Best way to thoroughly clean oils and things out of glowforge?

My laser went off the rails again today and I’m pretty sure its the general buildup of dust and crud in the machine. What do you guys use to break down the buildup of junk in your machines?

I unplug it, moisten a rag or paper towel with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water, and wipe it down. Q-tips and pipe cleaners for detailing.

I try not to let it build up to that level, when the tube starts to get slightly cloudy, I try to clean everything I can reach. It makes it easier to maintain…when it builds up it tends to set and harden, and it’s harder to get everything off.

Be sure to check the wheels and tracks for larger pieces of debris, and if you haven’t cleaned the lenses and windows, it’s a good time to do it, and vacuum out the exhaust. Cleaning guides are here: General Cleaning Guidelines

I like to let it dry overnight with the lid up, but if you just moisten the towels it dries pretty quickly.

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Me too. Big fan of the water and vinegar and it works really well.

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I use simple green (I hate the smell of vinegar)

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I’m not wild about it, but it does really wonderful things for your hair. :smile:

Ha, that’s actually why I hate it so much. My mother, wanting to avoid nasty chemicals, used a salt & warm vinegar solution to kill head-lice/nits when I was little. It was horrible. Took like 30 years before I could even enjoy an oil & vinegar dip with some bread.

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Tritto™.

NOTE: “Tritto” is a registered trademark of Jules and is used here under licensing by The Jules Accord guidelines.

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I use a vinegar/water rinse and haven’t had a flake of dandruff in fifteen years. (The smell dissipates as soon as it dries, and you can always just rinse with water again if you need to.)

But yeah, I do understand…it was hard to get hubs to try it, until he realized it was keeping his hair from falling out as badly when he used it. (Gets rid of a lot of chemicals that we dump on our heads with our shampoo and hairsprays.)

I’m not a fanatic about it or anything though, so I just use it, and smile when my hairdresser cries. :wink:

Snortle! :rofl:

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My most frequent use of vinegar is to prep galvanized steel for paint.

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First time I cleaned it I grabbed the Windex for the glass.
It also worked on the residue everywhere else.
Final cleaning is alcohol wipes for the camera//lens.

Easy to avoid the wires and lights if you spray the wipe instead of the machine.
Works so good I never gave any thought to trying anything else.

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Ooh, I was just about to start a topic about this. So I got roped into about 6 hours of rubber engraving this week, and now my GF looks like it got lost in the desert during a dust storm. Any recommendations other than vacuum and lots of damp cloths? In particular, that little gap between the case and the front door is pretty much full. Am I going to need one of those mini vacs or some other trick to get in there?

Also, belts. Just gentle cleaning, or is it worth removing and putting back on?

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It’s a good acid. I use it for a lot of things. :smile:

Your pup might appreciate a vinegar/water bath. It’s how I wound up using it on myself, because I wanted to test it on me before using it on the kitties. Just fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture, then spritz it on the fur and rub it in. Bet you’ll be surprised at the reaction. My kitties, who do not like baths, will knock each other down to get in line for the spray bottle.

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I’ll keep that in mind. My current dog has remarkably hydrophobic/self-cleaning fur, and loves playing in the water. I’m constantly surprised by how good she smells. The non-stop, year-round shedding and the associated daily brushing may well play a part in that
The cats though…

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I’m so sorry for the trouble. Were you able to get your laser arm back in place?

All of our recommendations are listed on this support site (which @Jules already shared): https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning

The specific sections are:
https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning#things-that-need-wiping

As well as some slightly newer details:
https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning#additional-tidying

Unplug your machine.

For the outside, glass window and floor:
Open font door and remove grate (shake it clean/set aside)
Vacuum out debris
Use a magic eraser with vinegar water mixture.
Use a separate bowl to wring out the dirty sponge. It gets filthy quick.
The magic eraser makes cleaning a breeze.
Use microfiber cloth to dry and removes any streaks or pooling of dirty water.

For the tube I use a 1 inch wide craft paint brush to gently cleane the residue from the tube. Again, use clean microfiber cloth to dry that.

Use Zeiss wipes for the lenses, because they don’t have lint on them and they’re pre moistened. (Amazon)

Wait 24 hours for your Glowforge to dry before using it again.

It is a lot of work, but you have a huge investment and need to take good care of it.

Love, Manda

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I do not think that should be happening, I have yet to clean my machine and I have done thousands of cuts now. I would look for something else besides dust. I mean really ?

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Just an interesting tidbit, the gold colored original Listerine is a common dog show not-so-secret weapon. A mix of Listerine and water sprayed on the coat makes it nice and shiny and eliminates the stress dandruff that can occur. :slight_smile: :dog2:

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It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.