{
  "question": "Why does my nozzle keep clogging?",
  "slug": "clog",
  "useCase": "troubleshooting",
  "useCaseLabel": "Troubleshooting",
  "updated": "2026-10-15",
  "shortAnswer": "Repeat clogs usually come from heat creep, a nozzle set below the filament’s range, a retraction that is too long, or debris in the hotend. A cold pull clears most of them. On a Bowden printer, check the gap in the PTFE tube.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "pla",
    "petg"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "Heat creep is a hotend problem: the cold side gets hot and the filament softens before the melt zone. More retraction does not fix it.",
    "The P1S and P1P are direct drive in the printer records. The PTFE-gap check in this consensus is for Bowden tubes, not those two machines.",
    "An all-metal hotend is named in the same candidate list as cold pulls. This catalog has no hotend SKU. Swapping hardware is not the first step the consensus gives."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "The causes are ordered the way the consensus states them, and the clear is a cold pull.",
    "Too low is defined by the row’s minimum, so two PLA spools do not share one floor."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "The consensus does not give a cold-pull temperature. This page does not invent one.",
    "Silk and fiber can clog for extra reasons. Those claims live on their own pages, not in this cluster’s summary."
  ],
  "community": "The consensus is that clogs usually come from heat creep, a temperature that is too low, a retraction that is too long, or debris. Cold pulls clear most of them. On a Bowden setup, check the PTFE gap. An all-metal hotend is also named.",
  "related": [
    "drying",
    "ooze",
    "silk",
    "flow"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What temperature is a cold pull?",
      "a": "This consensus does not say. It says a cold pull clears most clogs. Use the procedure for your hotend, and do not borrow a number from a different printer’s wiki via this page."
    },
    {
      "q": "Will drying stop a clog that comes back every layer?",
      "a": "Dry if the spool is old or the strand pops. A clog that returns at the same retraction and a nozzle set under the minimum is still heat, retraction, or debris. Drying is on the drying page. It is not the whole list."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet V3.0",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "PolyLite PLA technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "PolyLite PETG technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PETG_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/prusa3d 1b4qo56",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1b4qo56/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint 12oqoig",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/12oqoig/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint 1hvl2f1",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/1hvl2f1/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/ender3 123xyav",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/123xyav/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint vz3bvj",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/vz3bvj/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "PolyLite PLA stores a nozzle minimum of 190 °C (374 °F). Printing under that floor is the too-low case on this row. Drying is listed at 55 °C (131 °F) for 6 h. The row does not store a retraction length.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polylite PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polylite-pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "25–60 °C (77–140 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "Prusament PLA stores a higher floor, 205–225 °C (401–437 °F). A profile copied from a 190 °C (374 °F) PLA is already under this minimum.",
      "brand": "Prusament",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/prusament/pla",
      "nozzle": "205–225 °C (401–437 °F)",
      "bed": "40–60 °C (104–140 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "PLA Basic’s sheet lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and retraction of 0.6–1.0 mm. A direct-drive retraction far above that band is the long-retraction case, not a tune.",
      "brand": "Bambu Lab",
      "product": "PLA Basic",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "35–45 °C (95–113 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "note": "PolyLite PETG stores 220–250 °C (428–482 °F). Debris and a cold nozzle apply here too. The row does not say PETG clogs more than PLA.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polylite PETG",
      "material": "PETG",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polylite-petg",
      "nozzle": "220–250 °C (428–482 °F)",
      "bed": "70–90 °C (158–194 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PETG_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}