Recommissioning your office coffee machine or water dispenser (January 2024)

white kitchen with coffee machine in an office

Find out how easy it is to recommission your office coffee machine and water dispenser after a period of downtime.

If your office coffee machine or water dispenser has been out of action for a while, you may be looking to start getting them up and running again.

Our client care team has put together a guide to recommissioning your machine after a period of downtime. Or check out this video from one of our technicians, Nick, who’ll walk you through the steps to getting your machine live again.

If you have any questions at all regarding cleaning or getting your machine back up and running, our client care team is on hand to assist with any queries you have! Just give them a call on 020 7553 7900, or drop them an email.

Fresh-milk coffee machines

If you managed to give your machine a final clean before closing your office, then great – your machine should be almost ready to go.

If not, or you’re unsure whether it was cleaned properly before decommissioning your coffee machine, no worries – now’s the time to give it a thorough clean before using it. Any milk left in the system will make for a very unpleasant drink and, if dried in the system, can even cause machine reliability issues potentially resulting in a call-out.

If you’ve got a milk fridge

First, check that the fridge is plugged in and switched on.
Make sure there’s no milk left in the fridge. If there is (and you may need to hold your nose!), empty it out, and give the milk container a thorough clean with soap and hot water, before filling with fresh milk.

Your coffee machine

Again, check that it’s plugged in and turned on.
Carry out a daily and weekly clean on your coffee machine. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can check out our customer support area, where you’ll find cleaning guides and videos.
Make sure the drip tray and grounds bin are empty – give them a clean and dry before replacing them.
If your machine is hand-fill, then empty any water left in the tank. You may want to give the tank a rinse and dry before refilling with fresh water.
If the coffee beans have been in the hoppers for two weeks or more, we’d recommend that you replace them with fresh beans. Stale beans can lose their aroma and also cause issues with drinks sizes. If you know how to remove the hoppers from your machine, then please do this, and take the time to clean and thoroughly dry the hoppers before replacing. If you’re unsure of how to remove the hoppers, then the easiest way to remove the old beans is with a hoover!

Granulated-milk coffee machines

Check that the machine is plugged in and switched on.
If the machine was cleaned before decommissioning, then you won’t necessarily need to do it again before using it. However, if it wasn’t cleaned, or you’re not confident whether it was, carry out a full clean on your machine. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can check out our customer support area, where you’ll find cleaning guides for your machine.
Make sure the drip tray and grounds bin are empty – give them a clean and dry before replacing them.
If your machine is hand-fill, then empty any water left in the tank. You may want to give the tank a rinse and dry before refilling with fresh water.
If the coffee beans have been in the hoppers for two weeks or more, we’d recommend that you replace them with fresh beans. Stale beans can lose their aroma and also cause issues with drinks sizes. If you know how to remove the hoppers from your machine, then please do this, and take the time to clean and thoroughly dry the hoppers before replacing. If you’re unsure of how to remove the hoppers, then the easiest way to remove the old beans is with a hoover!
Also, remove any remaining powdered milk and chocolate from the hoppers if possible, and refill to ensure maximum freshness.

Filter coffee brewers

Make sure that the machine is clean and free from grounds, and ensure it’s plugged in and switched on at the mains electric.

Before making your first batch of coffee, it’s sensible to run a brew cycle without any coffee grounds. This will flush the tank of any stale water, and ensure that the water is fresh for your coffee.

Undercounter water taps

Ensure that your tap unit is plugged in and switched on. If it was switched off, depending on how long it was switched off for, please bear in mind it may take longer than usual to get to temperature. For a Billi tap, it’s ready to use when the lights are steady and no longer blinking.

If your Billi still doesn’t turn on: please press and hold the blue mode button and let go when you see LOCKED ON or TIMESWITCH ON. Once this is done, you’ll need to give the machine a couple of minutes to reach temperature. You’ll know when you can use the machine as the red and blue lights will turn from a flashing state to a solid state. It may just be the case that the machine has gone into standby over since you last used it.

Before dispensing water to drink, we recommend you draw off around 2L each of both boiling (where applicable) and chilled water. This is essential to flush your unit through with fresh water.

Also please note, that for taps with a timer switch, the setting may have changed due to the unit being switched off for a long time. Please refer to the user manual in the customer support area to correct the settings.

Water coolers

Ensure that your unit is plugged in and switched on. If your unit was switched off, depending on how long it was switched off for, please bear in mind it may take longer than usual to chill.

Before dispensing any water to drink, we recommend you draw off around 2L of water from the cooler. This is very important, to ensure that the water in your unit’s tank has been flushed through with fresh water.

Hot water boilers

Ensure that your unit is plugged in and switched on at the mains. You may also need to check that it’s connected to the mains water at the back of the unit.

Then, simply switch the unit on at the front, and the boiler will fill and heat as usual.

If you have any questions at all regarding cleaning or getting your machine back up and running, please just give our friendly client care team a call or email, and they’ll be happy to assist.

Updated from a piece originally published on 13 May 2020