I leave my sewing machine on when working in my sewing room. When I'm done, I turn it off and unplug it.

I leave mine on only when I am in the room. I have everything plugged into surge protectors and turn those off when I leave the room. My Sweet 16 is never plugged in, even to a surge protector, unless I am using it. Last year we had power surges and lost our refrigerator and freezer. No way will I leave my sewing machines at risk to that. Light bulbs are cheap. I wouldn't worry much about losing one of those. Just my thoughts.

My machine has a sleep mode. When I am leaving it for a period, I put "Lucy" to sleep.

note to Belfrybat:
 

It isn't the price of a light. I would have to take my sewing machine in to the store (I am pretty sure about this, but I could be wrong) because my light is encased and I don't know how to get it out. Maybe it is a forever light. Also, I sew in the middle of the night and don't want it to go out on me -- any time I am sewing. Too many things to think about for a new sewest like me!!!

Mainly, I do worry that it is the turning on and off of my sewing machine is the hardest on it.

Sometimes my machines will be on for days, my smaller computer one, I used to never turn it off. I've never had to replace a bulb. I do keep all of them plugged into a serge protector though, just in case.

I leave mine on while I piece, cut, press; but if I'm going to have to leave for more than an hour before proceeding I turn the machine off. My present machine is six years old and has never needed a new light bulb.

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I am pretty much the same - depends on what I am doing. If I am cutting and pressing, I leave it on - - if I have just come up with a stitch adjustment configuration, I will leave it on (while I am working in the same room) - - but if I have a long project space where I will not need it for awhile, or leave the room, everything gets turned off in case I get "busy" at something else that I didn't necessarily plan on, the dog needs a walk right now(!), hubby wants something, etc. My stuff is on surge protectors as well, and for the iron I just flip that off - beats standing on my head to unplug it from the wall. :-)

Marysewfun

Me too. I don't think I have ever replaced a bulb on any of my machines and I have been sewing for 50 yrs.

While I am sewing I leave my light on all the time and only replaced my light bulb for the first time 2 weeks ago. not bad since I bought my Elna back in 1973. I had to get the instruction book because I did not know how to remove it. The new bulb only cost me $3.95 so it is cheap to leave on.

I, too, worry about the light burning out on my new Brother 450Q. And I can't turn it off -- I think -- without turning off the machine, which means losing my settings. So I leave it on when actively sewing, as in when I sew, then press, then sew. Otherwise, I turn it off.

My Golden Touch 'n Sew no longer has an active light in that we had to replace the light holder and it just does not work, for whatever reason. I use an Ott light which stands on the machine cabinet when sewing on that machine. But I also worry about burning out the Ott bulb, so turn it off when not actively sewing. I'm a lights off kind of person, though; I turn off lights when I leave a room (except the kitchen, for some reason; I'm always going back in there, maybe!).

Interesting topic. I've enjoyed others' points of view on the sewing machine on/off and the light issue.

When I am in the sewing room my machine is on. I sew most every day when possible, sometimes 5 or 6 hours.
Alice is over 20 and I have never change her bulbs. She has two of them. Brenda from Wadesville IN

As long as i am in the room working I have it on. I turn it off when I leave out of the room.

I do turn my machine off any time I walk away from it, and when I do, it resets the stitch to the default, so I have learned to keep a stack of post-its next to the machine, and as I start a project, I write down the settings and stick it to the top of my machine. That way if I have to sew something else real quick, or turn the macine back on, I can go right back to the proper settings for the stitches of what ever I was working on, and I don't have to try and remember the settings.

I will leave my machine on when I am cutting or pressing something in prep for sewing or in between sewing. However, I do not leave my iron on if I am sewing a lot of pieces and not going to be pressing for a long while.

I make sure everything is off when I am done sewing or leaving home for a while. I definitely leave my LA off when I am not going to use it. If I have something on my LA, I may pop back and forth between machines (my DSM and the LA) if I get tired of standing or frustrated with something, in order to break up the activity.

Even with that, I have left the room thinking I'm finished for the day and later realized I have left the iron plugged in. Thank goodness, it has an timer on it, but I still prefer unplugging it.

I have LED lights on my machine that cannot be easily accessed to change, so it would have to go to the shop if they burned out. But....the LED lights, in theory, should last much longer than the life expectancy of the machine. Once I turn my machine on and program it, it stays on until I am either done with the project, or done for the day. I leave it on even when I take a break to eat, clean house, watch something on tv etc etc.

My machine actually has a sleep mode. If I leave it unattended, it shuts down.

If I plan to leave the room, I turn it off. I have a small dog and don't trust her not to step onto the foot pedal. :shock:

Same here..

I leave my machine on while I'm doing a project. I've never had a bulb burn out on any of my machines.

As long as I am sewing, ironing, cutting, etc. and need my sewing machine, I leave it on, just like I leave my iron on when I'm piecing. I have an auto shutoff on my iron, so even if I forget to unplug it for a bit, the light will flash and let me know it's on when I've left the room. I usually don't turn my sewing machine off until I'm done for the day. Knock on wood, so far I have only had to replace the light bulb on my Janome 4000 once in over 15+ years

Thanks for this idea. I am forever forgetting to turn the machine off, but if I use the power strip, it will be much harder to forget. froggyintexas

My machine stays on when I'm sewing and ironing. The bulb on my Bernina 1031 lasted 15 years.
Sharon in Texas

I leave mine on during days I'm sewing ( which is almost everyday) unless I know I'm done sewing for the day. I always shut every thing down if I go away

I leave mine on from the time I start sewing until bedtime. Same for my iron. I sew off an on most day and never considered turning it off while I take breaks. I don't think it will hurt the light bulb to stay on. I've had a light in my bathroom on 24/7/365 for over six years and burned out the first bulb just recently.

I think your light bulb is much more likely to burn out when you turn it on the the surge of electricity hits it. Leave it on while you are working on your project and turn it off when you quit for the day. Besides, it's not that big a deal to replace a light bulb in most machines.

I don't have to worry about that when using my treadles or hand-crank! LOL

I'm actually more concerned about the LCD screen wearing out than I am about bulbs. My dealer told me to keep the machine off when I'm not using it, in order to make the screen last longer.

I also worry about safety - I have a machine from the 40's I keep set up and it has no power switch - you press the pedal and it just goes, it's essentially always on as long as it's plugged in. So I have that one plugged into a power strip too, so I can shut off power entirely. I keep the pets out of my room but they get in sometimes, and last thing I need is a dog napping on a foot pedal and catching the house on fire or something. Or even just making it sew endlessly and wearing something out. Sometimes I'm sloppy and set things around that machine that could get caught up.

One of our guild members learned the hard way not to leave her machine plugged in even with a surge protector. A T storm came up suddenly and lightning hit the house and blew out her computer on the sewing machine. Since then I always unplug my machine. I do leave it on when I am home and using it. I unplug it as soon as I am done for the day. Watch the sky in spring and summer.

Wow. Good thoughts. I never really gave it much attention but I turn mine on when I know I am going to be sewing and I always turn if off as soon as I am done. I have a brand new Baby Lock that has what they call "Stadium Lighting" which means it goes around the entire sewing surface. Much easier to see but my older BL is 7 years old and the bulb is still good.

This is what I do, too. The machine that is computerized has instructions in the manual that state to unplug when not in use. Just turning it off wouldn't be enough, and I don't trust surge protectors. I also unplug it when there's any chance of lightening, even if I want to sew. I already had the main circuit board fail when the machine was only a few months old (not because of lightening, but for unknown reasons). Replacing it would have cost more than the price I paid for the machine, but luckily it was covered under the warranty at the time. Now I'm walking on eggs around that machine.

I have replaced light bulbs on machines that were 40 years old or more. I would not be willing to bet that newer light bulbs will last as long as that, though. I read somewhere that turning bulbs off and on frequently is actually harder on them than leaving them on continuously. If I am in the same room with the machine I will leave it on while ironing or whatever - as long as there's no threat of thunderstorms. I always unplug when I leave the room to do other things.

Most of the time I leave my sewing machine on while I cut or iron. I do shut my iron off after every use however, because my sewing is in the dining room, and my iron in the living room. I'm afraid if I leave the iron on I may forget it as I have a habit of interrupting my sewing for other things.

Smart... why didn't I think of that?

I keep it on while I'm working on something, like if I pause to cut or iron. I keep my machine and a gooseneck floor lamp plugged into a serge protector, so I turn machine off, then surge protector off when using my singer. When using my Kenmore, switch has been broken for years, so have to turn off and on with plug or surge protector switch. Have had to change bulb in old Kenmore once, also keep iron plug close so when I'm finishing up a seam and want to heat iron up, just reach down to floor and plug iron in without having to get up!

After having a machine catch fire, I never leave them plugged in when I leave the room...

My sewing machine was an expensive one & I am so blessed to have been able to get it!! I am obsessive about unplugging if we're not going to be around or if there might be a lightening storm in the area, because although we have surge protectors throughout, we've already replaced 3 phone systems & 2 Wifi units. As long as I'm just going to be up a few minutes, I leave it on; but I never leave it on and walk out of the room!

I was able to get a big fancy machine because of a "windfall". I don't expect to recieve another, so I can not replace my baby, so she is turned off each time I leave the room, never used in bad weather, and yes I do unplug all electronics when the weather is bad or if I am leaving home for more than a couple hours. I have surge protectors (the high tech kind) on every cord for every electronic.

Always leave it on until I know that I am done for the day.

I'm always on my sewing machine. I use a brother sewing m/c

With some machines you loose all your settings if you switch off every time you cut or press. I would make sure it is switched off over night or when you leave sewing for the time being.