How to clean the inside of your printer?

Updated: 2021-06-08

Most people would think that a printer is meant to be dirty, and is a place that requires minimal maintenance. However, this is not true. Printer manufacturers are particularly good at designing printers that contain components that are not replaceable, and that have components that can slow down the printer’s speed.

Cleaning your printer is important if you want to make use of it for a long time. It won’t hurt if you do some preventive maintenance activities once in a while. You can make sure that dust won’t ruin the outer parts of your printers. Simply clean it using a dry, soft cotton cloth.

It seems so simple to clean the outside of the gadget. Now, the question is how to clean this device’s inner portions. You may want to know if special techniques are needed knowing that there are certain sensitive parts inside your printer that you can’t just touch easily.

Tips for cleaning inner parts of inkjet printing gadgets

If you are making use of an inkjet printer, the following cleaning tips will be of help:

  1. Always make sure that your printer is unplugged. Otherwise, you might encounter some accidents while cleaning your gadget.
  1. Deal with printer ink blotches and splotches. Start by cleaning off the roller with a soft cloth dabbed in alcohol or water. Make sure that the liquid does not soak up the cotton or the roller or else the printer will be ruined.
  1. Just in case you have a difficult time using alcohol, water and lint-free cloth, the trick is to place the liquid over printing paper. You can then feed the sheet of paper into the printer and press the gadget’s feed button. Do this for several times.
  1. Never use vacuum cleaners to remove dust inside the printer. This can damage it totally. It is best to use the button that can help clean the other internal parts of the gadget.
  1. Using a soft cotton cloth, you may also clean the printer cartridge. Dab it in alcohol and make sure you rub the rollers gently. Too much pressure while cleaning the cartridge won’t help.

Tips for cleaning laser printing gadgets

Cleaning laser printers can be different from cleaning inkjet versions. Here are some tips on how to clean the former:

  1. To begin with, you should remove the toner cartridge from the printer.
  1. Toner vacuum will help clean the inner parts of the laser toner. This can cost as much as $150 but can be better for cleaning the toner when compared to regular vacuum cleaners.
  1. Toner cloth on the other hand, should be used when dusting off the laser toner cartridge from toner particles. The toner cloth takes charge of cleaning particles that the toner vacuum may leave behind.
  1. Toner should be cleaned from crevices. If necessary, vacuum the areas.
  1. Corona wires, which are thin wires that hang inside printers, should never be cleaned with a vacuum or brush. Doing so may cause you to replace your gadget. You should use an alcohol-soaked cotton swab to clean this part.
  1. After cleaning the printer, you can then reinsert the toner cartridge and see if the printer still functions after you’ve cleaned it.

There are different printer cleaning tips for each type of printer. Make sure you know what you own to avoid troubles while undertaking the procedure. You’ll find some special cleaning tips in your gadget’s manual as well.