Actually, it's quite easy to clean. Takes lessthan a minute. Wash out the basket, clean off the wand. That's about it.
But if you don't keep it clean, the coffee oils get rancid, and the milk left on the wand sours, and things taste terrible.
So the rule is, before you start enjoying the drink, spend the 60 seconds to clean the machine.
if you like espresso drinks, there's no other way to go.
___________________________________________________
The cheaper the paper, the more important the information. Peter Lynch.
___________________________________________________
Price is a crazy and incalculable thing, while Value is an intrinsic and indestructible thing. G.K. Chesterton