To enable your sewing machine to work better for you for a long time, you must maintain it regularly. The reason is that if you don’t care for it, it will decay, so you will have to buy another one.
Below I will explain the 10 points that will help keep your sewing machine in good condition.
How To Properly Take Care Of A Sewing Machine (follow these 10 simple steps)
1. Check All Parts
When you have a sewing machine, either for simple sewing projects or using it for professional work, you should regularly check its parts.
Ensure all parts, including needles, bobbins, presser feet, levers, clamps, screws, spool pins, thread adjusters, stitch selectors, foot pedals, feed dogs, and other parts, are clean and not damaged.
For example, if the needle seems bent or cracked, replace it immediately to avoid damaging the throat plate or needle holder.
2. Change The Needle Regularly
Needles are the most important part of a sewing machine that does most of the work and can be bent or damaged with time.
So the best practice is to change them because using a bent needle for a long time can cause damage to the sewing machine.
The easiest way is to change the needle after every 8 hours of work.
3. Place It At Proper Place In A Room
Keeping the sewing machine in a well-maintained room is important if you need it to work for you for too long.
If it’s not placed properly, it’s more likely to be damaged by children or pets. Therefore, you must arrange a sewing room and place the sewing machine appropriately. Putting it on a plain sewing machine table is the best way to prevent it from falling.
4. Clean the Interior And Exterior Of the Sewing Machine
If you use your sewing machine without cleaning its parts, it will get plenty of dirt, dust, etc., damaging it, and its moving parts may jam.
You should therefore schedule a monthly cleaning schedule to ensure it is thoroughly cleaned.
Start by ensuring you have all the necessary cleaning supplies, such as brushes, sanding sponge, screws, paper towels, and a vacuum pump.
- Have a Look at how I clean the treadle sewing machine base; this can be helpful for you as well.
5. Regularly Oil Your Sewing Machine
You need to oil all the moving parts of your sewing machine while using the appropriate sewing machine oil.
To do this at home, remove all the parts of the
sewing machine and oil all the moving parts gently with moderate oil, then operate it through the hand wheel so that it gets the oil completely.
Make sure you don’t apply too little or too much oil, as too much oil will attract dust and lint, causing parts to get clogged.
6. Don’t Place Your Sewing Machine Near the Heater or Air conditioner
When you sew any project, ensure you don’t have any Heater or Air Conditioner facing your sewing machine.
Because a heater will damage the outer colour by softening it, and an air conditioner may produce moisture, causing rust to form.
7. Keep Out Reach Of Children
You may have seen this line on Medicine, KEEP OUT REACH OF CHILDREN. So the same here is with sewing machines as well, as they will injure themselves and cause damage to the sewing machine.
Particularly, they will play with sewing machine needles, stitch selectors, spool pins, etc., which will damage these parts.
8. Use High-Quality Threads And Needles
Sewing with high-quality thread is what I always recommend to my readers and my friends. Because with this, you can achieve neat, clean stitches and prevent damage to your sewing machine.
In sewing, poor threads can cause thread bunching under the fabric, damaging the feed dog and needle.
Furthermore, poor threads may cause bobbin tension to be inconsistent, resulting in forced sewing, which may damage the motor.
9. Select appropriate manuals before starting to sewing
You may feel it silly, but selecting the correct user’s manual can be extremely beneficial for maintaining a sewing machine for a long time.
So always use it according to the company’s instructions in the Manual Book, or you can check their Website.
10. Do Annual Servicing
Last but not least, you should have your sewing machine serviced every year by a professional so that they can inspect it thoroughly.
During the check, the motor, shaft, bearings, outer body, and other parts will be checked for damage and fixed as necessary.
Most sewing machines will charge you $75 to $100 for that. However, advanced computerised models will cost more than $100.
Final verdicts
Taking care of your existing sewing machines thoroughly from the onset will help you avoid buying them repeatedly.
That is why I explained your query about how to take care of a sewing machine, and I hope you have gotten plenty of information.
Thanks for sticking with me to the end; I appreciate your persistence.
THE END
Frequently asked Questions
How to take care of a sewing machine?
Taking care of a sewing machine involves:
Cleaning it regularly.
Applying oil gently.
Keeping it out of reach of children.
Keeping it away from heaters and air conditioners.
Using high-quality thread.
Doing an annual service.
You will be better off with these.
What are the benefits of annual sewing machine servicing?
The importance of annual servicing by a professional technician lies in inspecting all the parts, such as shafts, bearings, touchscreen settings, and holders, and offering recommendations on how to use them safely.
Do all brands require the same level of care?
You must take care of each brand of sewing machine that you own.