How to Descale a Nespresso Vertuo (Every Model, Step by Step)

Descaling a Vertuo takes about 20 minutes, but the button sequence to get into descaling mode trips up a lot of people. It involves holding, locking and unlocking within a time limit, and it’s different on almost every model.

Below are the official steps from Nespresso’s descaling guides and manuals for every Vertuo model, plus how much solution and water each one needs. Those amounts vary more than most guides admit.

What you need, by model

Vertuo Next and Vertuo Pop

1. Prep: eject any capsule. Empty the capsule container and drip tray. On the Pop, remove the cup support.
2. Fill: 1 unit of descaling solution plus 17 oz of water in the tank.
3. Turn on: with no capsule inside, close the head and lock the handle. Wait for a steady light (about 30 seconds).
4. Unlock the handle (head still closed). Press and hold the button until the light goes off and then blinks orange quickly (about 7 seconds).
5. Lock, then unlock the handle.
6. Press and hold again until it blinks orange quickly (about 7 seconds). Steps 5 and 6 must be done within 45 seconds.
7. Lock the handle. If the light is still blinking orange quickly, you’re in descaling mode. If not, start again from step 3.
8. Place a container of at least 34 oz under the spout and press the button once. The light blinks throughout.
9. When it goes quiet, discard the solution. Empty the drip tray and capsule container.
10. Rinse: rinse the tank, fill it to the top with fresh water, and press the button once. The machine stops automatically and the light turns steady.
11. Refill the tank, wipe the machine, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Can you stop it? Nespresso’s documents disagree. The Pop guide says the cycle “cannot be interrupted,” and the Next manual warns that unplugging mid-cycle means both cycles must be repeated. Plan on finishing once you start.

Vertuo Pop+

Almost the same as the Next, with one difference in the middle:

1. Eject the capsule, empty the container and drip tray, and remove the cup support.
2. Fill with 1 unit of solution and 17 oz of water. Place a container of at least 34 oz.
3. Turn the machine on with the head closed and the lever in the unlock position.
4. Hold the button for at least 7 seconds until it blinks orange rapidly. You now have 45 seconds to finish entering descaling mode.
5. Open and close the head, leave the lever unlocked, and hold the button again for at least 7 seconds.
6. Turn the lever to lock and press the button once. It stops by itself after the descaling phase.
7. Rinse and refill the tank with fresh water and press the button to rinse. It’s finished when the button stops blinking rapidly.

VertuoPlus and VertuoPlus Deluxe

1. Turn the machine on, open the head to eject the capsule, and close it.
2. Turn it off by holding the lever down for 3 seconds.
3. Empty the cup support and capsule container. Fill the tank with 1 unit of solution and at least 17 oz of water.
4. With the machine off, press the button and the lever down together for 3 seconds. A steady orange light means you’re in the Special Functions menu.
5. Press the lever down once to select descaling.
6. Place a container of at least 27 oz and press the button. The solution comes out in bursts, and the machine stops by itself.
7. Empty and rinse the tank and container, refill with fresh water, and press the button to rinse.
8. Exit: press the button and lever together for 3 seconds, or until the light turns green. Let the machine rest for 10 minutes.

Original VertuoLine

1. Fill the tank with 1 unit of solution and 17 oz of water. Empty the capsule container and drip tray.
2. With the lever unlocked, press the button once and wait for a steady light.
3. Hold the button until the light goes off and then blinks quickly (about 7 seconds).
4. Lock, then unlock, and hold the button again until it blinks quickly. Do this within 45 seconds.
5. Lock the lever. Place a container of at least 20 oz and press the button once.
6. When the solution has finished, rinse and refill the tank and press the button to rinse.
7. Exit: when the tank is empty, press and hold the button until the blinking light turns steady (about 7 seconds).

Vertuo Up

1. Open the lever to eject the capsule. Remove the maintenance module and empty the capsule basket.
2. Fill the tank with 1 unit of solution and 20 oz of water. Remove the cup support and place a container of at least 51 oz.
3. Turn the machine on. Hold the maintenance button for at least 3 seconds until the coffee button turns blue, then press maintenance twice (the coffee button turns orange).
4. Close the lever and press the orange coffee button. Descaling runs for up to 5 minutes, then pauses.
5. Open the lever, empty the container, rinse the tank, and fill it completely with fresh water (only once during this procedure).
6. Close the lever and press the coffee button again to rinse (up to 4 minutes).

Once started, Nespresso says the Up’s descaling “cannot be interrupted.” You can also start it from the Nespresso app.

Vertuo Lattissima

1. Eject the capsule, then close and lock. Empty the drip tray, capsule container and cup support.
2. Pour 2 units of descaling solution into the tank and add water up to the “descale” mark.
3. Take the descaling pipe from the back of the machine and plug it into the milk-carafe connector. The machine enters descaling mode automatically.
4. Place a container of at least 34 oz under both the coffee outlet and the pipe nozzle, and press the cappuccino button.
5. When the latte macchiato button lights up, empty everything, rinse the tank, and fill it to MAX with fresh water.
6. Press latte macchiato to rinse. The machine returns to ready. Remove and store the descaling pipe.

If you don’t finish the full procedure, the Lattissima stays blocked, so always complete it.

Vertuo Creatista

1. Clean the steam wand tip. Eject the capsule and empty the capsule container and drip tray.
2. Fill the tank to the descaling line (about 34 oz) and add 2 units of solution.
3. Place a large container (at least 65 oz) under both the coffee outlet and the steam wand. Turn the machine on with the head closed and locked.
4. Press Steam + Milk Temperature for about 5 seconds until the descaling light is steady and the Steam button flashes orange.
5. Press Steam to start. When it finishes, discard the solution, rinse the tank and refill with fresh water.
6. Press Steam again to rinse. The machine leaves descaling mode by itself.

You can pause and resume the Creatista’s cycle at any time with the Steam button.