Originally Posted by Kryssa
I just got a new machine (my first!) and in another thread people were saying that they cleaned their machine after every project, or once a month, or every time they changed the bobbin.
How do you guys clean your machines? I am terrified of opening my machine for fear of hurting it in some way, especially armed with a mascara brush and a pipe cleaner, as many of you seem to be!
Kryssa, this subject has always scared me, too. When other members talk about cleaning their machines, it sometimes sounds so cavalier as in, "go do it, it's not a big deal." But, they're not being. Maybe I'm off the mark here but I believe there are two levels of cleaning, the professional type once a year and the type we, as sewers, do on a regular basis.
Amma is right that (most of) our manuals tell us how to clean the machine. The one for my Sapphire is very scant; i.e., a few threads short of what I'd really like to know! :) The type of cleaning we can do involves mainly the parts that are visible, that can be easily reached by a small brush or pipe cleaner to get rid of lint, for example, in the needle and foot area.
The other area is under the throat (?) plate and in the bobbin area. You can safely unscrew the plate to get at the lint. You can also safely clean the visible area around your bobbin and, can take out the "hook" or shuttle case that the bobbin sits in. (Before you take it out, take a good look at how it sits so you can get it back in without panicking! Been there, done that!) This is also the area where we can oil the machine; i.e., look in your manual on how to do this -- it should say that you can put a drop of oil on some point of the hook but I don't want to say exactly where because I don't know your machine.
That said, you should still have your machine serviced by a professional once a year. They're the ones that take it apart for cleaning, oiling, and adjustments. Hope this explanation helps. And, if I'm wrong, someone please correct me!