Does your HP printer stop printing and start producing faded prints, streaks, or even blank pages at times instead? Do not panic and think of replacing your unit just yet. The solution might be easier than you imagine. In most instances, it is dirty or clogged printheads. We at PrinterNotWorking know how frustrating a non-working printer can be, especially if you have some urgent documents to print. That's why we've compiled this HP printer printhead cleaning guide, a simple part of printer care that can really improve your print quality and provide your printer with a longer life.
This guide will take you step by step through the various ways in which HP printer printheads won't print properly. If your HP Deskjet printer won't print properly or any HP printer model, it is a valuable set of skills for any printer user to know how to do this type of maintenance.

Why Clean Your HP Printer Printheads

Dried ink, dust, and ink deposits can over time accumulate on your printheads in your printer. The tiny nozzles are employed to spray the ink onto paper and, once clogged, can cause your HP deskjet printer to not print, including:
Streaked or washed out printing: The unimpeded flow of the ink is disrupted by blockages.
Missing colors: The ink cartridges are out of ink if the problem is a blocked-up printhead.
Smear or fuzzy text: Ink drops may not be fired correctly.
Blank pages: Clogs can stop ink from being delivered to paper.
Cleaning HP printer printheads regularly will have problems like these gone and printing output regular and of good quality. You may need to clean printheads more often if you are printing at high speed or in high humidity. But when your print output does appear to be running slowly, you may already find yourself in need of the cleaner.

How To Clean HP Printer Printheads

HP printers offer numerous ways to clean printheads, ranging from automatic software commands to manual treatments for more challenging clogs. Let us continue and discuss the most popular ones:

1. Using the Printer's In-Built Cleaning Utility

This is the simplest and most frequently the best starting point when your HP Deskjet printer is not printing correctly or experiencing print quality issues. All HP printers contain a built-in cleaning utility on the printer itself on the control panel or the HP Smart software on your computer.

Steps:

Check your ink levels: Make sure that your ink cartridges have sufficient ink. The cleaning process uses some ink.
By Using the Printer Control Panel: Check your printer's menu. Check if you can locate settings like "Tools, "Setup", "Maintenance", or "Print Quality". Select "Clean Printheads" or any name along those lines. Simply follow on-screen instructions. Your printer normally goes into a cleaning mode and will ask you to print out a test page to try the result.
By Using HP Smart Software (on your computer):
Open HP Smart app.
Select your printer.
Hit on "Print Quality Tools" or something equivalent under "Advanced Settings" or "Printer Reports."
Hit on "Clean Printheads" and follow.
Run the cleaning tool 1-3 times. If print quality remains poor after numerous attempts, try one of the manual methods of cleaning.

2. Manual Printhead Cleaning (for removable printheads)

Certain older or model-specific HP printers have removable printheads. If your HP printer is malfunctioning and self-cleaning doesn't work, or when you suspect there is a severe blockage, manual cleaning may be required. Printheads should be handled with extreme care because they are fragile and can easily be damaged.

Materials You'll Need:

Lint-free cloths or paper towels
Distilled water or isopropyl alcohol (90% or more)
Gloves (optional, so your hands will not be inked)

Steps:

Shut down and power off your printer: Safety first.
Open the ink cartridge door: Let the print carriage come to a stop.
Pull out the ink cartridges: Place them on a cloth-covered surface.
Locate printheads: They should be placed underneath or taped to the ink cartridges. Locate it from your printer manual if you have no idea where to pull them out.
Moisten a lint-free paper towel or cloth: Wet sparingly with isopropyl alcohol or distilled water. Do not wet the cloth.
Clean printhead nozzles lightly: Lightly clean the bottom of the printhead where the ink passes through very lightly. Clean only one way. Do not touch the electric contacts.
If clogged in an ugly manner: You can try to lightly blot the printhead nozzles on a lightly damp paper towel or cloth in hopes of dislodging dried ink.
Allow printheads to air dry fully: This should not take long, about a few minutes. Ensure they are dry before installing them.
Swap printheads and ink cartridges: Shut access door and reset printer.
Run printhead cleaning cycle: Utilize printer utility following manual cleaning to prime printheads.
Print test page: Print test page and observe print quality.

Key Things to Remember When Cleaning Manually

Do not use tap water: It contains minerals that would further clog printheads.
Gentleness: Do not press too firmly because this will break the sensitive nozzles.
Dry thoroughly: Wet printheads during printing may result in electrical damage.
If you are not comfortable with this process, seek the help of HP support or a professional printer mechanic.

Avoiding Printhead Clogs

Cleanliness is required, but avoiding clogs from occurring in the first place will be time- and frustration-saving. The following tips are helpful:
Use original HP ink cartridges: Third-party inks clog more easily.
Print occasionally: Even on a test page, printing occasionally keeps the ink moving.
Maintain your printer in a clean and dust-free place: Dust can cause clogs.
Keep to the maintenance instructions of your printer: Obey cleaning tips or recommendations issued by your printer.
Store ink cartridges neatly: Store them in a cool and dry place.

Conclusion: Keeping Your HP Printer Running Smoothly

Being able to clean HP printer printheads is an important troubleshooting technique. Either situation, your HP Deskjet printer won't print like it's supposed to or with any printing quality issues on your HP printer not printing well, a series of the printhead cleaning routine can most likely fix the problem. As long as you follow the guidelines outlined in this guide, you should be able to achieve the best print quality and also achieve optimum life on your HP printer. Don't forget to begin with the auto cleaning device and clean only manually where it is absolutely impossible, and never, ever, ever forget to be careful.

We at PrinterNotWorking are here to make your printing experience as easy and smooth as possible.