Found a hack for cleaning milk steam wands that saved me $60 this month

I kept burning through those little rubber cleaning brushes because they'd get nasty after a week. My barista said to just use a dry paper towel folded over the wand right after steaming. Three seconds of wiping hot metal and it stays clean. Anyone else have a cheap fix that worked better than the fancy tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

graygonzalez23d ago

Putting a drop of food grade mineral oil on the paper towel before wiping keeps the rubber seals from drying out and cracking. Those little splits let milk sneak down inside the wand where you can't clean it.

shaneb1623d ago

Ugh, that hardened cement stuff is the worst, I feel your pain.

joel60324d ago

Wait, are you just wiping it dry on the outside or actually purging steam through the paper towel? I've been doing the paper towel thing for years but I fold it really thick so I can pinch the tip and wipe down the whole shaft at once. The key is to do it immediately while the milk is still hot and wet, otherwise that protein film hardens like cement. I actually stopped using those little brushes completely because they just smear the gunk around instead of removing it. One thing that helped me way more than any cleaning tool was just remembering to backflush with cleaner every other day, keeps the whole wand path clear so nothing builds up inside.