A little Fairy Story or is it !...

[PeterBJ]

It might be the same product. It looks like the "Fairy" is also made by Procter & Gamble, here is the MSDS: http://media.supplychain.nhs.uk/media/documents/MFD259/COSHH/24483_MFD259_MSDS 190905.pdf

 

[The Hat]

Here is an old article about cleaning Epson printers using a household cleaner. Even if the article is old, it contains an up-to-date list of household cleaners supposedly suitable for print head cleaning: http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/inkjet_cleaning.html

great article thanks

Hat now you are going to have to give detailed instructions on this new cleaning process.

Hi Ron

I stumbled on this stuff by accident; I mean who would have taught that dishwasher soap would be that good at cleaning everything.

The instructions are simple just add some washing-up liquid to warm water (A couple of spoonfuls) and place your print head in a container (Bowl) just big and deep enough to cover the ink inlets and let it soak for as long as you like. (No huge expense involved)

Let’s be fair about this stuff it’s not going to cure burned out nozzles but it will un-clog the ones that have dried ink stuck inside them, my success rate may have only been 50 % but I am more than happy with that result.

 

[PeterBJ]

The "Fairy" dish washing liquid is also sold here in Denmark, so I will try to find it at a supermarket. I will also go to a "Silvan" hardware store to get the "Borup" window cleaner mentioned in the article I linked to.

I have a Canon Pixma iP5200R that I bought very cheaply 5 years ago. The print head is extremely clogged, due to the use of too cheap Ebay compatibles, and has resisted all my cleaning attempts, but as it has not failed electronically, I will give the Fairy and the Borup window cleaner a try.

So @The Hat , how much "Fairy" should I use to how much water?

Here is the extended nozzle check from service mode, click to enlarge:



The EEPROM info shows the printer has not printed a lot of pages, but my numerous cleaning attempts have caused the D-Value to sky-rocket, click to enlarge:



If my new cleaning attempts will be unsuccessful, I consider trying to obtain a new print head from CRC Tasktron, while they are still in stock. They don't make printers like the iP5200(R) any more, so I think the cost of a new print head is justifiable.

 

[The Hat]

The instructions are simple just add some washing-up liquid to warm water (A couple of spoonfuls) and place your print head in a container (Bowl) just big and deep enough to cover the ink inlets and let it soak for as long as you like

I already did that..

I now have a spare head for my iX400 all because of this stuff..

 

[PeterBJ]

Yes, but how much water is in the container/bowl?

 

[The Hat]

Yes, but how much water is in the container/bowl?

The beauty of this washing-up liquid is that you can use as much or as little as you like, so in an average container with 250 ml of warm water use two to six spoonfuls, the more spoonfuls the more bubbles..

 

[PeterBJ]

Thank you. The 250 ml of water was what I wanted to know. When is a container just big enough to hold a print head?

 

[Emulator]

I see in the MSDS they mention 10 % aqueous solution under pH measurement - Physical and chemical properties. So I guess that is their normal working strength.

 

[The Hat]

Thank you. The 250 ml of water was what I wanted to know. When is a container just big enough to hold a print head?

A necessity...

 

[Ant]

The Hat, have you ever tried some airbrush cleaning fluid for your pigment print heads? It is specifically made for pigmented water based airbrush paint, it may work well for you..