How should I care for and clean my serger?

 

On Monday this week we listed 4 reasons why you should own a serger. Perhaps you already own one? So today, we thought it might be good to review the proper care & cleaning of your serger. We all need a gentle reminder from time to time so we offer this post as it contains good information to help us keep our valuable sewing equipment working in tip top condition…….proper housekeeping is SO important.

So the question is: How do I care for and clean my serger? 

It is obviously all important to show some care and attention to your serger to have it keep working for you the way you have come to expect and love. It needs to be cleaned and oiled regularly. This is even more important with sergers as the cutting of the fabric edge creates a lot more lint ….the fluff that collects is worse than the dust bunnies under my sofa – Really! 

The top brush is what comes with many of our machines. Do yourself a favour and purchase a more effective one – bottom one in the pic as it makes a world of difference.

Try to make it a firm habit to dust off and clean out your serger after completing each serger project.  Use your lint brush. The one that comes with the serger is OK but I prefer a larger one as its gets further into the spots that the smaller one does not necessarily reach. (see pic above). Resist using those canned air products as all you may do is force the lint further into the recesses of your serger where you probably will not be able to reach.

Removing the needle plate

Remove needle plate and clean well with a good size brush.

About once a quarter, we suggest you do a bigger clean up:  remove the stitch plate or needle plate and clean out the lint that builds up under that and on your feed dogs.  Follow the instructions in your manual for how to remove the needle plate on your particular model or ask your local dealer to show you how to do this.

Clean the cutting knife – now this is where I think I came undone!

Lower the blade. Consult your manual or your dealer if you are not sure about how to do this although you should know if you took your owner;s classes as we tell you often! Once the upper blade is lowered, it lets you get in to clean between the upper and lower blades – the part that gets a lot of action! This is apparently the part I missed and learned to my detriment how crucial it is. I had been oiling well but somehow the oil mixed with the lint and “glued” my lower blade so it stuck. Not good.

Remember to raise the upper blade back up into cutting position once you have done all your “housekeeping”.

Yellow arrow points to upper blade. Orange arrow points to lower blade….and yes I need to get my brush busy cleaning away all that lint!

Oiling a serger:

You would not drive your car for many years without oiling and so it is with your serger (and sewing machine). It may eventually seize if you don’t oil it.

1. Check with your dealer what is the best/correct oil for a serger. There should have been a little bottle that came with your serger but once you use that up, do check with your dealer to ensure you buy the correct product.
2. If you oil too much and/or too often, that is as bad as too little/never. The oil will attract all the fluff like a magnet and grime will build up pretty quick in just the part of your serger which is doing the most work. So do avoid this.
3. If you hardly ever use your serger, the oil will dry up faster than if you use your serger regularly. Think about it this way: if you park your car outside your house but only get into it and drive once every 2 -3 years, would you expect it to work well for you? I don’t think so.  So, if you last used your serger several years ago, it is time to oil.
4. If you serge regularly like I do, oiling after each major cleaning would be wise.
5. There are only two points that need oil on most sergers:  and both are on the looper shaft. If in doubt, look at the diagram located on the machine. and note the arrow in our pic below.

Arrows show where to oil your serger. Your serger may be slightly different to this one so check with your dealer where your oiling points are.

Changing Needles

I think we are all guilty of forgetting to change out our sewing machine needles. Probably even more so with our sergers?

• Check with your manual and/or your local Jnaome dealer to establish what is the correct needle type for your serger. Some of our sergers require a EL needle (which is elongated as the EL suggests). It is essential you use these as the looper threads may not get picked up if the needles are too short. This causes skipped stitches and you wont be happy with that.
• The size and type of needle is usually determined by your project needs. The smallest size needle you should use in a serger is size 70. This is because you need a sturdy needle in a serger which sews very fast and could deflect and break easily if too small a needle.
• On the other side of the coin, dont use  aneedle larger than a size 90 as you may affect the clearance between the loopers and that could lead to problems. Size 80 is probably about right for most projects.
• Change your needles about once  a month depending on how much serging you do. Serger needles do last a little longer than sewing machine needles – as a general rule.
• Do not serger with bent needles. Change those right away.

Regular Service

Back to the anology of your car: you would regularly take your car to the shop to be serviced – especially if the car is sounding different or not operating the way you expect. Same with a serger: if you keep breaking needles, get skipped stitches or ride over a pin with your cutting blade, then it is probably time to take it to your local Janome dealer to be serviced. We recommend at least once a year is the general rule for a service at your dealer – with you doing regular “housekeeping” in between.

And BTW, the best thing I ever did with my serging was to stop using pins altogether. I had too many near misses or collisions with my blade. But since I started using Wonder  clips for all my serging, I am one happy camper. Less nerve wracking and so easy.

Our wonderful NEW Air Thread serger

Ask your local Janome dealer for Madeira AEROLOCK thread for your serging. Distributed by Janome in Canada