Being in this industry for over 25 years, we find many customers confuse back flush detergent and descaler.
Back flush detergent is also called back wash (backwash) detergent and should be used regularly on machines that are capable to be backflushed. We do have instructions that can be used as guidance, but the manufacturer of your espresso machine may have instructions which would overrule our guidance.
Backflush detergent is used to clean the coffee oils and particles and stains from the filter baskets, portafilters, and other parts. Backflushing detergent is primarily used for removing the coffee oils and super fine coffee particles from the insides of the dispersion screen, water pathways, and 3-way solenoid valve (or manual valve) on the group head. Examples of backflush detergents include Dusty Caff, Puly Detergent Bottle, Puly Detergent Box, Cafiza packets, Cafiza bottle, Ascaso Back wash detergent bottle, and Ascaso Back Wash Box.
On the other hand, descalers or descaling solutions are primarily used to remove the mineral build that occurs inside an espresso machine. This includes pumps, boiler walls, heating elements, metal tubing, piping, and pathways within the grouphead. The descaling should not be performed unless there is usually an issue. Descalers can eat at metals and gaskets, which increases the wear and tear. We perfer to use Puly Descaler for the espresso machines we sell.
One detergent can not perform as the other, and neither should be mixed.