If you own a Braun electric shaver that comes with a cleaning station, there’s a good chance you’ve had that station clogged at some point of your grooming career.
Those who haven’t endured this yet, congratulations, you’ve managed to keep yourself out of trouble for the time being.
But for the ones who are facing this issue, I have all of the solutions here for you! My 6-step guide should help you unclog your cleaning station without contacting customer support!
Also, I’ll teach you how to tell whether your station is clogged, and how to prevent further clogging by simply being a little extra cautious!
Understanding the Braun Cleaning Station
Basically, a Braun cleaning station takes the maintenance routine off of your hand by cleaning, drying, lubricating and sanitizing your device’s blade and motor head.
The functionality goes like – the cleaning agent from the pod circulates through the station and floods the foils and blades to do what it’s supposed to.
Clogs generally occur when stray hair or any other residue forms a build-up inside the vents and halt regular flow of fluid.
Signs Your Braun Cleaning Station is Clogged
Let me quickly share how you can determine if your Braun cleaning station is clogged and is demanding your attention:
- Cleaning not starting or getting stuck
- Producing loud sound but fluid flow halted
- Shaver not being cleaned or dried
- Standing water or bad odor coming from the fluid
- Traceable build-up or debris in water or the vents
If one or more of these issues persist with your station, you should immediately consider an unclogging procedure.
Step-by-Step Guide to Unclog a Braun Cleaning Station
What you’ve been waiting for is here – how to unclog and fix a Braun cleaning station in 6, easy to perform steps!
Preparation: Safety First
As your preparation, you MUST unplug the cleaning station from the power outlet. You don’t want to get shocked while working with water and cleaning agents.
Since the cleaning solution is built upon an alcohol base, you should be careful about handling it. Keep it away from any flammable objects or fire in general.
Wear a pair of gloves if needs be. Keep the small stuff like screws, filters in a safe place should you remove them.
Step 1: Remove the Cleaning Cartridge
First of all, you have to press the release button for the cartridge holder and remove the cartridge from the station (it’s the liquid holder case that you insert before cleaning).
In that cartridge, inspect whether there’s any floating hair or any other sort of debris that wasn’t there before insertion.
Step 2: Clean the Cartridge Slot
You’ll have to perform an initial cleaning of the cartridge slot. There are different options you can explore to do this effectively.
For instance, using a soft cloth rag, cotton swab, cleaning brush etc. to mop up or pry out hair and dirt from the slot.
Turn on your phone’s flashlight and check for visible clotting of the drainage system. If you find any, try removing the clot using whatever tools you have at your disposal.
Step 3: Flush the Nozzle and Drainage System
Grab yourself some warm distilled water and flush the nozzle area. You can use a squeezing spray with a concentrated nozzle or a syringe for the purpose. Make sure not to drench the entire station.
Once you’ve soaked the entrances of the vents, use a toothbrush or something similar to pry out any debris or build-up you can find.
Step 4: Clean the Contacts and Sensors
Locate the charging contacts and sensors, clean them using a clean cloth rag or tissue dabbed in an alcohol solution. You may use alcohol pads as well, but make sure to wipe after till dried.
You may also use Q-tips if the sensors or contacts are out of your reach. You may use the same solutions if the build-up proves to be difficult for removal.
Step 5: Check the Fan and Air Vents (if applicable)
Sometimes the fan and air vents contain stray or dirt build-ups. It can cause issues with your drying or flood your Braun shaver’s cutting elements with dirt.
If that’s the case, you might have to bring in a blower to apply concentrated air blow to clean those vents out.
This usually occurs with the older Braun variants. Newer tools like Braun Series 9 or Series 7 are less prone to fan or air vent clottage.
Step 6: Reassemble and test
Finally, you’ll put back a clean set of cartridges inside the cleaning station and dock the shaver to test out whether the fix is working.
Generally such cleansing methods work around 90% of the time. One cleaning cycle should tell you whether your station has been unclogged and fixed or not!
Preventing Future Clogs
If my steps have managed to clean and unclog your Braun station, I feel obligated to hand out a few pointers to prevent such clogging in the future.
- Before you dock your shaver into the station, make sure to remove the blade head first to dock out extra stray hair
- If you want to be even safer, do a quick rinse of the shaver head under lukewarm water
- Replace your cartridges regularly. If Braun cartridges feel expensive, there are some cheaper alternatives you can explore
- Ensure a safe, dry storage for both the cleaning station and the cartridge
Such basic but healthy routines generally prevent clogging of the Braun station for most parts!
Final Thoughts
After all of these steps, if my ‘how to unclog Braun cleaning station’ guide doesn’t work for you, then you should consider contacting Braun customer support.
Also, when the motor or pump creates loud noises, heats up, or there’s no power at all, these are also signs to contact an expert.
Check for a burning smell should the station keep hindering. If you can detect any, take the station off of power immediately and consider warranty options.
Remember, you’re dealing with electricity and alcohol-based cleaning agents, so don’t try to be adventurous and let the experts do it if things seem out of your area of expertise!