malfunction is not due to a defective milk frother, but rather to a blockage. It is therefore essential to follow the maintenance instructions given in the user manuals.
Special accessories
With WMF and schaerer machines, it can happen that despite cleaning, no usable milk foam is produced. Please check the accessories. The manufacturers deliver the devices with two different connections (plastic tubes). These have different internal cross-sections, which vary according to the milk temperature to use.
Special features
Delonghi
The delonghi fully automatic coffee machines are very popular. Nevertheless, if the diagnosis "milk frother defective" is made, it is sometimes advisable to have the cause clarified by a specialist workshop. Since several components may be involved, ask for a quote before repairing.
Is a jura (identical in construction: tlw. KRUPS, AEG) the milk frother is defective, this is usually due to the outlet valve inside the appliance. The fault is manifested in the fact that the milk only sprays out of the frother. The replacement of the filter coffee maker should be left to a workshop, as this involves maintenance that you are not able to carry out due to the particularities of the machine’s construction.
Other manufacturers
The milk frothers from some manufacturers (nivona, melitta, saeco, philips) are partly equipped with a integrated double spout. By loosening a small cover, you can remove it to the cleaning and care remove.
In some cases, however, all this is unfortunately not enough. Even if it is supposedly "only" the milk frother that is defective, you should take the fully automatic coffee machine to a specialist workshop for checking. In the course of a thorough inspection, the technicians determine the extent of the measures required. On request, you will receive a cost estimate before the repair work is carried out.
I hope that my advice has helped you to enjoy your fully automatic coffee machine for longer and to enjoy your specialty coffees.
If you have problems with your machine, you can use the search function on our coffee machine repair page to find one of our partners in your area. Here you can get fast and professional help.
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MILK FROTHER DEFECTIVE – CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS
Distilled water is produced during the steam generation process. The components dissolved in the water remain in the water system of the appliance and settle there in the form of limescale. Therefore, the more milk-based beverages you use, the more often you will have to descale the machine. The lime impairs the heating of the water to steam temperature and can clog the system. With the assumption that here the milk frother is defective, one is then thoroughly wrong. The prevention of this error is achieved by regular decalcification.
I bought a klarstein baristomat at the beginning of january 2021. Until recently, everything worked fine, but now my milk frother only outputs the milk without foam for cappuccino or only milk request. I had but so far her always rinsed after use everything with warm water, which had to do with the milchbehahlter and nozzle. Has this been too much?
Dear mrs. wiesemann,
your klarstein baristomat is made in china. Unfortunately, we do not have any technical information about the products of this manufacturer.
So I can not give you any more at this point.
With kind regards
steffen kellner.
I personally would not have thought that either, however we have a delonghi ecam 350.55 and i know that the oat milk should not be used with this machine, i have read that in the user manual.. soy milk/almond milk would be ok but oats not.
The development of the frothers has followed the wishes and expectations of the customers. the times when only cow’s milk was suitable for frothing are far behind us.
When buying a coffee machine, it is therefore advisable to read the user manuals and device descriptions to find out exactly what options are available, so that the machine actually meets your requirements.
With some manufacturers and devices, several parts are supplied for frothing. You may have to change it depending on the type of milk you use.
With kind regards
steffen kellner.
Hello dear,
My parents have a delonghi machine with milk frother. You want to tell me that you can only fill it with normal cow’s milk and this milk frother is broken with vegetable milk. They supposedly had a professional tell them this.
I can not believe this, however, because my oat milk contains much less sugar and fat and thus the oat milk can not lump unless it is broken.
So I would like to have a second, third, fourth opinion about it.
Dear Mrs. Kreutner,
even though you should listen to your parents, they are wrong at this point. it is by no means the case that only cow’s milk must be used for frothing.
In this article i have gone into various things around the topic of frothing, including the types of milk.
Modern frothers are quite capable of producing milk foam from different types of milk.
Best regards
steffen kellner.
Thank you very much, that was very helpful.
The cleaning is done regularly. The coffee machine de longhi is constantly under water. This was already 4 times in repair (at the factory) within the warranty period.
Supposedly nothing found.
Thank you very much. With best regards from moenchengladbach
barbara nowaschewski