rosielovescoffee Senior Member Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 6 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 7:13am Subject: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
greetings all. I have a slight worry over my gaggia classic. I used a descaling agent in it today and now starting to regret it! I put the tablet into the resevoir and ran it through the system and then rinsed the whole system 5 or 6 times. Trouble is, the water coming out still smells (and tatses) of descaling agent. I have removed some parts and rinsed them separately but I dont have an allen key so I cannot get right into the machine. Does anyone have some advice they might offer me? :-(
Terry_L Senior Member Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 64 Location: Louisville-KY Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Coffee Grinder: Solis Scala 166 Vac Pot: French-Press(s)-Love 'em Drip: Bunn Roaster: SC/TO - Air Popper
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 8:31am Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
couple of quick questions... 1) what product did you use? (might be something I'm not familiar with, so if it lists ingredients, please list) 2) How long did it sit in the boiler? (i.e. pump from reservoir, set sit xx minutes, pump again sit for xx mins) 3) did you remove the reservoir and wash with soap/water? 4) when pumping solution out through system, did you have the portafilter in place?
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 8:33am Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
If you used a product intended for espresso or coffee equipment descaling then it might just need more rinsing. Did you use something else, or do you know the brand/product name of what you used? It usually takes a few rinses to get it all out but yours might need a bit more. If you wash out the reservoir and then fill it up and run that water through the machine and out the group and steam wand then that is usually good enough to rinse most of the stuff out. I usually remove the small parts that I can when descaling because I soak them in something called Cafiza which removes oils that can become rancid. If you can't remove them, just keep rinsing a few more times and see if that helps, and when you're done it's good to use some old coffee to run a "seasoning" shot which you don't drink. Hope that helps, but that would be my suggestion. Welcome to CoffeeGeek as well!
rosielovescoffee Senior Member Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 6 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 8:52am Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
I used "keep it handy" all purpose descaler tablets. I let one dissolve in the resevoir for about 30 secs then ran it through the machine. At the time I had the grouphead in place but have since removed it and found lots of white residue behind it. I have now run about 10 litres of water through the entire system with the grouphead removed and it seems alot better. I then proceeded to make a very bitter and undrinkable espresso!!! I think I'm out of practice!!!
rosielovescoffee Senior Member Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 6 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 8:57am Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
hi, I had the group head in place but im not sure what a portafilter is? I used "keep it handy" all purpose descaler tablets that I also use in my kettle. I let it sit in the resevoir for about 30 seconds then ran it through the machine. I rinsed immeditaely so it didnt really sit in the boiler for too long. I didnt realise that was the method usually used, probably just as well. I have rinsed about another 10 litres though the machine since the post and the water now appears to be running clear. I was more worried about long lasting damage to the machine ( as well as poisoning myself) !! Thanks for your help, ROsie.
Gerry07 Senior Member Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Dublin Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 10:20am Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
rosielovescoffee Said:
hi, I had the group head in place but im not sure what a portafilter is? I used "keep it handy" all purpose descaler tablets that I also use in my kettle. I let it sit in the resevoir for about 30 seconds then ran it through the machine. I rinsed immeditaely so it didnt really sit in the boiler for too long. I didnt realise that was the method usually used, probably just as well. I have rinsed about another 10 litres though the machine since the post and the water now appears to be running clear. I was more worried about long lasting damage to the machine ( as well as poisoning myself) !! Thanks for your help, ROsie.
I think you mean you had the Portafilter in place, the device with the handle that holds the coffee basket. You then place the portafilter into the group head and lock it in place, just so you know. IME those all purpose descalers always seem a little more acidic than descalers specifically for espresso machines so its likely you just needed to flush it very well after using it which appears to be the case. In future you may be better off using just half a tablet. As for long term damage, I don't think so.
Posted Sun Apr 13, 2008, 8:33pm Subject: Re: have i wrecked my gaggia classic?
99% of food grade descaler is made from citric acid > its bitter like a lemon or lime and is non poisonous to us humans but tastes bitter. Its used in a lot of our food you use today and soft drinks and is found in most plant and animals on this planet anyways. The thing about it in tablet and lose form is it dose not like to dissolve in cold or Luke warm water well so you might have a lot of flushing to get rid of it if you put it in your water reserve. The next time is dissolve it first on the stove in very hot water and let it cool some before adding it to your machine so its already in solution and will rinse easier for you. You may speed things up if you remove the reservoir and clean it out in the sink and stick it back into the machine making sure no residue is left in it and then run some more water through the machine!
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 