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How to clean your scanner glass
Have you ever scanned a photo, only to see specks of dust in high resolution? We show you how to safely and effectively clean the glass on your scanner.
(Credit:
Canon U.S.A.)
Have you ever scanned a photo, only to see specks of dust in high resolution? We hope your knee-jerk reaction wasn't to grab a paper towel and glass cleaner and spray the scanner, because that probably made it worse. We'll show you how to safely and effectively clean the glass on your scanner:
Step 1: Unplug the power cord from the scanner.
Step 2: Using a soft, lint-free cloth, like a microfiber cloth, wipe off the dust from the scanner glass.
Step 3: If the glass has smudges or other contaminants, use a little bit of glass cleaner on a microfiber cloth and wipe the glass.
Step 4: Using a dry microfiber cloth, dry off any remaining moisture or residue.
Do not use any glass cleaners that contain the following cleaning agents:
- acetone
- ammonia
- benzene
- carbon tetrachloride
The above chemicals can damage the scanner glass. Though some manufacturers suggest using isopropyl alcohol, it tends to leave streaks.
Related links
• How to clean and disinfect your keyboard and mouse
• How to clean your smartphone or tablet
• How to safely clean glossy displays (video)
We also don't recommend using compressed air for dusting because the force of the air could end up blowing dust into the edges of the scanner and end up underneath the glass, which is a lot harder to clean. Some scanner manufacturers have instructions for removing the glass and cleaning underneath it, but not all scanners are made to be disassembled by the user.
That's it. Now you can go back to scanning your pictures without having to aggressively despeckle your images with graphics software.
