Hi all,

Trawling through all the posts about descaling, I realise there are almost as many opinions on this subject as there are on ways to brew the perfect shot! Citric acid, tartaric acid, Urnex, bottled water etc...

I have a Gaggia Classic with aluminium boiler and use an under sink water filter with a remineralisation filter which effectively reintroduces limescale but without all the other gumpf we get in our London water.

It's def time for me to descale. Can anyone with a Classic, who's had it for a few years AND has hard water please tell me which technique has worked for them and for how long?

Thank you,

Milan.

It would be interesting to soak a piece of scrap aluminum and a few bits of scale in the various options.

Good idea!

Any takers??

I've tried to stick to Gaggia products as much as possible, assuming that they wouldn't harm the aluminium of the boiler. Enter "Gaggia" and "descaler" in amazon and you'll find a liquid or perhaps tablets/powder that should do the trick. I'd be interested in hearing about alternatives as well though because I've had a hard time finding such products locally and ordering online always adds shipping costs, almost doubling the cost.

Now, the other thing is backflushing with Cafiza, Puly Caff etc. I've always been worried about how the shower screen holder (or what's the name of that aluminium puck above the shower screen and below the boiler) reacts to these products: it looks like a grey goo comes off. Not coffee gunk but as if the aluminium itself is dissolving slightly. I've read somewhere that Cafiza damages the aluminium so I tried Puly Caff, but the effect seems similar. I'd be interested in a backflushing detergent that doesn't eat away my aluminium because now I always take apart the shower screen and -holder to give a good scrub after using Puly Caff in order to not get whatever is coming off in my espresso. Any ideas?

Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. I'm a bit scared about how much aluminium is in the Classic. It may be the reason I upgrade, which is a shame because I love the Classic!
I've just ordered some Gaggia descaler so thanks for the confirmation. Also, just got some http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/urnex-full-c ... o-machines It's supposed to be environmentally friendly so hopefully it will be aluminium friendly too. I'll let you know how I get on with it...

Wietse, I just tried out the Urnex Full Circle Coffee Equipment Wash and as all of its ingredients are of natural origin, it seems to be quite kind to the aluminium. It's a backflushing wash and I can confirm that the colour of the water flushed out was coffee coloured (light brown) with no visible signs that any aluminium has been dissolved.
Hope that helps.
M.

Yikes, I just happened on this post while looking for something else, and get the impression that the last poster is trying to or considering a backflush solution for descaling? Hopefully I mis-read that, but the two jobs require totally different solutions.

Descaling is best done with Citric Acid.
Backflushing is done with a detergent.
You do NOT want detergent going through your boiler....

Hopefully I misunderstood.

Susan

Use the Gaggia decalcifier. You can order it from Whole Lotta Latte. At least that is where I found it for sale.

Why spend the extra?
Just use Citric Acid to descale.

I was told citric acid will eat the aluminum boiler in the Gaggia Classic!