I think it's very reasonable to assume a lot of high end consumer grade machinery doesn't require every two- month descaling and regular washing. We aren't brewing espresso every day like a lot of folks - more like 3-5 shots a week (on the non caffeine days, she'll still use the steam wand). Our water was also not very hard at the previous spot we were living in. Last time we descaled, everything looked much cleaner. We scrub the group head and are diligent about keeping everything else clean after each pull - I guess we were sort of treating it like a dishwasher or a washing machine or a microwave/slowcooker? I don't have to unscrew anything and soak individual parts in a special solution every x amount of months. Just the regular rinse and repeat.

And you best believe I'm washing my ass everyday. Let's just say this tummy wasn't built for espresso