7 Steps to Cleaning the Laser Toner From Your Laser Printer

Cleaning a laser printer, fax, or copier of laser toner canbe easy, provided you know what you're doing and use theright tools. This article will share with you some simpletips to help you clean your laser printers of laser tonerlike a pro.

A word to the wise: Before I begin, I'd like to stress thatthis article is intended only to assist you with basiccleaning of the laser toner from your laser printer. Ifyou're unsure of your ability to perform any sort of printermaintenance, or if performing such maintenance will void theprinter's warranty, you should contact a qualified serviceprofessional.

Some safety issues: Though laser printers come in variousshapes and sizes, they all use laser toner (that messy blackpowder). While cleaning your laser printer, the last thingyou want is to have laser toner in your lungs or on yourskin. The tips provided in this article should help reducethe chance of you being bathed in laser toner while cleaningyour printer.

Laser toner particles are so fine that theycan take more than fifteen minutes to settle if they becomeairborne make that hours if you have fans or air-conditioners circulating them through an office. To avoidinhaling laser toner particles, try to keep the air in thecleaning area stable and leave the printer area for severalminutes after cleaning. When you return, move slowly, openall windows, and begin vacuuming any laser toner from thefloor, tabletops, and so forth.

Another dangerous area common to all laser printers is thefuser-roller compartment. The fuser roller gets extremelyhot during the printing process and is usually covered forsafety. Burns can occur, however, if you accidentallyuncover and touch the roller. I recommend that you leaveyour printer off for at least one hour before cleaning it oflaser toner.

As with all electrical equipment, make sure that the powercable is unplugged before you begin any work.

Here are the basic tools you need to clean the laser tonerfrom the laser printer:
-Vacuum
-Compressed can of air
-Wash cloth
-Mask
-Cotton Swabs
-Isopropyl Alcohol (99 percent pure)
-Paint Brush (soft bristle, about a half-inch wide)
-Latex gloves (optional)

Compressed air:
You can buy this in any department store oroffice supply store. Ranges in price from $3.00 to $10.00per 10 oz. bottle. Use adequate ventilation please.

Mask:
You'll want to prevent laser toner particles fromentering your throat and lungs. While laser toner inhalationhas not been proven to cause serious health problems,respiratory tract irritation can occur with exposure tolarge amounts of laser toner dust. Laser toner can alsocontain potentially hazardous compounds, such as styrene,ethyl benzene, and xylene isomers. Use a mask that filtersboth odors and fine particles, such as the ones used forpainting and sanding. You can usually find these at localhardware stores.

Cotton swabs:
You can use the regular cotton swabs found in your localdrugstore or those made especially for cleaning printers.The printer swabs come with six-inch-long sticks.

Isopropyl alcohol:
Do not use regular rubbing alcohol. Either use chemicalsthat are specifically designed to clean the heads of VCRs,cassette tapes, tape drives, and the like or use 99 percentpure isopropyl alcohol, which evaporates without leaving anyresidue.

Paint brush (soft bristle, about a half-inch wide):This is used to brush out toner from tight crevices. Sincebristles may fall out during the cleaning process, pull outany loose ones before you use the brush. I don't recommendusing toothbrushes.

Latex gloves (optional):
These must fit tightly on your hands since you want tomaintain skin sensitivity. Drugstores usually sell them inboxes of 100. This is to keep your hands clean but if youdon't have them you can just wash up with soap and waterafterwards.

Okay, let's begin cleaning that laser printer of the lasertoner. Now that you have the tools, it's time to unplug thelaser printer, let it sit for one hour, and then follow thesteps below:

1. Put on your mask and latex gloves if you have them.

2. Open the printer and gently remove the laser tonercartridge or laser toner bottle.

3. Use your wash cloth and wipe the laser toner cartridge.Place the laser toner cartridge aside.

4. Use your vacuum to remove spilled laser toner from withinthe printer's internal compartment. Try to prevent thevacuum's nozzle from actually touching any of the printer'sinternal surfaces.

5. Use your paintbrush to remove laser toner from anycrevices. Use gentle motions and vacuum as necessary.

6. Many laser printers use very fine wires (called 'coronawires') that are often exposed. If your printer has suchwires, take care to avoid vacuuming or brushing them.Breaking a corona wire can be a costly mistake. Dip a cottonswab into isopropyl alcohol and gently run it along thelength of the wire. Also be sure to clean the underside ofthe wires. Never apply pressure.

7.Reinsert the laser toner cartridge, close the printer,reconnect the power cord, and you are done.

Avoid using the wash cloth inside the printer. Though youcan use the wash cloth to clean the inside, I do notrecommend it. There are many sharp points that can tear thecloth's fiber and leave loose strands inside the printer.

OEM vs. Remanufactured Laser Toner Cartridges Although manypeople buy OEM Name Brand laser toner cartridges, little dothey know, they really are remanufactured! Can you believeit? Seriously folks, why spend many more dollars on OEM'swhen you can get THE SAME quality laser toner cartridges forhalf or less than half the price? When you buy an OEM lasertoner cartridge, just look at the box! It says "Made of newand recycled materials". The OEM companies want you to sendyour laser toner cartridge back to them , so they canremanufacture it , and sell it back to you as new! Buyingremanufactured laser toner cartridges saves the environment.Millions of laser toner cartridges get dumped in landfillsevery year. So, please, save the environment,and save yourmoney!

Happy Cleaning!

Rafael Nunez is responsible for all product quality at Alchemy Toners, Inc.Find out how to get money for your empty laser toner cartridges while saving money and the environment by visiting: laser toner cartridges