Print head soap

[Katkay]

Hello. Super new to the soap making process so any advice would be helpful! I am on a mission to make a cleaner to run through a print head (main component in a printer that shoots out the ink). There are many cleaners on the market but if I can make my own, even better! I love DIY's.
So what I've come up with is I need:
Chelator -- EDTA?
Builder - BAKING SODA, BORAX?
Surfectant - SOAP?
Distilled water

All ingredients must be non-toxic

Im stumped, as much as I go through of this marketed cleaner I would love to save some money.
Please help guide me.

 

[DeeAnna]

If I were in your shoes, I'd be wanting technical info in a patent, an ingredients list from an effective commercial product, or other technical info as a guide for formulating a product like this. Do you have any information that would lead you to believe a soap-based product will actually work rather than clog up or ruin the print head?

And have you tested some of the many DIY concoctions already out there to see how they perform with your print cartridges? This one looks simple and easy to make although I have no idea if it works --

"...the core components of printhead cleaner are so easily available, it is easy to produce inkjet cleaning solution from the comfort of your own home. To do so, fill a glass jar or similarly-sized container with clean, distilled or bottled water. Add three drops of liquid dish soap to the water, followed by four teaspoons of isopropyl alcohol (which you can get at most drugstores). Mix the solution with a spoon, and you will have a solution functionally identical to a commercially produced printhead cleaner. This DIY printer head cleaner can then be used to clear ink blockages...." https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-is-solvent-ink​

It sure would be good if you would please provide more info, so the rest of us can become more informed and give better advice.

 

[amd]

Glad you'll be testing on your printer and not mine! I don't see any need to use soap for cleaning a printer. A quick search on Google yielded several DIY solutions using simple ingredients - many of them are mostly Iso alc, which you would need to help the components dry quickly and thoroughly. For this reason I would avoid any kind of heavy water based product. I work for a magnetics company that uses water washing in our production processes and we have very clearly defined a water wash process that includes a post bake to ensure that all electrical components are thoroughly dried to prevent remaining water from causing corrosion. For parts with very high safety standards, we do not allow water washing, but specify cleaning with iso alc followed by a post bake. Note that I am not recommending that you bake your printer, merely pointing out that electronics and water should be handled carefully. Also consider any residue left from your solution may cause future problems down the road for your printer.

Personally for the sake of keeping my equipment running and out of the landfills as long as possible, I would only use commercial products very specifically designed for my equipment. Printers may be cheap these days, but their disposal has a huge impact on our carbon footprint.

 

[Vickyn]

Great idea. I think you're looking at a long process of trial and error until you get the recipe right. I don't have any info that will help specifically but surfactants will foam up the recipe a lot.... I would definitely be careful about which one you choose and how much. They are more commonly used in shampoo.