We just got our old Nespresso out of storage and little black things were coming out of the nozzle when we pressed the espresso buttons without a capsule in. I used the descaler twice and still no change. Nespresso don't sell any cleaning/maintenance products other than descaler so I went googling for tips.

Bought some "cleaning capsules" which I'd never heard of before and they came today. You're meant to just use one but I used all five and have just ordered a few more packs. I feel a bit sick knowing what was in the espresso all this time.

A couple of gross pictures showing the difference from cleaning capsules 1-5. The last clear pic is a lungo shot without a capsule in it - still a couple of little black things but I'll get rid of those with a few more cleaning pods tomorrow. Genuinely rotten.

If like me you're a dummy and hadn't heard of cleaning pods before I suggest you get a few and clean your machine!