I use a little computer vaccuum, not the one my DH uses on the floors.
Originally Posted by nhweaver
I get to know what my machine sounds like, and if it sounds a bit off, I remove the throat plate and vacuum all the lint out. Or if I see lint in the bobbin case. If you sew on honey buns or anything with factory pinked edges, do this every day. It really builds up the lint.
Do not use canned air, unless you have vaccuumed first. Or better yet, never use canned air. My 10 year old Janome 10000 is wonderful. (Ten years old this week!!!) Love this machine.
I bought A Viking Sapphire, this year, and I hate it, it is loud, shaky, and sounds like a 20 year old lawn mower. Been back with it to the dealer several times, they tell me this is how they sound. I bought it for the larger sewing area and it now takes up room in my stash closet. Wrong move.
Originally Posted by Cheri_J
When I bought my new machine, the dealer had a maintenance class that she STRONGLY encourage I take. I did learn a lot. Newer machines need to be cleaned after every 10 hours of sewing. We learned how to take the bobbin area apart, clean and reassemble. This class was invaluable. I am going to take it again (it's free) because when I cleaned my machine this past weekend, I had a few questions pop up.
Never ever use canned air to "blow" your machine. You can easily mess something up with the air pressure. I like to use a vaccum to clean out the bobbin area, but was told the sucking pressure could harm something. They suggested putting a straw in the nozzle attachment to reduce the pressure. They said it would still get any of the lint balls out - which it did. Took me all of 15 minutes from start to finish.
I would strongly suggest that you take a maintenance class and learn to clean your machine properly. Then clean it regularly.
Ok, that's my story.