| Because printer ink cartridges are so expensive, it | | | | cartridge on the work surface with the ink |
| is important to make your inkjet last as long as | | | | surface nozzle facing up. Moisten the swab with |
| you can. Instead of replacing a clogged or dirty | | | | distilled water. Make sure to squeeze out any |
| inkjet, you can manually clean it yourself to get it | | | | surplus water from the swab. Wipe the surface |
| back into good working order. | | | | of the nozzle tip with the swab. |
| The following is a guide on how to clean your | | | | 5. Dry the cartridge with a soft cloth. Wait until |
| printer ink cartridge: | | | | completely dry and then reinstall. If that does not |
| 1. Before you start the process of cleaning the | | | | work, remove the cartridge again. Moisten a |
| cartridge, find out the type of cartridge that have. | | | | cotton swab with glass cleaner and swab the print |
| Most HP ink cartridges have the print head on the | | | | head. Dry with a soft cloth. |
| cartridge, but other brands may be a bit different. | | | | 6. Reinstall the print cartridge to the printer. Align |
| Check your owner's manual or check the website | | | | the print cartridge with your printers alignment |
| for specifics. The information will tell you what | | | | function. |
| part of the ink system you need to clean. It will | | | | 7. If your print head is inside the machine, you can |
| always be the print head that you will clean, so it | | | | repeat the same process as in Step 4. It is |
| is important that you know where it is located. | | | | important to make sure that you let the print |
| 2. Use filtered, bottled, or distilled water, and then | | | | head air dry, or dry it with a cotton swab before |
| dip a cotton swab into the warmed water. Wipe | | | | using. |
| around the nozzle plate with the swab. Make sure | | | | It is important to clean your printer cartridge |
| that you clean center of the ink cartridge as this | | | | before using it and after an extended period of |
| is the actual nozzle plate. Also, do not touch the | | | | time. As well, do not use tap water as the |
| copper colored areas as they are very fragile. If | | | | impurities can damage the cartridge. For |
| the swab gets too filthy, use another clean swab | | | | particularly difficult dirt and clogs, you can soak |
| dipped in the water until there is no sign of any | | | | the print head in Windex overnight, dry it off |
| debris in the area. | | | | completely, and then reinstall. |
| 3. Remove the cartridge from its holder. If you | | | | To maintain your inkjet and avoid constantly |
| have a cartridge with the print head on it, run | | | | cleaning it, you can just run a few test pages on |
| under hot water for 10 seconds. Let the ink | | | | your printer once a week to preserve ink flow. |
| cartridge dry for a few minutes before you insert | | | | Cleaning your printer ink cartridge is much easier |
| it back into the printer. | | | | and cheaper than going out to buy a new |
| 4. To clean the printer head nozzle, set the | | | | cartridge. |