Clean Your 3 Way Solenoid Valve

If you own Gaggia Classic Pro espresso machine and the water flows very slowly from the group head, then you might have to clean the 3 way solenoid valve.

That's exatly what happened to us recently. The whole cleaning process is well documented here:  

I could just stop here, since the video is sufficient to do the cleaning. However, the video does not show a real world situation since their Gaggia model is already clean.

Here is what happened in out kitchen.

I used these tools and products:

The whole repair took me about 1:15 hour.

1.  I opened the case:
   
   
   
   
   
2. I located the 3 way solenoid valve and opened it:
   
   
   
   
   
3. I used the CLR cleaning product for descaling. I descaled only few parts from the valve to minimze contact with the other parts of the espresso machine. I also used disposable gloves and old plastic bottle for cleaning. 
   
   
   
   
   

   At the end I used old tootbrush for removing residual particles.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Before and after the cleaning process:
   
   

   
   
   
5. I rinsed all cleaned parts several times and then let them dry.
6. In the video, they recommed to blow air through the openings. I do not have an air compressor at home, so I just blew air (from my lungs) through these parts.
7. Before attaching the valve back on the boiler, I also cleaned the area of the connection:
   
   
   

   
   
8. After putting everything together, the machine worked perfectly well:
   
   

   
   Thanks Whole Latte Love!