Cleaning Your Machine

What you will learn

• Removing lint
• Using a brush safely
• Following the oiling rule in the manual

Materials and tools

• Small stiff brush (often supplied with the machine)
• Lint-free cloth
• Small screwdriver, if the plate needs it
• Manual

Before you start

• Switch off and unplug the machine. Remove the needle and presser foot. Remove the bobbin. Take out the bobbin case only if your manual allows; on many drop-in machines the needle plate comes off first.

1. Check the manual to see which parts the user may take apart. Only open what the manual allows.
2. Take off the needle plate. Many plates are held by one or two screws, or by a catch. Check how yours comes off.

   1. Spool pin
   2. Thread guides
   3. Tension dial
   4. Take-up lever
   5. Needle clamp and needle
   6. Presser foot
   7. Feed dogs
   8. Needle plate
   9. Bobbin and bobbin case
   10. Presser-foot lifter
   11. Stitch selector
   12. Stitch length control
   13. Reverse lever or button
   14. Handwheel
   15. Foot pedal

3. Look at the feed dogs and the bobbin area. Lint builds up here as a gray felt.
4. Brush the lint out with the small brush, sweeping it out of the machine rather than into it.
5. Wipe the bobbin area and plate with a lint-free cloth. Do not use water or cleaning sprays.
6. Do not use canned air unless the manual says it is allowed. It can blow lint deeper into the mechanism.
7. Oil only if the manual says your model needs it, in the places shown and with the oil type named. Many modern machines are sealed and must not be oiled.
8. Refit the bobbin case, plate and bobbin in the order your manual shows, then the foot and needle. Sew a test seam on scrap to catch any stray oil.

Tips for a neat result

• Clean after every big project, or after every 8 to 10 hours of sewing.
• Fabrics such as fleece and flannel produce more lint.

Common mistakes and fixes

Check your result

• No lint is visible around the feed dogs or in the bobbin area.
• The machine runs smoothly and quietly.