Chemists: solubility of cross linked poly vinyl alcohol

Factual Questions
1

Here’s the problem: after running PVA through an aspirator in the lab, it appears to have cross linked. The aspirator is gummed up all to hell with PVA, but the PVA is no longer water soluble. I’m thinking some kind of caustic will do the trick, but I’m wary because I don’t know enough about PVA chemistry.

Any ideas as to how I can clean the aspirator? (mechanical methods such as scraping are not an option)

2

Never mind. I knew that solubility of PVA in water is increasingly dependant on temp when the amount of cross linkages increases, but hot water didn’t work. (which is why I posted the question.)

So I tried boiling the water. Simple.

Almost makes me feel foolish for asking the question when the answer was right in front of me.