Hi there, I took some notes for myself to print as I plan to have this machine for a very long time. I thought I'd share them, please note that there may be mistakes and that your cleaning timelines will heavily depend on use case! *Cleaning the Gaggia Classic Pro:* When necessary: Steam wand and tip: You can unscrew the steam wand tip and clean it when necessary. This will prevent milk buildup from affecting your milk steaming performance (Flush steam wand after every use) *Daily:* Basket and Portafilter: You should be rinsing your portafilter and basket after each day of use by removing the basket from the portafilter and running it through warm water If necessary: Place the basket in boiling water for 10 minutes to clear any coffee oil buildup *These timing suggestions will vary on machine use as well as water quality, please refer to the manufacturer or other information for appropriate timelines. I based this on my use case and suggestions from these gentlemen* *Weekly:* Cleaning portafilter, basket, and grouphead: Place 6 grams of Cafiza (Or cleaning solution of choice) in warm water (About a liter) and place the portafilter and basket in there for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting you can use a brush that is dipped in the cafiza/water solution to clean the grouphead. After those 30 minutes run a blank shot or two with the portafilter back in the grouphead to ensure that the excess cafiza is cleared. Backflushing: Place approx 2 grams of cafiza in a backflushing basket and run 5 shots of roughly 6-8 seconds each. The water coming out of the solenoid valve will be soapy. After those 5 shots, take the portafilter out and rinse the blank basket. Place the portafilter back in the grouphead and run it another 5 times for approx 6-8 seconds, until the water comes out of the solenoid valve with no soap. Repeat as many times as necessary until the water is clear. Run one blank shot with your shot basket and you're good to go. *Monthly:* Shower screen: Unscrew the shower screen and place it in the cafiza/water mix mentioned above for approx 30 mins. Brush the group head, replace the shower screen after rinsing and run a blank shot or two. Descaling: *This one will greatly vary based on water quality* Remove the solenoid valve and take out the water tank. Use approx ½ of a descaling solution in the water tank, fill the tank up with cold water to the max. By pressing both the shot and steam switch you will run 2 cups of solution through the steam wand. Turn off the machine and wait for 20 minutes. When you return, run 2 cups of the solution and wait 3 minutes. Make sure you turn off your machine between runs. Repeat this step until you are out of the solution. Take out your water tank, rinse it and fill it with cold water. Run the water through your steam wand using both buttons again until the tank is completely empty (No need to take pauses here). Repeat this 4 times after the empty solution tank. Run a blank shot and you’re good to go!

Thanks Ted and Marc. Very instructive video. I'm glad i caught this. I've seen several GCP maintenance videos and this is the first one recominding not to flush through the grouphead. I'll look forward to more great content.

Thanks for the help. I've installed my group head silicone gasket and my stainless shower holding plate. Great espresso for years to come!

This is my first descaling after buying my GCP from you guys - thanks for the help

My machine was purchased in 2006. I just cleaned it, replaced parts and it’s now working great. Thank you for all the info.

Thanks for the detailed pro tips on Gaggia Classic Pro machine cleaning. Very useful.

This was excellent! Thank you, loving our Gaggia!

I am so grateful to find this wonderful explanation video. I’m sure last time I looked I couldn’t find helpful information. I have two vintage Gaggia’s waiting for help. I’m on it now !!

This is a great all-in-one video on maintaining a Gaggia Classic Pro. Thank you for creating it?

Thanks you guys!!!!! I feel very accomplished replacing my gasket with your help. I was a bit flummoxed with the two "screws" you removed until I realized I needed an allen wrench for mine. I so very much appreciate you!

Thanks guys I come back to this video every so often!

Pro-tip. Leave the steam tip off in order to keep loosened scale from building up in the tip.

Everything you need to know in one video; thanks for putting this together!

As a brand new gaggia classic I really do appreciate this video, thanks boys great job, keep going.

You guys really saved me from stripping the shower screen screw, thank you!

I've always dreaded backflushing and descaling because it made such a mess, but these instructions were simple so now I've got quite a clean machine! Thanks!

Really helpful stuff! Thanks for this one and a lot of other videos about Gaggia Classic Pro.

This video was a perfect explanation for cleaning my Gaggia, thanks so much! I could follow all your steps really easily, will definitely rewatch next time I clean my machine.

My Evo Pro just arrived last night. I can't wait to fire it up. On another note, your videos and customer care are second to none. Please keep up the great work !

Thanks Ted and Marc!! Great info and huge help for me to maintain my GCP!! I was having some issue with intermittent slow flow through the group head. This process has my machine running like NEW!! Thank you so much again for the great, detailed and absolutely useful "how-to" videos. Robert

Thanks for sharing this. Cleaned my machine. Appreciate your work !!!!

Thank you! I always reference to this for backflushing and descaling

Second time cleaning - this video is my right hand man!

I read the neon sign in the back as “Whole Latte Lab” and I was so proud of myself.

Very helpful. Thank you

Thank you! Much needed video!

This was very useful! In Finland we dont suffer from limescale too much, so I'm doing these for the first time after a year. Better late than never huh :D

wow thank you for this! very useful

I’ve owned a half dozen Gaggias over the last 30+ years and it’s been a constant issue with scale buildup. In all those years I’ve never read or heard that you should never run the descaling solution through the brew head. Live and learn. Thanks for that invaluable tip!!!

Really well done and informative. tyvm!!

In the previous descaling tutorial from 6yrs ago, you advised alternating the flushing through the group head and the steam wand. But in this video it is said to NOT flush the the group head. Just want to confirm what the correct method should be. Thanks so much for the tutorials!

I have the Gaggia Classic from 2015 and the manual says it a little different but I have been doing it your way so so far no problems

Finally! Thanks!!!

Perfect video and a few jokes as a bonus! Thank you so much.

Thanks for the great video, guys. It really helped me a lot.

Thanks for the great video!

Awesome video!

Thank you for sharing! My filter screen was pretty nasty!

THANK YOU!!!

Excellent. I was descaling my machine incorrectly. Thanks!

Good information

Thanks for the Video it was very helpful. I can clean and field strip my M16 faster but it don’t make Expresso. Again Thank You

Thanks for this amazing and informative video guys. Quick question - I have picked up the slightly older "Gaggia coffee deluxe" I believe it's very similar but only has a 2 way valve, one way to the boiler/steamer and the other to an overflow back into the tank. Are the backwash and descale methods here still valid?

So i followed your old video instructions for descale and was using a full bottle per descale and ran a cup through the group head and a cup through the wand. Guess I have been doing it al wrong. Good to know i can only use half the bottle for descale though!

thank you.

Ok thank you 😊

@WholeLatteLove These videos are so fantastic and thank you for putting them out to the consumer to get the very most out of their machines and to help them last 10 plus years! I hope that you all still read and answer new questions to older videos :) I do have a question with regards to the aftermarket shower screen and precision basket I got both the Nanotech technology shower screen and precision basket. I noticed an amazing film on the basket. My question is that is it okay to clean this nanotechnology with Cafiza or will it ruin the properties of the basket and screen? I am getting conflicting information and would like your honest opinions on if I can use Cafiza or not on this technology. Especially backflushing with new screen and Cafiza too, or just use hot water. Please and thank you I would like to know if I can soak them for 20 minutes in the Cafiza water or just do the boiling hot water method? Cheers! Look forward to your response :)

I had an old Gaggia digital synchrony for years. I replaced parts on it and repaired a long time. Finally laid to rest and my daughter gave me her Gaggia Cubika that I had bought her as a wedding gift. I had to clean it, apparently she never descaled it and take the group head completely apart to soak, before water would flow from the porta filter. Finally got it working. Used it about 5 times and apparently I left it on and the plug for the heating switches melted. Smoked up the house. Now I’m afraid to try to use it again. One thing I suspected is I had a step up transformer for the voltage since it was an UK machine. I know it was working correctly for about a week though. I’m not certain I even left it on because I usually turned it off and turned off the transformer box. I can part it out if anyone if interested. Inside looked new. Bummed out! Need to buy a new one now.

Hi Ted and Marc! I had a group head on My GCP that all of a sudden wasn’t delivering water through the portafilter. I went nuts thinking my machine or some part of it was a goner. I had no idea how often I should do these things described and demonstrated here. I’ve had my machine for 5 months using it once per day. I do use the decalcifying packets from Whole Lattè Love too. I did all of this described and shown in this video and my machine now works like a champ again! Thanks for all of this!! 👉🏻 Question: What constitutes a heavy vs light user? At using my machine once per day with fairly hard water where I live, how often should I do this… monthly or once every other month?

Thanks, this is the video I needed! Question about back flushing... how often should we use Cafiza? Once per week? Some say back flush everyday with just water and once per week with Cafiza. Most importantly, should we remove the shower screen during back flushing? I have noticed water does not drip anymore as rain drops after i back flush. It's like the water pressure damages/deforms/moves around the showerscreen. I always need to adjust the shower screen to keep it tighter or loser until water starts to do the rain drops again.

I found the blue in colour cleaning liquid for cleaning the steam wand the best option

In your descaling video you alternate between brew group and steam wand. This video specifically mentions not using the brew group. So what would you recommend in the end?

To first tip regarding wand cleaning: you have to do it anyway because after every use if steam you need to prime the boiler by opening steam valve while pump is running.

hey all! question, can you guys make a video on how to clean the tubes? one of them is getting dirtier and dirtier and with all this cleaning and maintenance it stays the same, or is there a replacement tube available? Haven't been able to find one. Thanks!

This video is a like a manual I return to again and again when maintaining my machine. Love it! I did a double descale about three weeks ago, wound up clogging my solenoid valve, took the machine apart, descaled the valve, etc. Got the machine working again, and all seemed good. The other day my wand clogged up. I unscrewed the tip and sure enough, full of scale. So I ran some water through the wand and lo and behold, TONS of scale. And it seems never ending. I've seen so much scale that I'm wondering if it's coming loose from the interior of the wand itself (total guess). Is this common weeks after a descale? I'm curious as to why it's coming out now. I'm gonna run another descale right now, but would love to hear your experience with this sort of thing.

That is a very nice faucet! Blanco by any chance?

Thanks for a great and very helpful video! Right near the end you quickly mention "do it three more times after your initial rinse tank"...do you mean you need to flush/run through four full tanks of water (initial one plus three) before the machine is fully rinsed and ready to use again? Thank you!

Hello from Switzerland I‘m a Gaggia Classic pro owner since 2 years now and absolutely happy with the machine. Your videos are all very helpfull! Thank you very much! One question: I refill the boiler after steaming by letting out steam and water through the group head. In all your videos you do this through the steam wand. I just find it very convenient to do it the other way. But does this harm the machine?

Great video! Easy step by step which made it very easy to clean my gaggia classic. I have a question though. Is it okay to just use regular tap water for the 4 tanks after descaling? I think my water is a bit hard, bit it also seems like a waste to use bottled water like when im brewing.

Manual says you should run the descaler through the steam wand AND also through the coffee unit

Hey guys. Wonderful job as usual. Just wondering if it's a good idea to remove the steam wand tip to allow the descale solution to dispesne with more flow?

Hello!! Love the informative video :)))) quick question, my portafilter seems like it has a lot of trouble when I twist it in. It is the one that comes with the gaggia classic pro as well. What can I do? Thank youuuu

Love the beard!

I am using Durgol Special Descaler with my Gaggia classic pro. Do I still use half a bottle in a full tank or do I use a full bottle in the tank as is stated on the bottle? The included Durgol instructions state to dilute 1:1 with water. That would only create 8.4 oz of solution in the tank!

Informative video! I'm about to purchase the GCP. I plan on using it 5-6 a week. How often do you recommend cleaning/descaling etc?

Hmmm... I recall earlier videos and possibly even the gagia documentation saying to alternate 1 cup through the wand and 1 cup through the grouphead for descaling. Is the change to run all the water through the wand based upon issues you've found in servicing machines or was it a change based upon product changes? Classic vs classic pro perhaps? Thanks. I do appreciate all the effort the team puts into these videos.

Another great video, guys! Thanks muchly. Curiosity Q? Can you actually see sediment in the drain bucket when you descale? Would kind of give you feedback that it's doing it's job!

Didn't your previous video instruction on how to descale this machine have you running the descaler through the grouphead?

Thanks for the video! Incredibly helpful. One small question, is it possible to use a Cafiza instead of the Gaggia Descaling liquid? It's quite hard to source that liquid where I live unfortunately

Can you use urnex Dezcal for descaling the gaggia classic pro?

Hey guys. Love your videos. I had one question. I was cleaning my machine and did the descale last. The machine was hot due to this. First few cups of descale came out of the wand with a lot of steam. I hadn’t thought much of this until later, but, now I am wondering if it’s a safety issue to have that cleaner airborne with the steam? I notice in this video you guys did the same thing more or less, with steam coming out when you run out the descale solution. Figure you know more than I do about this so I thought I’d ask here. Thanks a lot.

Can i use this descalin process in a profitec go?

Excellent video gentlemen! I apologize if I may be replicating this question if it's already been asked, but wouldn't it be better for the sake of time as well as not plugging the steam wand tip to remove it during the descaling? Any contraindications? Thanks again for this very thorough video.

OH YEAH, I NEED A PORTAFILTER REMOVAL TOOL! LOL!

thankyou, only very recently started drinking coffee and bought a used machine today, so all new to me. Is filling the tank from the top funnel the same as taking the tank out and filling it?

Hello from Greece. Have a wonderful year and stay healthy. I was working as a barista more than 15 years ago and I always do a back flushing the machine every night. Now I purchased the Gaggia Classic for my self and because I saw your videos and other and I also read that you mustn’t do back flushing the Gaggia due to aluminium components that has and those chemicals if you read are corrosive to aluminium, I contacted Gaggia in Greece here and told me that company says no to back flushing. That’s why it isn’t written anywhere in the manual. And always descaling the machine with Gaggia descales that is aluminium friendly. What’s your answer to that? My mind says that the right thing for a 3 ways solenoid valve is to back flushing it but in the other hand maybe damage the components. Thanks for your answer in advance.😊

I was recommended to descale every 2 months due to the water where I live (5.9dH and lots of iron). I'm using a dafi filter pitcher instead of one directly in the tank. So the water is filtered before I put it in the tank. Is that enough for daily use? I'm also wondering if I should filter the water first for the 4 tanks of clean water I need to run through the machine at the end?

Hello, on my gaggia classic pro 2020, when I make the backflushing and before I hit off the brew button, thewater is already coming out thru the blow down pipe. I see in your video it does not happen. Is it a problem?

I maybe have got my machine nearly 2 years ago.......... Definitely due for some maintenance, although I may have not used it heavily for many months at a time, I am just a bit worried about the scale build up.

Hello! Appreciate the video. I always used the BWT bestcup filter for my classic pro. Should I leave it on during descaling or take it off? I just thought about it during my descale process and took the filter off.

Can I use a normal washing machine descaler or do I have to get the one from a coffee shop?

Hi there, great video! One question regarding the Nanotech Shower Screen. A bit concerned with the coating of the product if soaked 30 min in cafizza. No issues? Thanks!

We cleaned the 3-way solenoid, descaled, and cleaned the screen assembly head it still has no water coming out of the shower head. what do we check next?

Thanks for the info. Can I use cafiza2 for back flushing the GCP? Also do you recommend a deep blind basket or normal?

Great video! Very useful. When recently descaling, I noticed solution coming through the group head while the steam valve is fully open. Does this mean my machine is in need of repair? Thanks

When flushing during descaling is it advisable to remove the tip of the steaming wand to prevent potential clogging by loosened scale. After descaling is completed, then the tip can be remounted onto the wand. What are the WLL thoughts about doing this precaution during descaling?

Great video! What product do you guys use to clean the brushed stainless steel exterior of the machine without streaking? I always get streaking when I clean mine!

Hi, thanks for the interesting video! I have a 90s Gaggia Classic and it doesn't have the lateral tube used for backflushing. So there is no way to carry out any backflushing operation? Thanks for your feedback

Nice video, very informative, just got the Gaggia classic pro less than a month ago, my instructions book don't mention anything about backflushing, should I still do it? I don't want to ruin the machine, help please😬

Hi! I have a question, does it matter the order in which I clean the machine? Can I start with descaling and then clean the rest of the machine (i.e. backflushing, shower screen, portafilters...)? Thanks a lot for the video! very useful!

I have always wanted to get the right answers to the steps of using and maintaining my Gaggia and thank you so much for this video! I have been running the the descaling solution through the group head so now I know I have been doing it wrong. If you don't mind I have 3 questions. 1. May I know how to keep the metal cover on the tray shiny and spotless like yours? I can't seem to get those water marks/stains out of it. 2. Do the steps to descaling varies from the brand of the descaler? I'm using URNEX Dezcal and it says after descaling to rinse twice so moving forward should I do 4x instead? 3. I was told to back flush (w/o descaler, just water from the tank) every end of the day and back flush 3x each time (as I'm hardly at home, on average I only use the machine once a day). Is this right or necessary?

I am a bit late to the party, but I was wondering if there is any alternative to the Gaggia descaling solution? Maybe a powder or vinegar or citric acid? Because sadly where I live the descaling solution is extremely expensive to ship :( Thanks in advance!

1:37 Based on previous videos, I've been cooling down the boiler after steaming by flipping the brew switch + opening the steam wand. Should I have been flipping both the brew switch and the steam switch? Curious if this matters in anyway. Thanks!

Awesome video. Thanks so much. I have a almost thirty year old espresso machine and try to descale often cause I’d our hard water. But just use vinegar, where can I order the descaled and one of them brushes. Thanks again

This machine will consume all my free time to maintain. But it’s all worth it 😅

Lol I just bought a Gaggia classic pro and so far I’m enjoying it but I’m still considering switching it out for a Flair 58 since it doesn’t require this much maintenance

Thank you for the video :) just one question, I do not remember Gaggia advice to backflushing the machine. I need to gave the manual another look

Great vid, what descaler do you recomend appart from the Gaggia one? Aluminium safe of course.

Use the bowl to flush at the end, it's right there!

Do you have any videos on how to troubleshoot if the volume of water isn’t coming out of the shower head as much as it used to? It’s coming out normally out of the steam wand. I’ve cleaned the shower head screen.