# To back flush or not?



## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

Hi Guys. Sorry for all the stupid questions... I have a Classic and I'm unsure whether to backflush or not? I regularly descale but I hear mixed things with regard to backflushing.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

I backflush mine along with cleaning the shower disc and the holding plate. I always thought it was a good idea to do all of this as well as descaling.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

When I owned a Classic I used to backflush, both with water and with solution.

Some members choose not to and others will recommend not to.

They are capable of being backflushed, and provided you know that there is a chance that the solenoid will get blocked (can happen in normal use anyway) then go for it.


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## JakeBarnes (Nov 23, 2013)

DannyMontez said:


> Hi Guys. Sorry for all the stupid questions... I have a Classic and I'm unsure whether to backflush or not? I regularly descale but I hear mixed things with regard to backflushing.


I've just bought a blind filter and what looks like a lifetime's supply of Cafiza, so I'll report back on my first backflush when I try it tomorrow.


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

Thanks guys! Let me know how it goes Jake!


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Don't know about the Classic but I can taste the difference when I back flush mine after a few weeks.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I back flush. Even if you do or don't it's worth removing the shower head soaking this in Pul caf (or other brand) along with the baskets.

I remove the dispersion plate and soak that too. It can make the aluminium block go a bit black but I've got a brass one.


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

when I descale i remove all those bits and clean them. I just use water and a sponge though.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

when I worked at gaggia uk we were told by gaggia Italy to never recommend backflush, the pressure built can cause damage, they recommend for large commercial machines. regular descaling is all you need


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

gaggiamanualservice.com said:


> when I worked at gaggia uk we were told by gaggia Italy to never recommend backflush, the pressure built can cause damage, they recommend for large commercial machines. regular descaling is all you need


That's all I needed to know! Thanks!


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## JakeBarnes (Nov 23, 2013)

DannyMontez said:


> Thanks guys! Let me know how it goes Jake!


Hey, Danny, backflushing went fine. You put approx 3 grams of Cafiza in the blind basket, turn on brew switch for around 5 seconds (I wasn't comfortable keeping it on for 10 seconds as Cafiza suggests in their instructions), turn off, WHOOSH, out comes detergent, built up coffee oils, general coffee grime, repeat for a total of five time, then rinse all the detergent from the blind basket and do it again with just water for another five times.

Common practice seems to be to do it once a week and backflush with water a couple of times after use every day.

I've read on a lot of threads people eventually needing to do a pain-in-the-neck manual clean of a blocked three-way valve because they didn't backflush regularly.

The above is just anecdotal, so proceed at your own risk, but certainly I've decided to make backflushing part of my maintenance routine.

I also soak the (metal parts only!) of the portafilter and basket in Cafiza for about 30 minutes once a week to keep those clean too.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Jake


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