atomic care & maintenance

Routine Care

The key rules for looking after your Atomic are:

• Do not let it boil dry (molten aluminium is not a pretty sight!)
• Do not leave the black filler knob screwed into the neck for long periods.
• Clean the coffee clamp, jug and wand after every use
• Replace seals when they become thin or brittle
• Remove the head filter and clean behind it about once every six months

De-scaling Your Atomic

If you live in an area with "hard" water, you can get a build-up of mineral salts in the filler pipe and pressure-release valve.

To de-scale your Atomic, run a brew cycle with no coffee, putting 3 tsp of food-grade citric acid in 0.5 litre of water.

Run two further "null" brews with plain water before you make the next coffee brew.

Long-Term Storage

If you plan not to use your Atomic for an extended period (more than a few weeks), here are the precautions you should take:

• Remove the black filler knob
• Open the red steam valve
• Remove the seals from the head and the filler knob, coat them with vegetable oil and place in an airtight plastic bag.

Tip of the Month

The greatest enemies of the Atomic are UV light and water. Do not leave your Atomic in full sun on the kitchen bench, but make sure it is out of direct sunlight.

And when you have finished making coffee, empty any residual water out of the reservoir (kettle) and place the empty Atomic back on the hot plate as it cools. The warmth from the plate will evaporate any remaining moisture in the kettle and reduce the rate of oxidisation. Do not leave the hot plate switched on when you do this!