The Best $5 Accessory for Cleaning your 3D Printer Hotend

[@ubiratamuniz]

Great idea, Bryan. Will try it. Won a new subscriber. Greetings from Brazil.

[@funkycowie]

I use paper towel. I cut sheets into quarters, I then fold a quarter sheet 4 times so I have a 8 layer piece that is about 5-6cm x 1cm and then with the nozzle at printing temp I wipe down the nozzle and block every print with quick movements. I have a 3 year old block that looks almost new on a printer that prints almost daily. If you keep everything cleaned you should never have filament any where near the wiring to even need a special tool.

[@TheFirstLayer]

That's a neat idea for sure. I've said it in another comment, but you could also buy one of these silicone tools and cut it to be a wand so you don't put your hands near the heating element.

[@BenEBrady]

Great idea, Bryan. I have several of these brushes and I use them to brush on the Vision Miner Nano Polymer bed adhesion fluid.

[@BryanBakerXBrav]

That stuff looks pretty neat! Be sure to make a video on it!

[@joea3728]

That is fine for cleaning all the loose strings, but I don't think it would do much of anything else. Silicone is nonstick. I use a folded up piece of paper towel. I'm just careful not to get burned. The hot filament will stick to the paper towel better than it will the nozzle. Just be careful. Where a glove if you need to. And I agree, you should not use a metal brush on your nozzle.

[@TheFirstLayer]

The idea is to use the short bristles, which are much more rigid when chopped down, to sweep it away and get tangled amongst the bristles instead of binding to them. Of course, with more buildup, there's a better chance of it picking up on the brush. For the price of these brushes, they're still a handy piece to keep around. And if you want, you can always put the paper towel on top of the cut down brush so you don't risk getting burnt.

[@001snapshot]

Bryan..liked the delivery...loved the whole .."Ding"..turn on a light schtick...but honestly...just heat up the hotend..turn OFF! the printer and use a brass brush.

[@TheFirstLayer]

The only caveat to cleaning by powering off is to make sure to remove the filament, otherwise you can get swelling and stuck filament in the heatbreak. It can happen easily with all-metal hotends. Great tip though!

[@sausage5849]

Hi Brian!

[@TheFirstLayer]

Hello!

[@changer6]

Nice

[@MixHosa]

i will stick with toilet paper :D cheperzos solutionz