Cleaning HP OfficeJet 7130 print heads

Hewlett Packard HP OfficeJet 7130 7100 71xx printhead print head clean
cleaning

I'm writing this in case anyone does a search on the Web and might
find this useful. [Caveat lector: I don't recommend this procedure.
I'm just saying I tried it and it worked really well for me.]

Up until recently most HP printers had the printheads integrated into
the ink cartridges such that each time you replaced the ink cartridge
you got new printheads in the bargain. The printhead is the business
end of the printer that applies the ink to the page. If this gets
clogged up then you will have printing problems. This tends to occur
if you have not printed for a while and ink on the printhead dries up.

The HP OfficeJet 7100 series of printers comes with sepearte
printheads, one for each of the three colours and black. I found out
that one printhead would run me about $70 CAD.

When you open the main cover to access the ink cartridges, on that
same carriage is a lever. Lift it up to access the 4 printhead
cartridges. Each one comes with a hndle. Pull straight up to remove
the printhead. The ink comes out of the bottom.

I used Q-Tips soaked in warm water to gently clean each printhead. I
first dabbed the wet Q-Tip head to remove excess water. At first a lot
of black gunk came off. I used a few Q-Tips until all I saw was pure
colour. I am only guessing but I would guess that isopropyl alcohol
instead of water would have worked even better.

I replaced the printheads, printed a couple of test pages, and my
printing problems disappeared and without paying $70 per printhead.