How often does a sewing machine need to be cleaned and oiled?

And how do I clean and oil the top part of the sewing machine that makes the needle go up and down?

Thanks,

What year and type of machine do you have? :D:D:D

Your owner's manual should tell you. If you don't have the manual, check the manufacturer's web site or post make and model here. Someone should have the same one.

It is a Euro- Pro X 7500. I brought it new in 2005, so it is about 6 years old.

It shows in the manual how to clean the bobbin case area, but not the top part. It does not say anything about how often to clean or oil the machine.

Modern machines need to be cleaned professionally once every year. Vintage machines need to be oiled oftener, but can be done by the owner.

I disagree. First, a lot depends on the usage in a given year so a calendar period can't be used, a better measurement would be hours of usage.

That said, when I was bringing my machine (Huskvarna) in once a year my service man asked me "why? It honestly doesn't need it". He could have easily continued to let me bring it in once a year and billed me for it. I keep my machine very clean - bobbin area, needle shaft, feed dogs, and any other area I can reach is cleaned at least with every bobbin change. And Huskies don't require oiling (as I recently found out).

So I guess I would recommend finding a realiable service man. Bring the machine in now and ask him everything he had to do, and how often he recommends doing it in the future. If he thinks you waited too long, bring it back in two years and ask again everything he had to do - then take it from there.

wow- are you ever lucky! when i took my Huskavarna into the dealers shop for cleaning/servicing at the 1 year mark they kind of yelled at me (not loud-just kind of rude) and informed me that with the amount of sewing i do i should never wait so long- that i should be taking it in every 6 months! (it's been 3 years now since i took it back to them---did have a little problem about a year & a half ago- found someone else- closer- and nicer- he fixed the problem- and cleaned the machine- with no lectures- said it wasnt all that bad-
i try to keep the lint cleaned out of it myself-i bought the little vacuum attachments and i vacuum it all out after every large project- or just when i think it's been awhile.