How To Clean Dried Up Ink Cartridge

There are many times that the printer stops giving color or printing the ink and that is when you should know how to clean ink cartridge. There are times when the printer starts doing weird stuff like smudges the ink or giving rough prints. If the following things happen, you can do one thing and that is clean your printer from the inside. If you want to follow the right steps so you don't mess things up, see the following parts of the article.

Part1: How to Clean Ink Cartridge

Here are the correct and easy ways to get your ink cartridges shiny clean:

1. Remove the Ink Cartridge

Step 1: Safety Gloves

The first thing you should do is put some gloves on so you don't dirty your hands while taking the ink cartridges out. Gloved will help you keep your hands clean as ink is sure to get surrounding things messed up. Also, if you are allergic to ink or something, these gloves will keep you safe from any disturbing reactions. The best option for gloves is a latex pair of gloves but if you have a rubber or any other material glove, they are fine too. Even plastic gloves work perfectly fine. Also, make sure that you have extra gloves other than the ones you have put on so that you can change them while putting the clean ink cartridges back into the printer.

Step 2: Taking off the Printer Wires

The most important thing is that you take the printer wires off the sockets before opening them up. Never open an electronic while it's switched into a socket even if they are turned off. Another thing is because some printers do not let the users open them up unless they are plugged in. Maybe your printer is the same and you cannot open it due to that. So make sure it's plugged in before you open it up.

Step 3: Take the Cartridges Out

Also, make sure that you don't try to force your ink cartridges out if they are not coming out easily. This could do severe damage to your printer. Now that you have opened the printers take out the ink cartridges which are present at the front of the printer. This is where the pages go so just look directly above where they go and you will find the clap of the ink cartridges. When you lift the papers, you will see 2 ink cartridges on one side of the printer. you can easily open the flaps and take out the ink cartridges. You won't be needing to force it open.

Now remove the cartridges gently one by one. Remember, if they don't come out easily, don't force them out. It will just damage your printer's inside which includes the cartridges themselves or their holder. To take them out, you got to press on top of it while simultaneously searching them from their holders. It's just like taking the batteries out of a camera.

clean ink cartridge

2. Scrubbing the Ink Cartridges

Now you should clean them up with clean paper towels or wet tissues. You might need isopropyl alcohol to properly remove any ink stains. Here is what you must do.

Step 1: Rub the Cartridges with Alcohol

Put some of the isopropyl alcohol on the paper towel and now, gently rub the cartridges with it. Make sure you cover every area including the underside, and all around the cartridge. If you see that there is an excessive amount of ink covering the cartridges then it is a must that there is ink in the cartridges' place. Put some alcohol there as well and clean it off too.

Step 2: Clean the Print Head

Now take some cotton and some warm water so that you can clean the print head which is the coverage area of the cartridge. Dip the cotton into the water and gently rub it on the print head multiple times to ensure there is no ink left. It is advised that you use distilled or bottled water instead of your normal tap water.

Step 3: Clean the Circuitry

Now you got to clean the circuitry which is located on the back of the cartridges. This circuitry is the colored circuitry strip. Make sure you rub it gently and multiple times to clean it thoroughly.

Step 4: Dry the Cartridges

Now make sure that you take the excess water out of the cartridges and dry them properly. For that, you need a clean and dry cotton swab and gently rub it on the cartridge and the holders as well. The cotton will absorb all the water leaving the cartridges a little moist. Now leave them in the open air or dry them using a blower. A tip is that the circuitry should be left to dry while face upwards.

how to clean ink cartridge

3. Reinstalling the Ink Cartridges

Now all you have to do is put the cartridges back into their place.

Step 1: Put Cartridges Back

Once they are dry along with the holder, put the cartridges back by pressing them down into the holder. When they are inside properly you will hear a clicking sound indicating that it's fit. They are a perfect match for the holder so you might have to wiggle them a little bit.

Step 2: Close the Flaps

Now close the flaps and plug your printer back in so that you can check whether the ink cartridges are working fine or not. It might take a few minutes so in that time you can check for other problems with your printer.

Now you should make sure it's working. Try printing out something and if it comes out perfect, then you are good to go. Make partitions for the black and white part and the other for the colored part so that GPU can see whether or not both are working. It is not necessary to write an essay long page, just write a few words highlight some of them in different colts, and print them out. Also, you only need one page for this, no need to waste multiple printing papers.

how to clean ink cartridge

That's all that you got to do to know how to clean ink cartridge, and I am 100% sure that it won't cause any problem for your printer, only if you follow the right steps.

Part2: Easy Steps to Clean the Inkjet Printhead

There are 2 ways that you can clean the inkjet printhead. And both of them are explained in detail down below.

1. Manual Cleaning of Inkjet Printhead

To know how to clean ink cartridge manually, you have to follow the following steps:

Step 1: Gather Cleaning Supplies

The first thing is to gather your cleaning supplies. For this, you will need isopropyl alcohol, a bowl, water, and paper towels.

Step 2: Unplug the Printer

Start by unplugging and shutting down the printer so that it is protected from damage.

Step 3: Removing of Cartridges

Now, remove all the cartridges from your printer.

Step 4: Removing of the PrintHead

Now, remove your printhead. You can read the printer's manual to know how to remove it. Or, you can gently push on top of the printhead and if you hear the sound of the 'click' then pull out it from the printer.

Step 5: Make a Cleaning Mixture

Next, you have to make the cleaning mixture by adding equal amounts of water and isopropyl alcohol in a bowl.

Step 6: Soak the Print Head

Now, you have to soak your print head or cartridges (if the print head is on cartridges). Make sure that the mixture is coming half an inch over to the side of your printhead. And, let it soak in the mixture for some minutes so that the ink can soften a bit.

Step 7: Clean and Dry

Next, take the printhead out and put it on some paper towels to soak the moisture. Gently dab the paper towel all over the print head and dry it completely before you can go to the next step.

Step 8: Reset the Print Head

Now, you have to put back the printhead in its place and start your printer to test whether it is printing or not.

If the printer is not printing then you might have to soak the printhead or cartridge in the mixture overnight.

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2. Automatic Cleaning of Inkjet Print Head

For automatic cleaning of your inkjet printhead, follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Open Control Panel

You have to start the automatic process by going to the 'Control Panel'. You can find it by clicking on the 'Start' window option and typing down 'Control Panel' in the search bar. Click on the icon with a blue circuit board.

Step 2: Go to 'Devices and Printers'

Once you have opened the Control Panel, you have to find the option of 'Devices and Printers'. It is present on the far right of the opened page with an icon of a printer.

Step 3: Select the Printer Name

From there on, go to the option of 'Printer Menu' or 'Menu'. After opening the menu, you have to search for your printer's name that you want to clean.

Step 4: Open Properties

Start by right-clicking on the name of your printer. A panel will open and you can find the option of 'Properties' at the end of it.

Step 5: Start 'Cleaning'

To start the cleaning process, you have to go to the 'Hardware' option and from there, to the 'Maintenance' option. From there, click on the option of 'Clean', 'Clean Head', or 'Clean Cartridges'.

clean ink cartridge

Conclusion

To clean the printer from the inside, you should know how to clean ink cartridge. To do that, you should take out the cartridges of ink. After that, clean them up using a clean wiping cloth or wet tissues. After that when you put the cleaned ink cartridges back inside, you can see your printer as good as new, working as if nothing happened.