How to clean Brother DCP and MFC print head nozzles

Every Brother inkjet printer that uses cartridges can be cleaned with this method. The cleaning kit is available from printheadhospital.com/brother...

[@ibthereason]

Bruh this got my printer working after YEARS of non use. Did the overnight method with your kit on amazon, and ran like 4-5 cleaning cycles. I'm printing like a boss now. You're the Printer head goat

[@user-wp4ke2qc2e]

Very clear and useful instructions! I successfully carried this out on my MFC-985dw printer. Per another post, I used regular Windex to flush with, as I didn't have access to special cleaning solution (not heated) . I also blotted the "resting" sponge on the left-hand side several times with a paper towel saturated with WIndex to remove most of the ink that had filled it up.

[@jameslawsonmessin]

THANK YOU THANK YOU! This saved me a lot of money that I'd have potentially had to spend on a new printer. This tutorial was super helpful. All 4 of my cartridge nozzles were dried up and partially blocked but this method really worked and it's working again. (WARNING this is a bit of a messy job, especially if it's your first time so make sure you have plenty of tissue and cotton swabs. Also it's a bit of a time intensive task, took me about 2.5 hours in total but I'm glad I invested the small amount of money and time!) THANK YOU and BLESS YOU Printhead Hospital!

[@TaintedSweetMeats]

Thank you so much for this advice I was lucky enough to actually have a box of cleaning solution and supplies when I used to own an hp printer. Used this on my brother printer and it is printing like brand new all over again! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@stashorama]

After watching this tutorial, I bought a Printhead Hospital kit with the 17 oz bottle of cleaning fluid from Amazon in March 2020. Thanks to this tutorial and the instructions in the kit, I successfully cleaned the printhead nozzles of my Brother MFC-J4510DW. It now works like new. Note: the black ink nozzle was extremely clogged and had been especially problematic, so I let the solution soak for one hour. After an hour, I gently pulled back and re-pushed the fluid a few times per another non-Printhead Hospital tutorial on KZbin. This really did the trick. After cleaning the nozzles with fluid, I only needed to run one cleaning cycle. Thank you!

[@anightin]

Thank you. It's really helpful to get tips from the battlefront! Hope you're managing to stay safe (and sane) in the current situation

[@stashorama]

You're welcome. I also gave your kit a positive review on Amazon.

[@Cryogenius]

Nice video! I found that putting hot water on the paper towel, wringing it out, and then putting it under the head for 20 minutes solved all of my problems. That wet paper towel was enough to soften the clogged jets which accounted for about 50% of the ones I had to deal with. After I removed the towel and did a test print, all colors were firing at 100%. If this had not worked I would have done the next steps of your instructions though!

[@michaelosullivan8318]

I'm trying this right now. I dont have the surgeon kit, but 1 hot paper towel is no problem. Fingers crossed!

[@psphacked1]

Just want to say thanks aswell! I revived my MFC-J475DW which I hadn't used for 6 months. I damped a piece of paper towel with hot tap water, placed it under the print head for 10 minutes and did a test print. No need for syringe method.

[@gpraceman]

Thanks for that tip. I tried the syringe kit on my MFC-J4345DW, but it was only able to get black working. Had to try several soaks to get all of the other colors to unclog. First tried hot water and then window cleaner.

[@humptydumpty7482]

Tip: I found this while scouring the internet for answers. Instead of doing test print to take out the printhead, you can just press stop button for three seconds and the printhead will come right out. Then you can unplug. At least it takes out the effort of pushing buttons and removing the paper. You can just push (stop button) and pull (plug). :)

[@AdonaiHerrera]

Thank you for this tip!!!

[@lxxfxx]

Thanks! Worked for me on the MFC-J5620DW, but only the device opened.

[@stephenboyd8824]

I've succeeded twice with the following simple method. Print a test page and disconnect just at the end so that you get get at the print head to be able to move it. Dampen a bit of paper towel with deminalized water. Place it in the middle of the carrage and put the printer heads above it and let it soak for sometime. Do it a second time if necessary. Then run a deep cleaning cycle. No need for strong products.

[@lxxfxx]

Thanks! This worked for me on the MFC-J5620DW and was able to print in black again! But instead of doing the test page, I followed the advice below. (Pressing the stop button 3 seconds with device open.)

[@elizabethgraver2240]

What do you mean by "run a deep cleaning cycle"?

[@quinnphelan5891]

Ran a power clean, then tried this method (except using windex on paper towel and pressing red "stop/exit" button to move print head) and it worked!! Used about three paper towels. Thanks!!

[@shagmens]

THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR!!!! i had the exact same issue and followed your instructions and it worked like a charm for me!!! Thank you so much!

[@TheBestIsWorthTheWait]

Thank you!!!! After looking at several other videos you were the only one that gave the secret (02:35--02:53) of how to unlock the printer head to allow cleaning!!!!!!!!

[@twinflamemusing1135]

Woohoo!!! It worked - thanks so much for your virtual assistance I was dreading having to get a new printer

[@tiffanygonzales8609]

Thank you for your video. It saved me from retiring my 7 year old brother printer. I had a paper jam before the problem and I though I cleared the jam. All the while, a piece of paper is stuck where the printer head was parked, soaking and clogging it with ink. I found through another post on how you can get the head in the middle - just do "cleaning mode" then open the printer's top to check on the printer head movement. Once the head moves to the center, unplug the printer. I also used hot distilled water then window cleaner then hot distilled water again since I didn't have any printer head solution. I didn't have the cleaning contraption so I just bought a 10ml syringe and cut a hole on the syringe cover. I inserted the needle into the small hole where the ink gets in while pushing the cut syringe cover against to printer to try to keep as little water and air from coming out. A little messy but it worked. After 20 or so tissues, I printed a full page of each color. Works like new again!

[@mr.a8315]

Marry me. 🖶 😃 ❤️

[@raymondchrzanowski1192]

Saw the video and guess what, it worked perfectly. Took some time but it beats spending $100+ . Mucho thanks

[@josephbourque5027]

Your video was very helpful in getting my printhead up and running clean again. Thanks for uploading.

[@MAXAREUOS]

What is the size of the nozzle that you've used?

[@ronflynn383]

Thank you for a wonderful, clear, and informative demonstration!

[@cowsongs]

Thanks! I used a rubber pipette from a hobby store, snipping off the tapered rubber tip back to where the diameter of the rubber end was about right to fit over the inlet pipe snugly. (By "inlet pipe", I mean the little plastic nipple inside the door where the ink cartridges go). That worked just like he shows with the dosing syringe and a piece of rubber tubing. For fluid, I used isopropyl alcohol. I am not sure if alcohol would harm anything if used repeatedly, but just a squirt of it into the black ink inlet nipple and then black ink surged out of the print head (caught by a paper towel, as he showed). After that, the black print quality was perfect. Before that, it was completely blocked and would not work even after placing an alcohol-soaked paper towel under the head and swiping it back and forth and running some printer cleaning cycles. Yes! Flushing fluid through from the ink cartridge point all the way through the print head the only sure way to clean these out and get them working again.

[@Th3dutch]

Thank you so much for this idea. I was already wondering where to get all this stuff. How did you even came up with this, its brilliant! You are like Macgyver.

[@donnazy1]

I had the black nozzle blocked and didn't have the cleaning kit. But I did have a of dust cleaner with the long tune end. I put a paper towel inside the printer area and took out the black ink. with a flash light I put the end of the dust cleaner can at the opening for the ink and pressed the trigger. To my surprise ink sprayed but I did have a tissue around it. I cleaned the area and did it again. the paper towel inside the printer had ink on it so I was hopeful. I ran a test and was pleased that the black ink printer. I glad I watched this video because I didn't know what to do and this inspired me.

[@hawaiisidecar]

Generally followed your directions. Sort of MickyMoused it with different solution, and syringe. But all worked and prints beautifully now. Thanks!

[@SAINT8889]

Hi! IT helped my BROTHER DCP 770CW, best regards from Poland. great job btw!

[@itsmegianx01]

Thank you! It fixed my handmedown printer.

[@1gurugraphics]

Thank you so much for video. I find new menthod by looking this. No need to remove any parts & fix all missing print head. Send 1 print from computer. As soon as it start unplug power cable. Take papper towen & do couple of fold. Soak with after shave or alchohol + few drops of water. Keep soaked papper on printer as in video. Rub printhead on papper. Leave print head few minutes. Repate process couple of times. I did 10 times with new papper tower. Fold three or four towel & repeat process as in video. I bring back my printer :) 100 % work.

[@stevemarshall711]

After watching the video I decided to try another way; it worked first time. I placed a drinking straw over the nozzle and blew through the straw. Simple and cheap.

[@peterdarrach3400]

After days of frustration trying the recommended way, I tried the straw this morning. WOW!, it worked. Thank you so much..

[@stevemarshall711]

@@peterdarrach3400 Pleased for you. I still have to do the straw trick from time to time. 👍

[@peterdarrach3400]

@@stevemarshall711 I had to do one nozzle again this morning and am back in business again, No ink came out but nothing was blocking the way to the printhead.

[@dedgesaysfuckthewrld]

Thank you for the upload!

[@petergare4766]

So far so good. I was really struggling getting the rubber tubing on to the print nozzle. I found putting the tubing in an empty biro body was great to use as a guide, then connected the other end to the syringe after getting the air out.

Thank you - it fixed my printer

[@muhsenmahdi9404]

Thanks for the interesting test for cleaning , I repeat the same steps for my Brother 135C , I have a red color problem even the cartridge is new , but it still the same so what should I do

[@maryhelen1011]

Thank you! Your video helped a lot! You're a gem for sharing this!!!

[@anightin]

Thank you ;)

[@garymooney1113]

The kit worked! I'm so impressed on my Brother MFC-J650DW printer. I found the video to be more useful than the printed instructions. A few comments / suggestions. It's messy, so wear the gloves for sure, and wrap up the cartridges upon removing them, because one or more will leak. I had no trouble placing a folded paper towel in the printhead track and moving the printhead over it. I found the tubing to be a bit tight to get onto the nozzle, so I made a very short cut in the end, which helped. There was some leakage into the cartridge area, which I dabbed up before reinserting the cartridges. After finishing the procedure and doing a test print, the result was pretty ugly, and part of the colours were washed out due to the cleaning fluid (too much used?). However, after running the normal cleaning process three times, everything was perfect. I've been using clone ink, and I now wonder if that's why the printhead became clogged. I really appreciate this product -- saved me from discarding a printer that is perfectly good otherwise.

[@hydrotricine]

Thank you! Solved my problems,printing great now

[@yocz2007]

Thanks for your great advice, very informative!

[@anightin]

Thanks. I'm just about to redo the videos with a ton more technical advice in the description

[@mcr62]

Great video. Well done

[@SoniaDeCastro1]

Hello Printhead Hospital, it's me again. Thanks for your reply... If it's dead, then I guess before I scrape it, I'll have fun disassembling it and then try to reverse engineer it back to shape (wishful thinking). Just a note to let you know that on model MFC 5890cn, if you press and hold the red Stop/Exit button (5 secs), the head will park itself in the middle of the rail ;) Ta

[@bonnsterthemonster]

what about the MFC-490CW

[@mauritspisarahu6014]

Thank you so much..i ll be try to clean up my printer brother mfc-j3520, its was cloged yellow& cyan

[@adamstast]

Funguje i na DCP-J105 . SUPER :-)

[@soultransformationcoaching9394]

What a great vid! Thank you s much xx

[@vincenttwisker9656]

Thanks...I managed to bring back to life my 12-year-old DCP330, which had not been used for 5 years. From another video I got the following recipe which did the job: "homemade cleaner... The recipe is simple. 8 parts plain ammonia Windex and 2 parts isopropyl alcohol, either 70% or 99%. If you can't find plain Windex, use diluted plain ammonia, at one part ammonia and 9 parts distilled deionized filtered water." I used the mix without Windex.

[@JRS-iq9pz]

I cleaned the bad heads with the solution and still had a problem with one. So I tapped on the head and pushed on a few places and it started working printing that color that was bad. I guess something was stuck. Now it works.

[@anightin]

Interesting. Air bubbles sometimes cause problems, but I'd never thought of tapping the head. Thank you

[@mommydoraemhon]

thank you, I can fix it.

[@anightin]

I agree. I'll fix it.

[@nb987]

Great video. Thank you.

[@anisinfo4910]

simply thanks !

[@aymenkasmi1733]

Thank you very much, it works

[@csjames69]

My HP printer died so went and dug out my old Brother MFC 235C printer. Placed new cartridges and nothing prints. Just watched your video so I’ll try and rescue the printer.

[@scarletvane]

after "self cleaning" the nozzles for more than 30 times, I realized the yellow wasnt coming out. My ink cartridges were consumed to half. So I decided to do that. Hopefully it works

[@juntjoonunya9216]

So I pushed cleaning solution through to Brother MFC-250C printhead, I've done it and each ink passage goes all the way through to the printhead as shown by soaked paper towel placed underneath, then ran several test prints and printhead cleanings and only got maybe a faint print from the cyan, then nothing. Is the circuitry broken or something? The printer seems to think everything is fine.

[@maxkol9177]

(On the second time my print-head broke because of that paper towel) but the first time everything was working.

[@DenkyManner]

i had 4 blocked nozzles. What fixed it was running the cleaning over and over again. first the black came back. Then after another load they all worked

[@dg9kaq]

i use cleaning cartridges first. leave it for a day. Than i take this isseu here and i push and pull a little bit the warm water in to the nozzels. after this i put the inkt cartridges in to the slots and print a picture for 6 or 7 times. and it works. NOTE. the printer was not working for 5 years and at the first printing before cleaning there was a verry bad result. now his is back. old printer with good results.

[@dedgesaysfuckthewrld]

Can I use an alternative solution??

[@coachjrshel]

Do you have a kit for the mfc j995dw? The nozzles on the j995dw appear to be designed like a valve stem on a tire. Would need a very special tube to press the center piece out of the way to allow for cleaner to enter.

[@missmanifestor9293]

Hi. Do you know how to fix this printer when it is not registering a ink cartridge. I've cleaned it, but it doesn't recognize it still and I'lve bought a new one.

[@lorianne6143]

what solution are u using on cleaning?

[@admin-vf6tv]

What kind of liquid is used, sir?

[@user-xh8xi2ej7u]

Nice video , thanks

[@margerithabib]

Hello ... I have a problem and I wish you could answer me . When I inject my printer it leake from the printer it self down the printer I found a big miss. What should I do

[@esteferriko4062]

Thanks

[@KurdSmart]

I cleanet it with water but after printing only for the first time the printer makes a good print! for second is a bit faded and for next times will be blank page...? whats the problem? thanks

[@rishabhprajapati8423]

Which solutions are you using in those bottles? Can spirit be used in place of them?

[@stephencarlsbad]

I used distilled water. It wont clogged anything and wont leave minerals to build up in your system.

[@MAXAREUOS]

Can we use regular water? Also what is the size of the nozzle?

[@cowsongs]

I used alcohol and it worked great.

[@ericaquaronne3202]

use ISOPROPANOL, from any electronics store it will dissove any ink (used at print houses)

[@novokomp]

The towel is easy to tuck in with a ruler

[@knageswar268]

I have amachine,but I have not use 3mths,now ink is dry, what can I do

[@fernandomaya2894]

what hose ID did you used on the Brother one?

[@67atreyu]

Por favor, como hizo su ciss para la brother??

[@francisnyagaka8173]

Now with me i have that i have tried to sort out but still the same my printer DCP-300 is not completely printing but the printer head runs smoothly i have tried to re configure afresh also not working.Please advise me what can i do.

[@MrRuthless1231]

Can this same tactic work with water or does it need cleaning solution instead

[@lawanneamiller4409]

Hello, thank you for your video! I haven't cleaned my machine yet but was wondering.... Where would I find the cartridges and ink tank setup like you show in your video? for my MFC-J615W

[@anightin]

Lawannea Miller City Ink Express have a good range. www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ciss/brother/mfc-j615w/mfc-series

[@iotworldtech]

เครื่องผมใช้ได้เป็นปีออกสีดำอย่างเดียว เจอคลิปนี้เกิดกิเลสอยากปริ้นสี เลยอัดน้ำยาล้างตามนี้ แล้วสั่งล้างหัวพิมพ์ ปริ้นเทสไม่เกิน 10 แผ่น เครื่อง error 48 เช็คโค้ด เป็นอาการหัวพิมพ์เสีย หรือท่านอื่นไม่เป็น

[@justmajd1214]

PLEASE WHAT IS THE LIQUID USED I DIN't understand

[@valtersprikulis2592]

Easy way to fix go to your computer and then go to printer settings and you will see clean nozzles

[@techforever1970]

I bought the kit and did this as per instructions. Unfortunately, my printer started to perform a clean cycle by itself once I plugged it back in and its now stuck with the error message "unable to clean 50" on the screen and no matter what I do i'm unable to get past that message and it seems like my printer is bricked. Any ideas?

[@user-me6dk4gf4k]

my Brother inkjet printer cant printing color very well after change the cartridge and the Red and blue color dont work

[@deiniou]

Hi, I am not sure anyone can answer me but well... My printer does not print black, the rest of the colors print perfectly well. So I tried cleaning with that technique. When I push the fluid it flows and it gets out of the printhead, so it is not clogged. I have done it twice, and both times I managed to flush out all the black ink until only cleaning fluid would come out, and then when I try to make a print test, and I see that the tube going to the print head is filled with black ink, nothing new happens, still no black ink printing. So the printer manages to pump ink to the printhead (because I can see the tube going to the print head filled with black ink again), but then is not printing black? Could be the internal cables? The upper nozzles that pump pressure?

[@johaninpattaya4192]

Can i use thinner

[@2011JFoster]

Where do you get the little end caps.adapters for the print heads?? I have tried MANY sizes of tubing and nothing fits my printers snugly. I also cant find the end cap/adapter pieces??.

[@anightin]

This might not be the answer you're looking for, but you could buy a kit from our website. If you're in a location we don't ship to we can usually work around it if you send an email

[@mikaelahill5648]

Can you tell me how to move the print head on a Brother MFC-J5730DW please.

[@alexandernwachukwu3586]

Please what solution did you use?

[@JavierOropeza08]

I hate that I have to clean the printer...I think I am doing this Once a year now...I think I am going to retire my brother due to this and look for other options for people like me who do not print very often, maybe I need to go to laser. Regardsless, thanks for the video and the product it does help and if you are patient, you can fix clogged heads. I am not patient.

[@patrickmoorthamer7779]

Question, where did you buy that eco tank?

[@user-me6dk4gf4k]

. my Brother inkjet printer cant be cleaned tyep 105

[@naveedschek]

Dear i have brother j525w it works fine but black wont print while color prints ok, i have change cartridge but problem wont solve. plz help what should i do.

[@rajarajeswarythanmalagan]

after cleaning like this... my printer is not printing any color :( what could be the problem...

[@SoniaDeCastro1]

Hello There, thanks for your video. Trying to sort out a Brother MFC 5890cn which has not been used for... 5 years (Oh dear), and it was only used once to print my dissertation. Anyway, the collors print fine, but black does not print at all (several clean cycles done and needled some spirit, 1/2 a syringe). My question is: If the ink is blocked solid, is the printer dead? What else can I try before trashing it? Cheers, and thanks again for the video.

[@anightin]

If nothing injects then the printer has had it's day, I'm afraid.

[@DerfOrNuffin]

How to you get the head over

[@Pat4HUMANITY]

I just bought yellow ink installed it just hours ago, the printer printed faded or not at all, and now it tells the yellow and the other cartridges are low. What the HELL!?

[@ningis21]

Hi... Very informative...Thank you. Could you tell me, what is the print head cleaner substance?

[@bonnsterthemonster]

probably rubbing alcohol

[@valtersprikulis2592]

easy way to clean your nozzles is go to computer go to printer settings and then you see clean ink clear nozzĺes clear print heads

[@periklistheodoridis8431]

Why does the print head not move into the middle on my MFC J415W? It is in the far right corner and locked in. Please help

[@estycki]

Okay I have a question; my cyan is stuck and doesn't seem to want to come through. If I leave it overnight, should I leave something on the valve(s)? Or should I leave the syringe on it as well? Should I plug the other cartridges back in?

[@anightin]

Take the syringe off when leaving overnight and replace the cartridges straight after injection in the morning

[@TheDailyCompulsion]

I was unable to print in color after my Brother MFC-J6520DW was in storage for a year. I followed your instructions with a kit from ebay that uses a needle to inject the solution instead of tubing. Interestingly, after two cleanings the yellow was printing perfectly, the magenta was printing a little bit, but the cyan was not printing at all. After doing the cleaning program on the printer several more times, the magenta got better but then the yellow stopped completely and the cyan got to perfect, and the magenta also stopped completely. Any idea why the yellow and magenta would improve and then go bad again?

[@anightin]

Sounds like there might be air in the printhead:try giving them a quick clean again and making sure the cartridges are nearly full

[@kamelbelmokhi6940]

I have à problème error 36 brother 195c impression impossible

[@sabriloucif]

can i use alcohol?

[@kanarimentos7056]

i have problem printing blury black ink

[@HailAnts]

Just used your kit on a 10-year-old Brother MFC-490CW. Cleaning seemed to go ok, but I still can't get much color ink thru to the printhead. After your procedure I went thru the printer's cleaning cycles, all finished ok. But I've run more than a dozen color documents thru, and all are washed out (cyan is blank). Cartridges all have ink, and were printing something before (not great). Because it's ten years old the printer's cleaning pads were especially soaked in ink. Cleaned them with your solution and some cotton balls. Should I just keep trying more paper? Let it sit? Any help would be appreciated..

[@HailAnts]

OK, apparently my printer's self cleaning procedure didn't actually finish. After a few power on/offs I've successfully had it complete a couple of cleaning cycles and the colors are coming back now. Looks like your kit worked fine! Thanks!!

[@italo9260]

It work thanks man, but i did it with warm sink water ...

[@MAXAREUOS]

But what is the size of the nozzle you've used?

[@alessandroarnoldi4827]

Quale liquido ha usato? Grazie

[@SongLifeDream]

It got worse and I wonder why... :S if I had some black bricks on the test page, before this procedure, after the cleaning with a Printhead cleaning solution I got no black brick at all. Moreover some of the red and yellow bricks are now missing as well... I have performed the Cleaning function several times and again nothing happens... I injected 4 ml of solution two times, the first time it was at room temperature and the second it was warmed in hot water. The black color has just dissapeared. :S

[@unitcount503]

i bought a cleaner on ebay id didnt work, so what i did is tilt the printer upwards, and with a needle i put coke on the printer heads and then did a cleaning with the maintance menu it worked for me,

[@xyncmusix9896]

wow.... What a brilliant idea. Insert coke.(thumbs up)

[@badrpedro974]

whats coke ?

[@marks4374]

It's a white powder I think.

[@JRS-iq9pz]

Cocaine?

[@tamara7210]

He probably means the soft drink. It's been known to clean things.

[@mohammedmohammedsaeed9547]

Tried this method with Brother MFC-480DW, i managed to inject the liquid into the Yellow color pipes, i could see the liquid came out at the klenex under the printer head, but still no Yellow color when testing the printer.

[@mipe7755]

how to move the printing head with your hand when it's stuck in the "pocket" on the right side of the machine?

[@anightin]

Hold the red 'cancel' button for 5 secs

[@videosdemo100]

amigo, crees que se podrá hacer la limpieza de cabezal con thinner acrílico? Gracias por su rpta.

[@Book-dc1nc]

Good .