If, upon an occurrence of a jam, a sheet is detected by a sensor disposed
downstream of a fixing portion or the leading end thereof has not reached
this sensor and a coverage rate is high, the jam is judged to have
occurred in the fixing portion. A number (x) of blank sheets to be passed
is determined from a coverage rate of the entire sheet, and a cleaning
mode is automatically executed if the automatic execution of the cleaning
mode is selected, whereas a notification urging the input of an
instruction as to whether or not to execute the cleaning mode is given if
the automatic notification is selected. Therefore, toner adhered to the
fixing portion can be simply and properly cleaned.