Cleaning a clogged espresso machine Portafilter

Question

Can anyone recommend a method for cleaning the clogged holes in a "Basket" of an espresso machine Portafilter? I had this problem with both DeLonghi and Saeco home espresso machines.

For example, in Care of Saeco Pressurized Portafilters (regarding Saeco Manually Pressurized Portafilter) they caution against using metal pins.

Any suggestions of methods or cleaning materials?

Answer

I would let the basket soak in a hot water ( just from the tap ) bath of Cafiza for about 15 minutes to dissolve the coffee oils. If the problem is scale buildup I would try a soak in a citric acid bath, about 2 tablespoons to 1 liter of water. Of course a good stiff brush could do the trick too with both the methods described here. An old toothbrush maybe.

I would also recommend getting on a routine cleaning schedule. I do a complete espresso machine and grinder cleaning about every 4-5 weeks and it keeps some of these problems from happening. Once you get into the habit of doing it and develop your own personal system it is not too hard to keep up, and you learn a lot about the internals of your machines, which can come in handy if you want to mod or need to do repairs.

Here is a pretty good how-to on cleaning the portafilter and basket link

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