If you notice a brown deposit or what appears to be rust in your heating reservoir, this is actually lime scale (mineral found naturally in water). Your Babycook reservoir is made of stainless steel, so it cannot rust. To correct this, you’ll need to descale your appliance. Instructions for descaling are located in your product manual or on this site.
*Please note: Lime scale is not toxic to your infant
Instructions on how to descale your Babycook:
The Babycook, like most kitchen appliances, should be cleaned regularly to ensure long product life. The process for cleaning the reservoir is called "descaling." To descale the reservoir, we recommend using white distilled vinegar after every 6-8 uses or at the first sign of build-up. The Babycook® Pro and Pro 2 X steam light will turn red as a descale reminder after approximately 50 uses, but more frequent cleaning is recommended. Should you ever notice your steam cycles running shorter than usual or there is water remaining in the reservoir after the steam cycle completes, it is time to descale your machine.
Per the Babycook user guide, never use a chemical descaler (such as CLR) or a coffee machine descaler in the heating reservoir as these can damage the lining of the reservoir and are harmful when ingested. We also do not suggest inserting a foreign object into the reservoir as this could also damage the Stainless Steel finish.
Please follow these steps to descale your Babycook reservoir:
1) Unplug appliance and let cool, descaling is done when the appliance is cold
2) Pour a mixture of 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar (or for a more stubborn build-up 1 full cup of white distilled vinegar) into the reservoir and let it sit overnight or for up to 24 hours
3) Pour out the vinegar by tipping appliance oven sink
4) Repeat as many times as necessary until clean (check inside after each soak by using a small flashlight or your cell phone)
5) Once clean, run 2 steam cycles with plain water using water level 3 to rinse out the vinegar
6) Clean accessories with warm soapy water
Please note that it is extremely important to use the mixing lid that came with the Babycook while blending to prevent food from entering the reservoir. If you need a replacement, please click Replacement Parts Archives - BéabaUSA. (HERE) and find the mixing lid designed for your particular machine, Pro/ Solo, Pro 2 x/ Plus, or Original/ Classic (please note that the Neo was not designed for use with a mixing lid).
If you find that you have a more stubborn organic build-up in your reservoir that cannot be removed with vinegar, an alternative method is cleaning with lemon juice. For instructions on how to clean your Babycook reservoir with lemon juice, please click here.
*Be sure not to run the cooking cycle until the reservoir is completely clean. Otherwise, you are just "baking" the build-up onto the sides of the reservoir.
NOTE - If the reservoir appears discolored but there is no visible build-up on the surface, descaling is not necessary (as this discoloration cannot be removed).
*Once the reservoir is clean, be sure to descale your Babycook at the first sign of build-up. Keeping the reservoir clean is much easier than trying to remove stubborn build-up.
*For the Babycook Pro/ Pro 2X, you will need to reset your cycle counter (if your steam button was red). Locking your bowl(s) and lid(s) into place, plug in the machine and then hold the steam button for approximately 30 seconds (until the light turns white again).