In addition to regular professional tune-ups every 12-18 months, you should be cleaning out and caring for your serger and sewing machine at home after every 8-10 hours of sewing. You should clean it more often if you’ve been sewing fuzzy fabrics, towels, or wool. The following is a quick guide to cleaning your sewing machine.

What you’ll need:

• A variety of cleaning brushes
• Micro-fiber cleaning cloth
• Tweezers
• Sewing machine oil
• Sewing machine manual
• Any additional items according to your manual

 

 

Do’s

• Read the manual – get to know your machine before taking it apart.
• Brush out your sewing machine after every few uses. 
• Oil the machine as instructed in your manual.
• Only take apart small areas at a time.
• Wipe down the outside of the machine with a damp cloth after every few uses.
• Cover when not in use.
• After you are finished, sew on a piece of scrap fabric to be sure everything is working properly.

Don’ts

• Don’t use canned air or blow into your machine. Small particles of moisture are blown out and can damage your machine.
• Don’t oil the machine if not instructed to.
• Don’t over oil. 
• Don’t clean when your machine is plugged in.