Right! I spent hours of down time dismantling our 1500 and 3000 and
cleaning the heads using an ultrasonic cleaner, only to have them clog
up again after just a few hours.
A total waste of time, especially if you're the basic consumer who
just wants a printer that'll work when you hit the print key.( To some
extent it's justifiable to do PIA maintenence if the printer in
question gives better results when working properly and decent runs
can be had between down cycles.)

I used Canon inkjets for years, but in order to use pigmented fabric
inks I had to get an Epson. Started by finding an old Epson 1520 in a
thrift store, no cartridges, no idea how long it had sat unused. Took
me a couple of weeks to get it printing 100%, but after that it was
flawless. I get obsessed... so I started to pick up various Epson
printers, so I could teach myself how to get them going.

Now I can get just about any Epson unplugged, of course as long as the
heads are not burnt out. I don't disassemble them for this, unless
there's been something like a big ink leak. Never used any ultrasonic
cleaners. Syringes are bad news because it's way too easy to put
upwards of 70psi with little pressure if using a small syringe.

I wrote up some of what I learned, for what it's worth.
http://www.polyphoto.com/tutorials/PrintHeadCleaning/

Steve