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An easy-to-follow guide to fix dirty printer rollers on inkjet and laser printers
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Printer rollers are small circular rubber pieces that help feed printer paper through your printer. Over time, printer rollers can accumulate dust from the paper and ink residue from printing double-sided pages. To clean your printer rollers, unplug your printer and then clean them with water and a lint-free cloth, or use a rubber rejuvenating product. Cleaning your printer rollers will help fix most paper-feeding problems with your printer, including paper jams .
Things You Should Know
- Turn the printer off before you begin any maintenance or cleaning.
- Lift off the access panel (if necessary) and use a lint-free cloth and a little bit of water to clean the rollers.
- Avoid wearing out your rollers by applying rubber rejuvenation products after you clean them.
Steps
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Unplug your printer while cleaning. Whenever you perform any kind of maintenance or cleaning on your printer, unplug the machine before you begin. Leaving the printer powered on or plugged in could potentially damage the machine or yourself.
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Locate the printer rollers. On inkjet printers, the printer rollers are typically located on the bottom, just above the paper tray. You can usually find them if you remove the paper tray and look right above where the paper tray used to be. [1] X Research source
- The rollers should rotate manually when you apply pressure to them. If not, you will need to use the “feed paper” option on your printer to rotate them. Either way, you shouldn’t need to remove them entirely for the cleaning process.
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Clean rollers with a lint-free cloth and water. Pour some distilled water into a cup and dip your lint-free cloth into it. You want the cloth to be damp but not soaking wet. Wipe the damp cloth across the surface of the rollers to remove any dirt or grime that has built up over time. Be sure to fully rotate the rollers to clean each part of the surface area.
- Make sure you dry off the rollers completely before using your printer again.
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Use a rubber rejuvenating product. To help the rubber printer rollers regain some of their original slickness and glide, you should use a rubber rejuvenating product. Simply moisten the end of a Q-tip or foam swab with the product and rub it lightly over the surface of the printer rollers.
- You should be able to purchase a rubber rejuvenating product at any computer or office supply or store. [2] X Research source
- Some printers, like the Canon Inkjet series of printers, have a setting in "Maintenance" that you can press to start the cleaning process. Check online or in your printer's manual if there is a maintenance mode that you need to start. [3] X Research source
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Unplug your printer while cleaning. Whenever you perform any kind of maintenance or cleaning on your printer, unplug the machine before you begin. Leaving the printer powered on or plugged in could damage the machine or yourself.
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Find the printer rollers. For LaserJet printers , the printer rollers are usually near the paper tray – often on the top of the machine. If you can’t find them here, try opening the access panel. They may be on top or underneath the toner cartridge, which you can easily remove. [4] X Research source
- Some LaserJet printer rollers don’t rotate manually. This means you’ll need to unsnap the clips on either side of the roller and remove the roller.
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Swab with alcohol. Dip a cotton swab in alcohol and use it to clean your LaserJet printer rollers. Gently rub it over the surface of your printer rollers. Wipe the rollers off and dry them completely before reinstalling them in your printer. [5] X Research source
- Make sure the cotton swab is just moistened with alcohol and not dripping wet. You don’t want an excess of the liquid getting inside the LaserJet printer.
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Use a lint-free cloth. Dip a lint-free cloth into some distilled water and gently scrub the surface of your printer rollers to remove any dirt or debris that has caught on the rollers. This will help clean the rollers without drying them out or damaging them. [6] X Research source
- Dry the rollers completely before reinstalling them in your printer.
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Unplug your printer while cleaning. Whenever you perform any kind of maintenance or cleaning on your printer, unplug the machine before you begin. Leaving the printer powered on or plugged in could lead to potentially damaging the machine or yourself.
- You don’t want to accidentally electrocute yourself or void your manufacturer’s warranty on the printer.
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Refrain from over-cleaning rollers with alcohol. Alcohol should be used sparingly when cleaning your printer rollers. Avoid using other kinds of solvents altogether. These products can dry out the rollers and cause them to become cracked and damaged over time.
- Using these kinds of products could also void any kind of manufacturer’s warranty that you may have on your printer.
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Avoid overloading your printer. If your printer seems to have trouble feeding paper through, take a few moments to resolve the problem by cleaning the printer rollers. Don’t just keep trying to make the printer work, as this will just exacerbate the problem. [7] X Research source
- Maintaining your printer regularly and treating it with care will give the machine a much longer life expectancy.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do I clean printer nozzles?Blain Gunter is a Computer Repair Specialist and small business owner based in Bakersfield, California. He was first introduced to computers at the age of five and has over twenty years of experience in his field. He is both an IT consultant and computer repair technician and takes pride in his ability to troubleshoot anything. He works with hardware, software, Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, and even vintage electronics.To clean printer nozzles, access the maintenance settings in your printer software. Begin with a nozzle check to identify clogged areas, then use the printer's built-in cleaning function. If needed, manually clean the nozzles with a lint-free cloth or cotton swab moistened with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol. For stubborn clogs, consider soaking the printhead in a cleaning solution. Repeat the process and run nozzle checks until print quality improves.
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Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about troubleshooting computers and printers, check out our in-depth interview with Blain Gunter .
References
- ↑ https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd53910/source/cleaning_transportation/tasks/xp8500/cleaning_spc_rollers_xp8500.html
- ↑ https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00994976
- ↑ https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/G6000%20series/EN/UG/ug-143.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJBmi1_JXlQ
- ↑ http://www.dummies.com/computers/pcs/how-to-clean-your-laser-printer/
- ↑ http://www.computercleaningguide.com/printer.htm
- ↑ http://www.ing.iac.es/~cfg/pub_notes/HP/ch8.htm
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