Removing a Stuck Shower Plate from the Gaggia Classic

Shower Plate Removal

My shower plate had become badly clogged, with two of the holes pretty much completely blocked. When I tried to remove it, I found it was really badly stuck… I tried soaking in descaling solution, tapping it with a soft faced hammer, levering it from the side with wood (mindful of damaging the shower plate)…. but it wouldn’t budge.

Then I stumbled on a tip in a forum: simply insert a longer screw in the central hole, and tighten this until it pulls the shower plate free! So, I used an M5x20mm socket head cap screw (pictured above) and, with a few turns of an allen key, the plate popped straight off.

I tried cleaning and descaling the shower plate, but it was pretty badly stained. Having neglected my machine so badly, I felt slightly ashamed and decided it deserved an upgrade with a shiny new brass shower plate…

Brass Gaggia Shower Plate

Much better!