Skip to main content

Error "unable to clean" on Brother MFC

 
MAJ 13/11/15
Here is the procedure to solve error message "unable to clean" on Brother inkjet printers:

 Solution:
  • Machine off
  • Switch on the machine while holding down the “menu”button until all the leds are flashing on/off. Now you are in “maintenance” mode.
  • Press 80
  • Press the “mono start” button several times until you see “purge: xxxx”
  • Press “2783” in order to reset the purge counter. You will see: “purge:0000”
  • Press the "stop" button.
  • Press “99” to exit the maintenance mode.

See also: Error 46 on Brother printers

If you want to replace the absorber box:
Libellés :

Comments

Py said…
Wow ! It totally worked ! Thanks
December 16, 2009 at 7:46 AM
Mircea Ţuglea said…
Works exactly how you said! Thanks!
April 27, 2010 at 2:13 AM
Unknown said…
My mfc-410cn came up with this message and made a sort of grinding noise while trying to clean. I followed the instructions above and it worked immediately after. Thanks for the help!
May 27, 2010 at 9:48 AM
JP said…
Worked for me too! You're a lifesaver. Thanks soooo much. Any suggestions as to how to keep this monster from cleaning all the time?
June 27, 2011 at 11:30 AM
meeep said…
is this for all MFC brother printers or just some? i have the MFC-425CN printer and it doesnt seem to be working, any suggestions?
December 4, 2011 at 9:18 PM
LEH said…
Hi meeep,

Reset for MFC-425CN here:
http://fix-your-printer.blogspot.com/2011/12/brother-mfc-425cn-printer.html
December 5, 2011 at 5:16 AM
Asad Ilyas said…
i tried many things for Brother MFC795CW but the error went from "unable to clean 46" to "unable to initialize 46"

help would be greatly appreciated on this one
January 19, 2012 at 1:48 AM
roibar said…
amazing
was very helpfull!!!
January 31, 2012 at 6:28 AM
roibar said…
amazing it was very helpfull
January 31, 2012 at 6:29 AM
Vasu said…
Many Thanks! It works.
March 19, 2012 at 1:42 PM
Barbara said…
Awesome!! worked perfectly!
May 14, 2012 at 6:27 AM
Unknown said…
This fix was awsome, so simple, and so effective.. I thought I was going to have to buy another printer, this one (MFC620) has been so reliable, and the error "Unable to Clean" instruction in the manual does not mention the cause of the problem, it tells you to clean out clips or bits of paper in the machine... Many thanks it now works perfectly. Gary
July 19, 2012 at 8:47 PM
淞×Water Pine said…
Thank you so much! It works perfectly! Thanks!! :D
July 29, 2012 at 2:00 AM
Unknown said…
i tried this solution 2 times for Brother MFC5890CN but nothing happens..the "UNABLE TO CLEAN 5A" is still there..

any other suggestion please.....hope you can help me...thanks a lot
August 6, 2012 at 3:24 AM
Gail said…
Thank you for posting this extremely helpful tip - it worked great for me! I thought I'd have to pay to have the printer serviced or get a new one, and I just replaced all the printer cartridges (around $60). It's funny how many people left comments during the wee hours of the morning...I was getting ready to call Brother support later today before I googled the error message and got this. I'm back in business, thanks to you! I really appreciate it!
August 15, 2012 at 4:28 AM
jurassic said…
yeah worked perrrrfectly
thankyou from saving me buying a new printer
August 17, 2012 at 1:59 AM
nera89 said…
Awsome! I feel like a magician. Thanks so much!
August 25, 2012 at 5:13 AM
aadaca said…
portsec Worked a treat, thanks so much. (Otherwise my MFC640 would have been heading binward!)
August 28, 2012 at 4:39 AM
Unknown said…
Worked for me for the MFC-420CN when getting the "Unable to clean" error message.
September 8, 2012 at 5:16 AM
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
September 11, 2012 at 7:51 PM
james said…
Thank yo for the info! unlocked my printer so i could get it going again!
November 1, 2012 at 7:10 PM
Anonymous said…
you certainly know your stuff worked a treat THANKS
December 18, 2012 at 5:14 PM
SPARKY said…
Great job many THANKS
December 18, 2012 at 5:20 PM
Anonymous said…
Worked! Much better than buying a new printer. Thanks so much!
January 6, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Anonymous said…
Excellent, fixed my Brother 210
January 21, 2013 at 5:15 PM
Anonymous said…
thanks - fixed my mfc-410cn exactly as stated
March 6, 2013 at 3:31 PM
differentspin said…
Worked great on my Brother DCP-340CW. Since this model doesn't have a numeric keypad, I used the up and down arrows to compose the digits that were mentioned in the instructions.
April 2, 2013 at 12:47 AM
Anonymous said…
It worked on my DCP-115C !
May 14, 2013 at 1:04 AM
Anonymous said…
worked on our MFC-420CN. Glad I googled 'Unable to Clean' after Brother's troubleshooter said, "you need to take it to a shop for fixing"
and gave me a phone # of one.
June 3, 2013 at 4:20 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks so much! That worked great!
June 3, 2013 at 5:25 PM
Anonymous said…
Amazing. Worked perfectly. MFC420CN.
June 18, 2013 at 10:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks!!! Worked for me too!! Really appreciate it :)
July 21, 2013 at 2:22 AM
Anonymous said…
OMG!!!It actually worked!Thank you so much!!!!:D
August 2, 2013 at 4:13 PM
Anonymous said…
Thank you! It worked!
November 7, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Anonymous said…
Still working, much thanks!
January 3, 2014 at 4:23 PM
Anonymous said…
Great solution worked for my MFC 640 CW. Thanks for sharing. It saved me $100
January 26, 2014 at 2:20 PM
Anonymous said…
OK...that was really bizarre, and it really worked. I'm impressed & thank you.
May 27, 2014 at 5:03 PM
Anonymous said…
you legend, everyone in the family is gonna be stoked that I (their teenage daughter) fixed the printer haha cheers! :D
June 4, 2014 at 6:59 PM
Anonymous said…
You saved my printer! Many Thanks!!
June 23, 2014 at 7:21 AM
Anonymous said…
Worked perfectly...thank you so much!
August 31, 2014 at 6:04 PM
Unknown said…
OMG! Perfection!...I tried a few other methods that I saw online to no avail. I sure am glad I found this site!!! Many thanks!
September 5, 2014 at 11:03 AM
Anonymous said…
Did not work on my 390CW :(
September 8, 2014 at 9:11 PM
Unknown said…
Owners manual was no help at all but this worked first go...thanks heaps.
September 11, 2014 at 12:28 AM
Amit Patel said…
Yes! Bro Thank you . its work .i really thank full to get the tips from you .
September 14, 2014 at 5:16 PM
GWhiskey said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
October 28, 2014 at 8:58 PM
Anonymous said…
Thank you for the simplistic notes on how to exit the Error as stated.
You made it so easy.
October 28, 2014 at 8:59 PM
JULIA said…
Brilliant, fixed THANK YOU!!!
November 14, 2014 at 3:27 AM
Anonymous said…
YES it worked, we moved and had stored our printer for 4 months, it was giving the can't clean error. This worked 1st go, thanks so much.
November 26, 2014 at 2:35 AM
Anonymous said…
hi this didnt fix the problem for me im still getting the clean76 error can you help me try something else
November 27, 2014 at 7:05 AM
J.Lassalle said…
Hi

What is your printer model for error 76 ?
November 29, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Anonymous said…
Works on the 2nd attempt with my mfc425cn. On the 1st one I couldn't enter maintenance mode. For the 2nd , instead of the soft power key I used ... the plug. Excellent, thanks a lot.
January 11, 2015 at 1:44 PM
Unknown said…
Tried this four times and didn't work.
January 13, 2015 at 9:33 AM
Anonymous said…
Worked perfectly! Thanks!
March 21, 2015 at 5:05 PM
Anonymous said…
Looked like it was working, but then the same error message came up again. UGH!
March 24, 2015 at 1:08 PM
Anonymous said…
Thank you, it worked. Saved some bucks!
April 14, 2015 at 9:54 AM
Unknown said…
Did not worked on my MFC J220, any suggestion please...
i need to fix this ASAP for my childrens homework to be print.
Thanks in advance...
September 23, 2015 at 3:57 AM
Anonymous said…
It did work with my printer, many thanks
January 17, 2016 at 3:22 AM
Anonymous said…
a million thanks to you.... it works.....god bless.
January 30, 2016 at 1:04 AM
SAGAR said…
No bro...
Didnt Work for MFC-J415W

Still showing the Error - Unable to Clean5A
Open the back cover... Remove the jammed paper..

I am getting this error on screen
February 8, 2016 at 5:03 AM
J.Lassalle said…
Hi Sagar,

Unable to clean 5A means "abnormal stop of pump in the maintenance unit".

Remove foreign materials and, if necessary, replace the PF encoder disc and clean the flushing guide.

If the problem persist, a part is defective (PF encoder, ink refill assy, paper feed motor, maintenance unit, etc...)
February 9, 2016 at 8:14 AM
Unknown said…
I was ready to throw the printer out in the trash. after following your instructions, I can once again print. is there an idea why this happens? your instructions were simple and effective. although I did get an error that a driver device wasn't installed properly while I was doing your instructions? thanks 100 %
February 13, 2016 at 2:24 PM
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
March 3, 2016 at 10:49 AM
Unknown said…
Did NOT work for my MFC 420 CN. Couldn't even turn the printer off.
March 3, 2016 at 10:56 AM
Unknown said…
Didn't work on our MFC J220 :( Any more suggestions to around this? I've read in another post that if the code error is 50, it means servicing is required on the machine. Any help will be appreciated...thanks.
May 23, 2016 at 2:29 AM
Anonymous said…
Worked perfectly on my MFC 440CN and thank you so much for the advice. Was either going to get an engineer to fix the problem or throw the printer away but now sorted. Thanks again
May 27, 2016 at 3:17 AM
Teresa O Connor said…
did not work on my MFC660CN ERROR 30 AND ERROR 50 WHAT CAN I TRY NOW EMAIL ME ON tadoc18@hotmail.com Teresa
September 18, 2016 at 4:35 AM
Teresa O Connor said…
i would really like help with this error on my printer it was working perfect then this error 30 and error 50 appeared on my screen
September 18, 2016 at 4:36 AM
J.Lassalle said…
Hi Teresa,

Try this:
http://fix-your-printer.blogspot.fr/2011/09/unable-to-print-50-and-unable-to-print.html
September 20, 2016 at 6:55 AM
Carolyn said…
Did not work on my MFCJ265W. Everything worked ok throughout the procedure until I pressed the stop key which is the 2nd last step. Nothing further happened so could not get the printer to return to maintenance mode. Still have the Unable to clean 4F error message. I'm about to throw the printer out the window!
October 11, 2016 at 4:54 PM
J.Lassalle said…
Hi Carolyn,

The error 4F is a problème of the printhead. Infortunately, a part is defective: the carriage assy, the carriage unit, the main PCB...
October 15, 2016 at 11:33 AM
F. Brandão said…
It does not work with MFC-660CN.
The procedure is not valid.
February 8, 2017 at 3:48 AM
Unknown said…
FUNCIONO OKI EN MI MFC-215C
March 11, 2017 at 6:20 AM
Anonymous said…
i already did the purge reset to 0000 i follow all instructions and even change or replace the absorber box when it happened again twice i did reset the purge but still shows the ink absorber is full please help.. i have brother mfc-j825dw
February 24, 2018 at 5:08 AM
J.Lassalle said…
Hi,

After "Press “99” to exit the maintenance mode.", switch off and on the printer.
February 24, 2018 at 6:26 AM
Philip Watling said…
Sadly if I hold down the menu button on my MFC-640CW the power button does not work :(
August 6, 2018 at 2:11 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to fix error B200 on canon Printers

MAJ11/06/17 Error B200 means the printhead voltage or temperature is not normal. The Printhead could be defective.... but first, try these solutions below: Solution 1 : Disconnect the power cable from the printer. Wait 1 hour. Connect the power cable Solution 2 : Check and Clean Head contact pin condition of the carriage unit Check Cable connection especially the carriage FFC Solution 3 : Turn off the power Open the panel Turn on the power Wait for print carriage to start moving to the left. Let it go past half way Before print carriage reaches left hand side shut the cover. Leave the Printer turned on Solution 4 : Unplug the power cable. Open the printer Push the whole print head mechanic to the center While the printer still open, plug the power and turn it ON.  When the printhead still moving and is going to the very LEFT, close the cover.  Wait until its boot up.  Solution 4a: Take out all of the ink cartridges ...
217 comments
Read more

How to solve error code 006 with Canon Service Tool V3400

MAJ 25/08/17 The Service Tool V3400 allow to reset the counter of some Canon printers. For the error code 006 , try this : Solution 1: Check your cartridges: an empty cartridge can lead to error 006 Solution 2 : After you avec clicked on "Main", wait a few minutes.  If the error still here, restarts the Service Tool Solution 3 : Close the service tool Disconnect the USB cable from the printer After 10 seconds, plug back the cable to the printer On Windows, click next when appears "New device" Open the service tool
11 comments
Read more

Service tool V3400 for resetting Canon printers counter

MAJ13/02/18 The Service Tool V3400 , and service tool V3600 , allow you to reset the waste ink pad counter on some Canon printers:  You can solve the messages errors "Waste Ink Tank Full" or "Waste Ink Pad Full", "error 5B00" or "Error P07" on these printers: Canon Pixma iP2700, iP4800, iP4810, iP4840, iP4850, iP4900, iP4910, iP4940, iP4970, iP4980, iP4990, iP5810, iP5880 Canon Pixma MP230, MP240; MP250; MP260; MP270; MP280; MP480; MP490; MP540; MP550; MP560; MP620; MP630; MP640; MP980; MP990; Canon Pixma IX6500, IX6510, IX7000 Canon Pixma IP3600, IP4940 Canon Pixma PRO9000, PRO9500 Canon Pixma MG2120. MG2140, MG2240, MG2250, MG2440, MG3240, MG3140, MG4100, MG4140, MG5140, MG5150, MG5240, MG5340, MG6140, MG6240, MG8140, MG8240  Canon MX397, MX320, MX330, MX370, MX860  etc Where can you download the Service Tool V3400 ? It is free here: https:/ /1fichier. com/ ?c198556kp0 There is too a paid version here: V3400 C...
40 comments
Read more