Is your Brother printer in need of cleaning? If so, allow us to guide you on how to clean your Brother printer in easy-to-follow-steps.
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Inkjet or Laser Printer – How to Clean Your Brother Printer
Before you start cleaning a Brother printer, the method used for cleaning depends on the type of printer you own. Is your Brother printer an inkjet printer or a laser printer?
To ensure that both types of Brother Printers are covered, we’ve provided cleaning methods for Inkjet as well as Laser printers.
Methods for Cleaning an Inkjet Brother Printer
There are 3 major methods for cleaning your Inkjet Brother Printer:
i. Running a cleaning cycle.
ii. Unclogging the print head nozzles.
iii. Cleaning the rollers.
These methods are used based on the severity of the issue.
1. Running a Cleaning Cycle
This is primarily used to clean a Brother Printer when the print jobs are sloppy or smudged. It is used to restore your printer to function almost as well as new.
How to Run a Cleaning Cycle on Your Brother Printer
Follow the steps below to run a cleaning cycle on your Brother printer:
Step 1: Turn on your Brother printer.
Step 2: Choose the option “Ink” on your printer.
Some Brother Printer models have an Ink key located on the printer. If your model has it, just press it.
Brother printers with touchscreen have the “Ink” option on the screen.
The Ink Indicator is represented by a square icon that has black, yellow, blue, and magenta lines. You can also press this icon to make the selection.
And if your model doesn’t have any of the above, do the following:
i. Press the Menu button
ii. Navigate through the menu using the arrow keys and choose “Ink”.
iii. Press OK to confirm your selection.
Step 3: Choose “Cleaning” to start running a cleaning cycle.
Once you do this, the printer will begin to clean the old ink in the print head. This process occurs within some minutes. When it is finished, the home screen will be displayed.
Step 4: You can now run a test print to see if it worked.
At this point, you can determine if you need to run another cleaning cycle depending on the print result.
However, we recommend that you don’t run more than 4 cleaning cycles at a time. Going above 4 times can cause the ink within the cartridge to be drawn out which leads to ink wastage.
If after 4 cleaning cycles the print job is still looking bad, run 10 print jobs at once. Doing so might clear up the printer nozzles.
If that doesn’t work, then try the next method…
2. Unclogging the Print Head Nozzles
This method is used to clean dried ink within the inkjet printers. And it will require you to get your hands literally dirty. So, we recommend you wear rubber gloves when performing this process.
How to Unclog Print Head Nozzles on Your Brother Printer
The following steps will guide you on how to unclog print head nozzles on your Brother printer:
Step 1: Begin a cleaning cycle as explained above and open the top area of your Brother printer completely. If done correctly, the print head will be visible to you as it moves from side to side. Make sure you monitor the movement of the print head.
Step 2: Unplug your printer from the outlet immediately the print head is at the left end.
Step 3: Take a bit of blotting paper and place it underneath the print head.
Step 4: Get a paper towel, fold it into a strip and place it on the track of the print head. Then move the print head over the towel. This towel will soak up extra ink as well as the cleaning fluid.
Step 5: Take out the ink cartridges from your Brother printer. You will now be able to see the print nozzles. You will have to clean the set of nozzles at the bottom.
We recommend you wrap the ink cartridges in cling film to protect them.
Step 6: With the aid of a syringe, inject about 4ml of distilled water into the printer nozzle. Get a tube and attach it to the mouth of the syringe before inserting it into the nozzle.
This water will get rid of any ink remaining in the nozzle and print head. Allow the water to stay for about 5 minutes.
Make sure you use distilled water because non-distilled water can cause further clog within the print head. Or you can get printer cleaning fluids.
Step 7: Take out the blotting paper and paper towel. Then move the print head back to the right
Step 8: Reinsert the ink cartridges.
Step 9: Cover the printer and run a new cleaning cycle.
Step 10: Then run a test print.
Watch the video below for a visual explanation of the steps above…
To read more awesome articles, click any of the links below…
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3. Cleaning the Rollers
This is the last method you can use in cleaning your Inkjet Brother Printer.
Hot to Clean the Rollers on Your Brother Printer
Follow the steps below to clean the rollers on your Brother printer:
Step 1: Turn your Brother printer off. Then unplug it from the electrical outlet.
This is important because water will be used in cleaning the printer. Therefore, this action will prevent and protect you from electrical shock.
Step 2: Remove the paper tray from your printer. Next, clean the separator pad with a damp hand towel.
Make sure the towel is damp and not wet. Also, avoid the use of cleaning fluids to prevent damage to your printer parts.
Step 3: Locate the 2 pick-up rollers in your printer. You can find them just above your printer’s paper tray. Once you locate them, use the damp towel to clean them. Rotate the pick-up rollers while you clean so that you can reach every side.
Step 4: Return the paper tray and run a test print to see if it is cleaned. If it is, there will be no streaks on the printed document.
Method for Cleaning a Laser Brother Printer
The steps below will guide you on how to clean a Laser Brother printer:
Step 1: Turn off your Laser Brother Printer. We also recommend that you unplug the printer from the outlet to ensure further safety.
Step 2: Open your printer to reveal the print heads inside the printer.
Step 3: Take a dry hand towel and clean the printer heads. Ensure that there is no remnant of dry ink.
Step 4: Pull the toner out of the toner tray. The method of removing the toner differs from model to model. It can either be pulled out or lifted out of the toner tray.
Step 5: If your Brother printer has a tray that can be pulled out, you can clean the print head by sliding the tab under the toner. Move it back and forth about 12 times. This action will clean the print head.
Step 6: Locate a cog at the side of the drum then rotate it with a finger. While doing this, check for ink and if you find any, clean it with a dry hand towel.
Step 7: Put the toner back into your Brother Printer.
Step 8: Newer Brother printers automatically recalibrate. However, if your Brother printer is an older model, you have to start a calibration cycle from the printer menu.
Step 9: Run a test print.
Cleaning the Exterior of Your Brother Printer
Apart from cleaning the interior parts of your printer, you need to also clean the exterior. This cleaning process will get rid of dust, as well as other debris.
How to Clean the Exterior of Your Brother Printer
Follow the steps below to clean the exterior of your Brother printer:
Step 1: Turn off your Brother printer and remove it from the power cord.
Step 2: Take out the paper tray and keep it aside.
Step 3: Use a cloth that is lint-free to remove the dust from the exterior of your printer. You might have to dampen the cloth if there are some stains on the printer.
Step 4: Take away debris and pieces of paper that are stuck in the inner parts of the paper tray. Then wipe the inside with the dry cloth.
Step 5: Reinsert the paper tray and connect the power cord.
Conclusion – How to Clean Your Brother Printer
With the easy-to-follow steps above, we believe you have learned how to clean your Brother printer. Regular cleaning is necessary to keep your Brother printer in perfect working conditions.
If you have further problems, you can visit the Brother website for additional help.
