There is provided a maintenance apparatus to, while in a service zone, perform a cleaning operation of a set of printheads within a carriage. The maintenance apparatus comprises a cleaning structure and an actuation mechanism. The actuation mechanism is arranged to position the cleaning structure between an engaged configuration and a disengaged configuration. The disengaged configuration is activated by a first triggering element associated to the carriage interacting with the actuation mechanism subsequent to a cleaning operation. The engaged configuration is activated by a second triggering element as the carriage moves away from the service zone.