You Must Descale
Standard tap water contains all varieties of impurities, among them are calcium and magnesium. Unless you are using softened and filtered water, purified and balanced water, or a special filter cartridge such as Clearyl, your Super Automatic espresso machine's boiler is lined with scale. The heating element draws the minerals out of the water and bakes them onto itself, literally forming rock inside your machine. This creates all sorts of problems such as reduced water flow and shortened life of the unit.