A few weeks ago on Qubee Quilts Fan page I asked when was the last time your machine was cleaned and I was shocked in the answers I got. A couple of people told me May. One told me, you mean I need to clean my machine?
I'm here to tell you that you do need to clean your machine and it' something that you need to be doing every 4 to 6 hours of sewing. I can't stress this enough. I clean my bobbin area after every bobbin change because my machine is so easy to clean. Even cleaning my machine that often I still see lint and fuzz. It comes from your project and thread. I wish everything we worked on was lint free, but they are not, therefore we have to clean our machines. When you buy a car you gets its oil changed every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Why don't we clean our sewing machines? That lint is not good for your machine. What do you think would happen to yourself if you found all that lint inside your body? Think about it. That is what is happening to your machine!
On my machine there is no oil that is needed. Please check your owners manual to see if this is true on your machine.
To clean the bobbin area on my machine I just remove the presser foot and slide off the bobbin cover. Then remover the stitch plate, bobbin case holder (thread cutter) and bobbin case. Now I just clean with the lint brush then replace the bobbin case and bobbin case holder. This takes me about 3 minutes tops.
Depending on how much sewing you do on your machine you need to take your machine into your dealer and let them professionally clean your machine at least once a year. Every six months if you sew a lot.
DON’T use compressed air, it simply blows the dirt deeper into the machine. This can cause future problems or premature wear of hard-to-reach parts.
DO use vacuum attachments for small-scale cleaning
I found these two pictures from the internet and wanted to show you what lint looks like in your machine. If I had that much lint in me I would never stitch right. Lets hope that none of you have machines that are this bad.
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Until next time,
Yuck those pictures are disgusting! however, I will say that my machines are always cleaner than my house!
ReplyDeleteI try to keep my machine cleaned and oiled regularly. I was bad when I was a newbie, my first machine probably looked like the top left one, oops! I figure it's a small time investment and well worth it. (I always warm up my car too).
ReplyDeleteLOL Like Gene, my machines are always cleaner than my house too! Funny beth said about warming up her car, neither of my machines like being cold and I warm up the sewing area before I start! Makes a huge difference to how they run, and ultimately the longevity of life for the machine!
ReplyDeleteMy machine has looked nearly as bad but I have learned over the years to clean more often. I never would have thought it was necessary to do it that often....but I sure will now! My machine is 30 years old and running great...I want to keep it that way. Thanks, so much for driving the tip home!
ReplyDeletethat looks almost exactly like what my machine looked like the last time I cleaned it and it hasn't been that long ago! I just sew a lot and really need to clean it once a week. I pulled enough lint out to stuff a pillow :) Well, maybe not a pillow for me, but for a Barbie, that's for sure! I'm just glad I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteEwww! I never realized how bad peoples machines can be! I tr and clean it everytime I finish a big project - and KNOW I've got a ton of lint hanging in there!
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