How to Clean Your Scanner Bed

Cleaning your scanner is a very important process, as it prolongs the life of your device, and keeps the glass free of particles that could ruin the glass or disrupt the clarity of your scanning process. This is a list of tips to follow in order to get the job done on your own time, and at barely any cost to you financially.

Purchase The Necessary Supplies To Do The Cleaning

To do the cleaning, you want to purchase a mild glass cleaner and at least two soft lint-free cloths to do the cleaning. You want a really mild cleaner, and one that works well is Windex or similar products designed to clean glass on computer products. It is VERY important to only purchase a glass cleaner, as using something more abrasive could really damage your scanner glass. Also, make sure that the cloth your purchase is soft to the touch, as you aren't washing the bed, you are just going to be wiping it down.

Disconnect Cables and Let Scanner Cool Down

What could be the most important step to cleaning your scanner bed, is to make sure that you have unplugged the scanner from its power source as well as its USB cable to the computer. This ensures that you don't risk hurting yourself, or damaging the scanner during the process. It is additionally recommended that you let the scanner cool down once it has been unplugged so that the surface of the glass is neither hot to the touch, nor at a state that could harm you while cleaning it.

Open The Scanner To Reveal The Bed (Glass)

With everything unplugged, it is now safe to open up the scanner itself to reveal the bed. If you are operating with a scanner that has a lid, you want to make sure that you have something to lean that lid against so that you don't have to worry about cleaning it. Some scanners have their lids attached using only basic screws which can be removed to set the lid aside, but a good rule of thumb is that if you don't have to do that, just let it be. If it's not possible to do either of these suggestions, prepare your cloth (Step 4) before you open up the scanner.