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Damage to printhead from poor use of cleaning liquid

Updated: Aug 10, 2023











Each printhead cleaning liquid has a different composition, depending on what they are made of and for what purpose, and sometimes the supplier doesn't expose all ingredients in their MSDS to keep their special formula from being counterfeited. Some of those cleaning liquids might contain particles of a conducting material, making the liquid a conducting liquid (conducting electricity)**.


For this reason, when you clean your printhead with those kinds of liquids, you have to let the printhead dry completely. If the printhead has not fully dried and there is a residue of such liquid inside the head and you put the printhead back into the printer and turn the power on, a partial short could occur inside the printhead. This can occur because the chemical liquid residue will attract the current to unwanted paths inside the head, damaging the head components and most likely damaging the mother board (the main printer circuit board) as well.


We'd strongly advise you to use distilled water to dilute our concentrated cleaning liquid (which is a non-conductive cleaning liquid) because distilled water has a very poor conductivity. (But we still advise to you let the printhead dry well before you re-install it).

Bear in mind that tap water has a high electrical conductivity.


It is good to know as well:

Never use alcohol or thinners to clean the printer. These chemicals can damage the print head components.

Do not use a paper towel in your printhead cleaning process. Use only a lint-free cloth.

Do not use a hard or abrasive brush.

Do not spray the inside of the printer with lubricants, as these can damage the printer mechanism.

After cleaning the printhead or if you have just flushed the nozzles, we strongly recommend you do a power cleaning to flush out any residue of the cleaning liquid inside the head and to let the ink flow back into the lines and head.


** examples of good conductors in some cleaning liquids: acidic solutions like vinegar; sulfuric acid; (H2SO4); base solutions (NaOH); salt (sodium) solutions (NaCI); mercury (often used in disinfectants and household cleaning / antiseptic products)

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