# Printer Trick



## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

I once saved the life of the Dalai Lama. He was so grateful, he taught me an ancient trick about printers. 

To maintain the life of the rubber rollers that feed the paper in, clean them with acetone, not alcohol. Alcohol will dry out the rollers, while acetone keeps them supple. Acetone will even help revive the rubber rollers in old printers that have trouble feeding the paper properly. You can get acetone in any hardware store. 

CAUTION: the fumes from acetone are bad for the toner cartridge and for people too! Use acetone in a well ventilated area, and put the printer cartridge in some other place while you're working. Wait until the fumes have gone away before re-installing the cartridge.


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Another word of caution with pure acetone.
It's as explosive as gasoline. I've used it to
prime carburetors when starting older engines.


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

The wife has a small bottle of fingernail polish remover (also known as acetone)..............but do not even think of using it because it most likely has a fragrance added in and it is pricey because it says Revlon on it.
Just go to your local friendly hardware store and get your own quart or pint of acetone.

Cheers,
DS


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## Dark Star (Jun 8, 2001)

MacfromOK,

"I've used it to prime carburetors when starting older engines."

That is a good tip also, I've noticed the Starting Fluid that used to have ether is not easy to find and I think they are now using a different ingredient other than ether and it does not pack the same punch as does the ether.
It is the vapor fumes that are highly explosive and not the liquid.

One last word of caution: Acetone has the potential of melting some types of plastics, and it will surely turn a clear plastic into a milky white plastic so just because it cleans the rubber rollers well, do not try to clean other printer parts with it.

DS


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## mole (Aug 24, 1999)

I thought acetone was tightly controlled by the CA air quality management districts?


mole


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Not to my knowledge. I live in CA and you can buy acetone in the local hardware stores.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

. . . DN, that you would use such an environmentally unsafe product--shame on you. Shouldn't you be cleaning those rollers with something you get only at a Green supported store?


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Busted! O.K., you got me!


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## GoneForNow (Jul 22, 2001)

DN-----Here is the perfect chance to put your brand of socialism to work!!!!! Lets get a petition together and have the good citizens of LaLa Land vote on whether acetone can be sold at the local hardware store. We could add other "harmful" products made by these "foreign" corporations ("foreign" meaning outside of LaLa Land). Like benzines or thorazine (or is that the pill I pop twice a day (mole will get that one)). If the the good citizens pass our mandate then we can stop the shipments at the border (much easier than "illegals"). Oh wait a minute I forgot about the U.S. Constitution and the Commerce Clause. Who cares were talking socialism here we don't need a Constitution we have utopia (which I hope isn't one of those "bad" chemicals).


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## mole (Aug 24, 1999)

Reminds me of this:

A few years ago I was testing beer bottle cap gaskets in the lab and had several 6 packs purchased at local package stores to dispose of. The DC government considers the alcohol content of the beer makes it hazardous waste if disposed of from a lab, so some faithful government employees volunteered to perform a kidney filtration (off duty) so the tax payers could be spared the expense of disposing of beer as hazardous waste. 

We need to find a green alternative for acetone in this situation because there are too many VOC (volatile organic chemicals) released into the sensitive atmosphere. Trouble is we have got to stop CN/DN from drinking the blasted acetone.

mole


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Hey! I want a lawyer! ! !


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## GoneForNow (Jul 22, 2001)

DN---It would have to be Mulder as I'm not licensed in LaLa Land (thank God!)


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## MacFromOK (Mar 19, 2001)

Hehe, only you guys could turn a "printer trick"
into a random discussion...


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## GoneForNow (Jul 22, 2001)

There is nothing "random" about it. We see DN and we go for the throat. Not really. We're just having a little fun. We take ourselves a little to seriously sometimes in this Forum. I'd rather poke fun at myself (and Mulder too!) Life is to short and there are so many socialist to harpoon. Beats watching re-runs or reading Chomsky (a thousand deaths is not as painful as reading Chomsky).


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

I have another tip for cleaning toner smudges off the surface of printers.

I searched the forums, and I couldn't find any discussion of cleaning the printer surface _per se_. So, I figured this place is as good as any.

Anyways, I had some stubborn smudges. I tried various cleaners: alcohol, ammonia, spray cleaners, bleach, etc. - - all dilligently applied with a toothbrush, scrubbing hard. Didn't work too well.

What worked like a charm is one of those "Mr. Clean" Magic Erasers, and a solution of Oxy-Clean. Took it right off with ease!

The only cautions I would mention is to be sure that you wring it out well (should be damp, not wet) so it doesn't drip into the machinery. Also, be careful of things (such as logos, identifiers for the buttons) that are printed onto the surface. The "Mr. Clean" Eraser is like an abrasive sponge and it might take a logo right off.

As with many experiments I do, I don't know WHICH is the critical ingredient! Was it the "Mr. Clean" eraser, or was it the Oxy-Clean? I already cleaned the whole thing before I thought to experiment with one item seperately!

But, the combo works VERY good. Made the thing look brand new.

Try it yourself!

P.S. "Mr. Clean" did NOT pay me to make this post!


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

Just make sure you only buy one can. It is one ingredient that is used to make Meth and many stores will have the police there to ask you a few questions before you leave.


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

No kidding? You can make Meth with Oxy-Clean?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Oxy-Clean doesn't come in a can does it? 

That Oxy Clean is pretty incredible stuff. I'm thinking of testing it around my cat's neck, her flea collars leave a stain on her white fur.......... PETA will probably be along shortly


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

I hope you are joking about testing it on your cat. I'm pretty sure that stuff is posionous. Cats will lick their fur and pick up the residue. Even on the back of the neck - - they wash themselves by licking their paw and rubbing their neck repeatedly. 

What is the chemical in "Oxy-Clean" anyhow? 

P.S. Remember, it may be the "Mr. Clean" eraser. In fact, I suspect that it is. I tried the eraser again on my computer case without the Oxy - - and it worked good (althought it was only a minor smudge - - not the big-time smudges I had on my printer).


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Not sure what their secret ingredients are......probably some sort of bleach for sure. They have to have a safety product data sheet somewhere though...it's required by law, I'll dig around 

And yes, kidding about the cat. The commercial says it has many uses though 

Second google item. That was fast 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&q=oxyclean+ingredients&spell=1


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Well, if it wasn't poisonous, I'd be tempted to use it on MY cat. 

I have a real problem with my cat who has a very nice white coat - - but likes to crawl under parked cars and picks up greasy stains on his back! Very difficult to get rid of without using chemicals that are poisonous.


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Good old internet! You can find ANYTHING! Just found this:

Question
Hello Henry! Could you, would you inform me of the chemical make-up of the product "Oxyclean?" We have all seen it on the infomercials.THe sellers states that you can use it on counter tops to laundry. What chemicals composition is in it? Can it be used as a sanitizer for glass bottles? 
Thanks a bunch! 
R. Andersson

Answer
sodium percarbonate/sodium carbonate mix which is a stabilized mix of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide with extra sodium carbonate thrown in. Hydrogen peroxide is released when you add it to water. Sanitize? For food, I doubt it has been approved and may not be strong enough. For general cleaning, it really would not work on many things. It is better for spots not crud removal. Doesn't work at all on oil/grease. If you search www.google.com for sodium percarbonate you will find info from various suppliers.

[Hmm! Didn't know that! The next time I'll probably just use hydrogen peroxide directly, instead of generating it with a powder! Much cheaper! ]


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Oxyclean is made from natural ingredients and contains no toxic chemicals, cleaning solvents, or harmful abrasives. It's environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable and has NO odor. It will not harm our lakes and streams.

That is interesting? They say you can clean your dentures 

http://www.ascleanedontv.com/oxyclean.html


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

DNeurococo said:


> No kidding? You can make Meth with Oxy-Clean?


I don't know about Oxy-Clean DN. I was referring to acetone. I don't think it is the same thing. Acetone is used in Meth labs that are hopefully being busted on a regular basis. Meth is bad news :down: .


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hey now, woman need to buy acetone by the gallons to remove all that nail polish


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

But Candy. Why would someone as beautiful as you need to enhance her looks with cosmetics?


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

Sorry for the hijack DN.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Actually, I normally don't wear nail polish or much make up


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Jackal: Sorry! I got confused. My tip recommending acetone for cleaning rubber rollers was from some time ago. I came up with this NEW tip on Mr. Clean erasers + OxyClean for cleaning the SURFACE of the printer (or your computer surface), and I decided to put the new tip in the same place as the old. When you commented, I thought you were talking about my latest tip! 
Acetone is DEFINITELY not the same thing as OxyClean! 

AcaCandy: Oxy-Clean is NOT toxic? I am surprised!


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

AcaCandy said:


> Actually, I normally don't wear that much


   Just had to. Seriously, I think that women have a tendancy to overdo the makeup thing when a lot of them don't have to. 

Last post for me here. Back to lurking.


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## jackal969k (Mar 16, 2003)

DNeurococo said:


> Jackal: Sorry! I got confused. My tip recommending acetone for cleaning rubber rollers was from some time ago. I came up with this NEW tip on Mr. Clean erasers + OxyClean for cleaning the SURFACE of the printer (or your computer surface), and I decided to put the new tip in the same place as the old. When you commented, I thought you were talking about my latest tip!
> Acetone is DEFINITELY not the same thing as OxyClean!
> 
> My fault DN. I didn't pay attention to the dates.


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## DNeurococo (Mar 14, 2001)

Hey, I don't mean to keep beating dead horse, or be anal-retentive about this, but AcaCandy listed the Oxy-Clean web-site saying that the product was harmless. 

BUT . . . 

Right on the gosh darned label it says "HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS. EYE AND SKIN IRRITANT." 

And there are more such warnings on the back label! What gives?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I dunno. But I'd like to find out too  Cleaning the stain around my cat's neck sounded like a good proposition


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## jimi (Jun 14, 2000)

gbrumb said:


> There is nothing "random" about it. We see DN and we go for the throat. Not really. We're just having a little fun. We take ourselves a little to seriously sometimes in this Forum. I'd rather poke fun at myself (and Mulder too!) Life is to short and there are so many socialist to harpoon. Beats watching re-runs or reading Chomsky (a thousand deaths is not as painful as reading Chomsky).


Candice darlin, can you insert this into _*every*_ thread in CD they could sure use the advise 

WOW talk about an acid free flash back - seeing those names and especially this 


Dark Star said:


> The wife has


   sure made my day. not even sure why i travelled that far down the page


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## blonded (Oct 21, 2004)

I just got Oxy-clean in my eye from opening it, then opening the little celophane envelope that contained instructions and a coupon. A few granules remained on the piece and one flipped into my eye, and apparently stuck just under the lower eyelid. It moderately "ate" through the skin and the surrounding area is bloodshot inside and swollen. When I washed my eye I didn't think to open the lid and wash there. Be warned. It's great for cleaning, but it's painful for the eyes.


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