Dave King wrote:
>
> vinegar is also called acetic acid. Fairly mild as fair as acids go.
yea, common kitchen distilled white vinegar is about %5 acetic
acid, but must also contain small amounts of other compounds,
because it smells a bit different than pure 5% acetic acid.
You may of noticed the smell of pure acetic acid from uncured
silicone sealant.
>>.. I'm wondering why vinegar works so good on ink...
>>does it work better than the alcohol it was before?
>>you may get some more concentrated (and purer) vinegar acid if you need...
>
>
> To give you an idea of how well it cuts the old ink, you can literally scrub
> a print head with 70 or 99% isopropyl alcohol and have the towels come
> away clean. Then just take the vinegar soaked towel and do it again and
> it will come away soaked in ink. Never had to buy any vinegar other than
> plain old white household vinegar.
>
Inkjet inks are water soluble so it only makes sense to use an
aqueous solution for cleaning. Acidic acid would make the ink
acidic, which drops the pH and may alter viscosity of some inks.
Acetic acid is also a good solvent for many compounds.
All inkjet inks are different and acetic acid may solubilize some
inks better than others.
Here is a little info on inkjet inks.
http://www.imaging.org/resources/leinkjet/part4.cfm