I would have 'just' cleaned it if I'd been able to - however even with buying an allen adjuster for the socket set, I couldn't get the 'thing' off.
So, blanking is only way you can guarantee it will not affect the operation of the engine should it gum up and stick open in future.

I followed multieddies instructions (cheers mate)
In my opinion it's not as easy as 'just taking it off to clean'.
It's not rocket science for your average DIY bloke to do.........I just found it a pig of a job due to access and its location!!
Like most jobs on cars though, once you done it once......next time its easier and quicker!
Was it worth the hassle?
Yes, definately.
Mine was choked up to the hilt and after the clean it made a huge difference to the motor!
Plus I saved myself a good few quid too!
:slayer:

If it's feasable, I'll probably drill the housing and tap a thread for a blanking screw, then instead of removing it in future I can just remove the screw and squirt a bit of cylinder lube/injector cleaner (or similar) into the housing on a regular basis.
Preventative maintenance rather than waiting for it to give problems...