WHAT IS CARTRIDGE CLEANING?

Cleaning a clogged inkjet cartridge.?

• I have a Lexmark #27 color inkjet cartridge that is clogged and prints alot of streaks. I've tried the printer's cleanning cycle 20 times, with no difference. I've heard there are ways of cleaning by soaking the printer head into different solutions? What are some things you've tried? How did it turn out?

• Answer:

  do not put rubbing alcohol on the printhead, it could ruin it. take the cartridge and hold it over a steam escaping from a boiling teakettle. this will clear ANY dried ink. HOWEVER: if you do this too long the cartridge will get ruined. the printhead on a lexmark cartridge is very touchy and could melt together if you make this attempt for too long. If you have had the cartridge out of the printer too long, it will clog and ruin anyways. Ink jet cartridges are very moody. sometimes you can refill one several times, other times they will not respond at all to refilling. Once you take a cart out of the packaging, it needs to be put in the machine almost immediately after removing the protective tape. once you remove it from the machine, if you want to refill it, then, you need to put it in a cartridge clip, or put the protective tape back on. my honest suggestion is that the cartridge is shot and needs replaced. possibly because the printheads have melted. printheads will melt together if the cartridge was run empty prior to refilling, or just running out of ink. As for what i've done, i have held my cart over the steam and it has worked on some, and not on others. you could also dip it in hot distilled water. take a small amount of distilled water, just enough to cover the bottom of a small bowl, hold the cart so that the printhead is down towards the water (duh??) and TAP. make sure the water is hot, but NOT boiling, or the printheads will melt. i have left my cart in the water to soak, and the sponge inside actually drank the water and then the cart was ruined. good luck. i hope this helped. sorry it is so long, there are just so many variables to your situation.