Scanners are an invaluable tool to businesses and offices. However, to ensure that your scanner continues to provide high performance scans for years to come, you must keep it clean and free of dust or particles that may impair the quality of your scans. Manufacturers recommend that you clean your scanner once for every 5000 sheets of papers that you scan. The necessary cleaning products are often available from your scanner manufacturer or a local copy shop [source: Fijitsu]. Read the tips listed below and learn about how to clean a scanner.

  1. Unplug your scanner from the electrical socket.
  2. Open the lid to the scanner.
  3. Wipe the glass surface of the scanner with a damp wipe specifically made for cleaning scanners. Alternatively, you can use a soft rag dampened with a bit of rubbing alcohol. Ensure that the rag or wipe is not so damp that the liquid will seep into the inner machinery.
  4. Wipe the white backing on the underside of the scanner's lid.
  5. Check if your scanner has a transparency lamp. If so, check to ensure that the lamp is free of dust, dirt or debris. Wipe the lamp, if necessary, to ensure that your scanner doesn't produce streaks in your scans.
  6. Close the lid to the scanner.
  7. Plug the scanner back into the electrical socket [source: Visioneer].

If you often use paper with a lot of images, pencil markings, chemical coatings or calcium, you will have to clean your scanner more often [source: Fijitsu].

Also, never clean your scanner right after you have scanned pages. The glass surface of the scanner may be hot enough to cause burns [source: Fijitsu].