A method is provided for cleaning a transducer head in a tape drive. The method includes the steps of: providing a tape drive with a head cleaning device, a data tape cartridge having data tape, and a cleaning tape cartridge having cleaning tape; detecting error rate for the transducer head with the data tape; determining when the detected error rate exceeds a specified level; and when the detected error rate exceeds a specified level, loading the cleaning tape cartridge into the tape drive and running cleaning media on the cleaning tape over the transducer head to clean the transducer head. Another method includes using a head cleaning device to clean the transducer head when there is an identified need, or as a preventative measure.