# Gaggia maintenance queries



## Burnzy (Apr 17, 2014)

Hi, my virtual coffee bredrin

just a few questions about maintenance of my gaggia classic,

so ive had it about a week now & loving it, best thing ive ever brought... Sometimes i cant believe how good my coffee tastes.

anyway,

in the post i have some gaggia descaler coming, some cafiza and a blind basket...

im confident in how to descale and backflush etc...

my main question is, how often? Ive heard 8 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 months... Im thinking monthly would be best???

For the first two tanks i used tap water, but now only use filtered water. Im not sure how hard my water is, but best to stick to filtered as advised. Im using a britta water filter.

My next question is how often to backflush? Weekly? Or monthly when i descale?

Also how often to take shower screen and group head off and soak in cafiza?

i have seen many turn it on its back,is it ok to turn machine on its back to get these parts off? i know the tank will be removed, but it just seems dodgy to me...

Also i am debating the big wand swap.... I am currently "barewanding" with the stock wand... But its so short i cant see what im doing, my milk is ok, its shiny and no big bubbles etc, but latte art is never happening... I just think invalidating the warranty is a bit risky at this stage, is it really worth the swap? I think maybe wait, is it impossible to do latte art with the stock wand? Is it just the lack of visability that lowers the chance of getting a good microfoam??

Its rather annoying they have a machine that has commercial portafilter, selenoid valve etc but whack a rubbish wand on it!!! But my coffee tastes soooo good so what the hell

sorry for all the questions... Would really appreciate some advice on some of it, i just want to properly maintain it.

Thanks

Louis


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

For what it costs I'd replace the steam wand , you'll be able to control the steam better

Britta should be fine

monthly backflushing and descaling seems reasonable but I'll let one of the classic owners give you some more advise based on actual experience ....

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?16177-Rancilio-Wand-plus-free-temp-tag&highlight=Wand


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## Burnzy (Apr 17, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> For what it costs I'd replace the steam wand , you'll be able to control the steam better
> 
> Britta should be fine
> 
> ...


cheers mrboots

yeah I'm tempted!


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Ok first things 1st, if you purchase a Silvia wand for your Classic from Happy Donkey they cost a little more but come ready to fit to the Classic even to having a nut on already that fits the Classic so it's a straight swap and if you had any issues that would require returning it under warranty then just swap back and no-one would know, it's the single best mod you can do to a Classic.

Secondly cleaning, drop the shower screen and dispersion block once a week, backflush with water only after you have finished with the machine at the end of the day. Now here's where it gets a little different from standard advice, only soak the screen itself in Cafiza or Puly Caff, if you soak the plate in it it will get discoloured and go black, which takes ages to clean off. Buy yourself a bottle of Fairy Powerspray from the supermarket, spray the plate all over and then leave for 15 minutes, then wash it in normal washing up liquid and hot water and rinse very thoroughly afterwards, this way the block will not go black.


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## Burnzy (Apr 17, 2014)

Charliej said:


> Ok first things 1st, if you purchase a Silvia wand for your Classic from Happy Donkey they cost a little more but come ready to fit to the Classic even to having a nut on already that fits the Classic so it's a straight swap and if you had any issues that would require returning it under warranty then just swap back and no-one would know, it's the single best mod you can do to a Classic.
> 
> Secondly cleaning, drop the shower screen and dispersion block once a week, backflush with water only after you have finished with the machine at the end of the day. Now here's where it gets a little different from standard advice, only soak the screen itself in Cafiza or Puly Caff, if you soak the plate in it it will get discoloured and go black, which takes ages to clean off. Buy yourself a bottle of Fairy Powerspray from the supermarket, spray the plate all over and then leave for 15 minutes, then wash it in normal washing up liquid and hot water and rinse very thoroughly afterwards, this way the block will not go black.


Sound advice! Thanks...

wow i did not know that about the happy donkey wands... Thats great, going to order that now!!


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## mrmike1 (May 3, 2014)

My wand was a straight swap as well. I think it was from them.

Anyway, don't forget to wash the water tank as it can start growing things.. fungus, bacteria, etc. To clean the tubing, I insert them into boiling water. The slime comes off easily after that.

I'm sure that the boiler will sterilize the water once it passes but I'm not sure about any toxins that these organisms may produce. Also, it will affect the taste.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Charliej said:


> Secondly cleaning, drop the shower screen and dispersion block once a week, backflush with water only after you have finished with the machine at the end of the day. Now here's where it gets a little different from standard advice, only soak the screen itself in Cafiza or Puly Caff, if you soak the plate in it it will get discoloured and go black, which takes ages to clean off. Buy yourself a bottle of Fairy Powerspray from the supermarket, spray the plate all over and then leave for 15 minutes, then wash it in normal washing up liquid and hot water and rinse very thoroughly afterwards, this way the block will not go black.


Charlie - I assume that is what you would definitely recommend for the brass shower plate holder. I have been soaking the stock one but that was so discoloured and pock marked that a soaking wasn't going to make any difference. If so - it's great advice, thank you.


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