Yes. It contains distilled water to eliminate minerals and it
evaporates quickly. It does leave behind a misty white film
usually invisible to the naked eye but disasterous for
cleaning high power lasers because of refraction, but this
isn't a problem on an inkjet cartridge.
Definitely not. It will leave behind a residue. Just because
it is considered a clean-burning fuel doesn't make it a clean
solvent. Corrosive to some plastics.
Perchloroethylene (aka PERC and tetrachloroethylene), a
chlorinated solvent, can be destructive to some plastics.
Before PERC, kerosene was used for "dry" cleaning (i.e., near
absence of water). It is a strong degreaser. One ounce of
PERC released directly into water can contaminate nearly 2-1/2
million gallons of water above regulatory concentrations. It
can dissolve paint, glue, grease, wax, and oil but just use
water on a water-soluble ink.
Windex leaves behind a residue (but probably not enough to
worry about regarding an inkjet cartridge) and why you have to
buff the residues (glycols) to eliminate streaks (see
http://www.windexglasscleaner.com/faqs.asp#1) whereas letting
it dry from wet strokes will leave streaks despite the use of
surfactants. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it
ain't there. There is window wax, too, and if applied
properly is unseen but it is definitely there. If it's all
you have (unlikely) then use Windex but remember that it is a
general purpose cleaner and may "clean" more than you want.
For example, don't use on CRTs or LCDs or you may lose the
anti-reflective coating and first test on an inconspicuous
small area for tinted windows. Windex is: ammonia
(emulsifier), 2-Butoxyethanol (surface coating solvent and
degreaser, or dissolution promoter, also used in pesticides),
Ethylene glycol hexyl ether (a solvent in the commercial
version only), isopropyl alcohol, and 60-100% water. Water
is neutral at a pH of 7, seawater is 8, and oven cleaners are
13. Ammonia is pH of 11, or 10,000 more alkaline than water
(pH is exponential).
Don't use ammonia; it's too corrosive and can make plastic go
cloudy. Windex has ammonia (unless you get the vinegar or
orange formulas). If the dried ink is too stubborn for
distilled water or isopropyl alchol, use diluted white vinegar
or purer acetic acid (a descaler) and follow by cleaning with
distilled water (to eliminate the vinegar residue).
Yes. The ink is water soluable. This is what HP recommends.
Use this first unless the dried ink is too stubborn and needs
isopropyl to dissolve it.
Most are just very diluted isopropyl alcohol in deionized
water. They don't list ingredients because they know you
could make your own for far cheaper. Car engine cleaners also
include isopropyl alcohol but you could by 99% isopropyl at
the drug store and get 50 times more than what is in the car
cleaner. Would you buy 50 bottles of the $1 gas
evaporator/injector cleaner which is kerosene, Stoddard
solvent (aka Naphtha, Mineral Spirits), and a tiny bit of
isopropyl for a total cost of $50, or would you buy just a $3
bottle of 99% isopropyl?
You should run a test page at least once a month to prevent
the ink from drying up in the nozzle (aka an ink plug). This
can use up a lot of ink, though. Even if you don't use the
printer, the ink will dry up in the sponge inside the
cartridge because vents are open to displace the ink that runs
out. Don't remove the labels since they may cover more vent
holes that are used at the factory when filling the cartridge.
If you don't plan to use your printer for a long while, put
the cartridge in a plastic bag.
