Sewing Machine Maintenance: Oil and Clean 

Bro', I'm a salty old bachelor who finally got sick of discarding perfectly good garments over minor issues & just got my first machine. I feel like an ancient explorer who just discovered a new continent. Right on dude!

Thank you! I learned several things watching your video. Shortly after watching, I even started cleaning the feet by removing the cover (with a pipe cleaner, no less!). Now I know why that screwdriver came with the sewing machine. Placed a new needle in, and not only was the stitching less strained, I could easily backstitch! Awesome!

I would like to say thank you very much for your videos. I have two Kenmore's and both started having tension issues where the back side was gathering thread. Nothing I adjusted helped. HOWEVER, I took both apart, as you have shown, and cleaned out a ton of dust bunnies. Put everything back together and WOW....just like new. Amazing that this simple clean project worked so well. Thank you for making the effort for these videos and thank you for saving me money because I was headed out to a repair shop!

I never knew oiling the bobbin area was a thing. I have placed a magnet beside my machine that I put the screws and needle on so not to have them disappear. Now I am going to give it some oil and put back together. Thank you.

Thank you .. your tips and tricks have been lightbulb moments for me.

Great advice. I do service and appreciate you telling people to do just the things they need to do. Yes I have had them dripping in oil! I tell people "you have to service your car so yes, you have to service your sewing machine." That is a hard pill for those who buy the Walmart special for $100.00 and a service is near that if there are no broken peices. But If they see great machines like you have they will move up to a machine that makes them happy. Nothing is nicer than using a good quality machine if you have struggled with a low budget one. The dealer I work with sometimes borrows out a decent machine if the customer has need of service and has a project they need to finish, and they usually come back to buy one just like they were using.

Thank you for another great video. I always use a very small, natural bristle cosmetic (eye shadow) brush. They're cheap. Readily available and instead of "brushing" away the lint, every bit of lint actually clings to the natural bristles. After a few strokes I just wipe all the lint off the brush onto a piece of scrap fabric or batting.

hello, this was so, so helpful before thinking of taking in for service. I've use my machine for about six months. thanks again.

Thank you for this video. I searched 2 hours for info on oiling a Baby Lock Esante ES1 that I picked up at a thrift shop, with no luck until you!

This is valuable information. I get many seeing machines donated to me. I needed these instructions. Thank you.

This video helped me get my sewing machine back up in 5 minutes 🙌🏾🙌🏾 I was going to pay to get it fixed, thank you!

Thank you so very much, just before I watched this, I had seen half a dozen of these vlogs but not one of them addressed my issue, I was also about to purchase blow off air can until I saw you, and what a minefield of info you are, you addressed most if not all my concerns, some unvoiced. I love this video and will thumbs up for sure.

Thanks for sharing that vital information about the compressed air spray, the store where I bought my machine suggested it. I will not use it any longer, good thing I recently bought a camera objective duster wich has a pump, so that can do the trick.

Thanks again Rob, for some great information. I have a Jane and a Sofia. Have a great one!

Love the pipecleaner tip, thank you! The other thing you mentioned that will help is to always have the presserfoot up when threading or unthreading the machine. I have probably not been consistent about having the presser foot up. Also, I probably need to change my needles more often. I agree absolutely with dusting before oiling, have done it that way since I started sewing.

This was so helpful! I appreciate the detail in what not to do vs what to do. Great vid! Short, sweet, and to the point!

Also love the coin idea. If you don’t mind losing the dime, take a piece of Styrofoam, take a larger spool of thread and push it into the foam for about an eighth to 3/16 of an inch. Push the coin on its side into the middle, then take low temp hot glue and put it into the hole around the coin. Let it set for a couple days to be sure it all hardens. Should make it easier to use. Also, if your foam melts with the glue (test first) line the hole with foil - wrap a piece around the spool before you push it into the hole, then push the coin thru the foil and into the foam. Don’t push the coin in too far, as you only need a small part of it to fit into the screw, and it is easier to use if the glue part rests on the bed of the machine. Again, thanks for these videos.

Oh thank you Rob so much! The idea of using a dime to loosen is awesome! I had such a hard time getting the screws out since there is NO room to do this. On a video, could you please show us how to attach our different feet? I got a whole box of feet I ordered from Ebay and there are no instructions on how to attach it. Thank you for your vids. You are my go to to learn how to do things as I am fairly new to sewing but I am seriously addicted!

After you take the needle and all the rest off, it is nice to turn the machine back on, JUST so that your light is shining right down inside the machine and you can see a lot better, what you are doing.

Thanks man. I am a 66 yo male. I am trying to teach myself how to sew. (I am a beginners beginner) For a weird reason I can relate to your instruction with more ease. I was given an old Kenmore 12 stitch sewing machine that has sat on a shelf in a garage for 30+ yrs. I did take it to a local service center to have a thorough going over. Once done though, your instructions will greatly benefit me. Thanks for your video.

I always drop my screws into a magnetic pill bowl when I take them out so I don't lose one. First time I dropped one I spend almost an hour looking for one I dropped taught me to do that.

Thanks for the heads up. I just wanted to know, I'm guessing it's dust n oil after every quilt, right n a new needle. I hv an older Kenmore, I've had it at least 50 years. Sews like a charm. Did so much better last time, bobbin winder even got better. Thank you😂

Wow this is so awesome! Thanks for the great tips and advice. My 8 yr old son was so stoked to see a man who can sew. He loves to sew like me.

Thanks Rob, really helpful and straight-forward guidance x

I just watched your video and learned a great deal for my single needle-do you gave a comparable video for a multi-needle machine?

Bro your videos are fantastic. They're informative, concise, and very easy to follow. My only critique is that there is no x in especially. It's not exspecially it doesn't sound like it when pronounced correctly. I mean absolutely no disrespect. It's just a little pet peeve of mine. I find that along with dressing well. Articulating one's self properly can have a strong positive impact on the way people perceive you. I write this with the upmost respect and with no I'll intention. Thank you very much for your videos. Yours are some of the best I've found. 😁

I just found this tutorial after I watched your YT-video on how to make an ironing board cover. That was great too, and this one really taught me a lot! However, I have a question about using the pipe cleaner. Starting at the video's "2:05 minutes" you show how to use the pipe cleaner on the tension discs which is on the right (as a viewer's perspective), but not the left side opening for the take up lever. Whenever I my thread breaks, that's where it goes. Is it okay to run the pipe cleaner through that opening as well as the opening for the tension discs? Hope someone can answer my question!

How often do you recommend putting a drop of oil under the bobbin wheel? I don’t have a wick under mine so I’m talking about the little rim part.

thanks for your tips paul m

Great, clear and FAST thanks more please!

Brilliant information. Thank you.

My favorite machine is my early 70's Pfaff 1222 which came with maintenance and oiling directions. But my Baby Lock Melody had no such directions and I have been uncomfortable with that as I've worked on cleaning it. Thank you so much for explaining how to clean, maintain, and oil this little beauty. I am going to follow your instructions and DO IT!

So awesome thanks for putting this video up 👍🏻

Can I use a tiny vacuum to clean? Thank you for the tutorial, very helpful!

This video was super helpful, especially for a novice like me. The teeth in my sewing machine were caked with lint. Fabric is feeding through so much smoother now. Thanks for taking the time to explain this maintenance so throughly!

Thank you so much for the maintenance videos. I just had my machine cleaned professionally but didn't know what I needed to do to keep it running well. My thread kept breaking and it would sound like it hit something. Sure enough my feed dogs were full of fuzz.

You are the best for information on sewing machines. Like your tips.

Thanks, you just saved me a ton of money from buying an air can. Excellent video.

My wife sews, whenever the machine gives trouble, I clean it up. Thanks for the tips and I love your enthusiasm.

I live on an island and I wish our local shop was agreeable. I tried to get my hand-me-down sewing machine (from the 70s?) serviced. The store owner promptly pushed me to purchase one of her beautiful brand new $1,000 - $9,000 sewing machines. I told her it was not in my budget. Honestly, if i could afford a 9K machine I wouldn't be tuning up this old clunker so I could keep my kids clothed! After politely declining her financing options and turning down her "once in a lifetime deal" with discounts. She finally told me that she refused to tune-up my machine since it was old and the "screws may break off" when she opened it up. So I collected my dinosaur machine off the table and did my 'walk of shame' out the door. Anyhow, long story just to say thank you for posting videos like this. Not all of us have the option of having our machines professionally serviced. :)

So helpful! Thanks!

OMG you fixed my machine!! I clean the race quite often but never took the whole plate off to clean the feed dogs! My poor machine had so much lint between it’s teeth it looked like little sticks of felt. Thank you!! She’s actually pulling material in with out my help!! I wish I found this video sooner

This is probably going to sound really like a dumb question. When you clean the bobbin case, etc. the dust and lint goes into the bottom of the case. Do you just leave it there? Won't that end up gumming up things later? Thanks for your response.

Hi Rob, I loved this tutorial and learnt a thing or two or three. I thought I was all set in my cleaning as I never let the fluff build up and NEVER use canned air after seeing what it did to a machine on Pinterest. I am guilty of doing exactly what the manufacturer said and NOT oil, but I will now do as you have clearly explained. The second thing I learnt today was about threading with the foot raised. I did not know that, how could I not know that? I thread whether it's up or down which explains why sometimes I find it much harder to do. The third thing I learnt was to clean there also. I always use a pipe cleaner to clean even where my drop in bobbin is to get to those places the brush can't reach. I even bought myself a set of mini accessories for the vacuum so I could suction. So you see I thought I was good but I missed the areas you mention where the thread goes. THANK YOU SO MUCH. This is so helpful.

I like your video it's really helpful.but .but Iwant to k now what you could do When you trying to change your needle and your needles Scrow spinning and never hold the needle .and your needle falls?

Hi! Thanks for the info in this video. I enjoyed watching as I’m about to attempt to service my machine myself if you can answer this question for me.. My machine keeps sewing a loose stitch no matter what I do to the tension. I was told by the most reputable sewing machine service provider near me, that it just needs to be oiled. Are you familiar with this issue? If I do the suggested dusting and oiling you showed in this video, would it fix my tension issue? Thank you!

I was Stereotyped for sewing in school I had a choice to do geography or home economics as my class the principal taught it would be good because to pick home economics because my last school had a three students to help make the food with help of the caterer/chef for lunch every day so home economics it was and it was the easiest and most rewarding class as I still use the skill sets I was taught, worst was when my own family member calling me gay for being able to bake,cooking and sew I can depend on my own without the aid of my mom or my girlfriend and I can pretty but fair so i'll teach that family members son to sew.

This tutorial could not have been done any better. Thank you! You just saved the life of a Janome because I was ABOUT TO put oil on every possible hole I see 🥲 followed and subscribed

Rob, thank you for your thorough explanation of how to resolve tension issues. I started out with a bunched up mess of thread on the bottom of my fabric and am now able to start sewing much needed face masks. You are terrific!

I can't believe I didn't know the tension disks move in and out depending on the foot position. Life changed!

Thanks for. The. Information

I was at a loss trying to figure out how to oil my machine. This video made it look too easy but I tried it anyway. Now, my sewing machine is humming instead of pounding and I'm a happy crafter again! Thank you "sew" much!!!!

Typical, I've been unthreading my machine wrong, manual told me nothing its as good as a chocolate fire guard, this video has been fab, can you give me advice for a singer heavy duty machine, it has a drop in bobbin case.

Needed to see where to oil the bobbin case but the words were in the way! All the videos are set up in the lower half of the screen where most of the action is. Is there a way to ditch the captions?

I've had a problem with my Baby Lock breaking needle thread lately after doing a lot of machine embroidery. Tried your pipe cleaner trick on the tension disks; pulled out all sorts of lint and thread bits. Stitching fine now! That ONE hint was fantastic! It's great to see another dude into sewing and your tutorials are practical as well as helpful. Perhaps the masculine appeal is the mechanics of operating and maintaining the machines, as well as trouble shooting and problem solving. A buddy who is a diesel mechanic is restoring a vintage 1930s Ford roadster. He was appalled at the prices of professional upholstery work and decided to try it himself. He had his mom's 1970s Japanese sewing machine and I showed him some basic operation. He saw parallels between sewing and mechanics; he was able to do the headliners and seat covers! He was proud that he was able to hem up a pair of jeans after watching YOUR video!!!

I live in NYC, during this pandemic I am spending more time sewing but the machine is maching a loud noise as I sew. Im afraid its going to break apart. It also makes noise when I press the peddle/it does not sew. I cleaned it out just as I saw you do it during the video. I do not have the oil, just ordered it at Amazon. After dusting, the machine stull making the noise.

I've never oiled my machine ( I do clean regularly though!), because I once heard that with newer machines, they're dipped in oil before being assembled and should NOT be oiled. What are your thoughts on this Rob? My manual doesn't say anything about oiling. (It's a newer machine, bought it new last year)

I just bought a brand new Singer Stylist sewing machine #7258. Since it is a new machine do I need to oil it before I start using it?

I live in d tropics my Kenmore is 30years old l will always oil and clean it a few days ago it got s problem everything is moving but no stitches help

Thank you -this was extremely helpful. I did not know what other functions the release of the pressure foot did other than taking the pressure off the fabric. Rather sad you don't get this type of info in sewing classes.

You are great ,

My Singer 188k1 (very recently acquired) actually has a grease fitting - like the ones on automotive universal joints - on the bottom gear case! I'm not quite sure what to do with that. I can't use a tube of lube like shown in this video, but I'm pretty sure I shouldn't bring my grease gun in from the garage to lube my sewing machine. Any ideas? Can I just fill a mini-gun with white lithium grease and lube my sewing machine with that? Also, I get why canned air wouldn't be good. But, what about a vacuum? I have a little hose adapter kit with various little nozzles and brushes designed to clean out computers. Seems like that would be perfect for cleaning out my machines. . . What do you think?

Dear sir, Thanks for sharing. I own an athena 2000 singer. I don't know how to remove the cover to lube the machine. Can you suggest a method? I live in a remote area, it would be a blessing.

Wow. The clearest, most helpful video for cleaning out there. THANK YOU!

Thank you, Rob, for the tutorial. I find it somewhat difficult to follow you as you speak so quickly! I´m not a native, so I sometimes put subtitles in English. But, I find your explanations very clear and useful. Love your ring!

How would you maintain a Husqvarna viking#1 1100 ? I just bought 3 from eBay for my mom, sister and myself. And my sisters sounded rough

You know, I am a little in shock. I got my hand-me-down machine in August ‘23 and have made 12 quilts since. I’m working on my 13th right now and not once did it occur to me to oil my machine. I called my local maintenance guy and he said the suggested timeframe is every 8 hours of sewing to swap out your needle & oil. It’s been a lot longer than 8 hours….

Yay thank you for doing this video!

Hello I'm Tom from Colorado and I just got my grandmothers Singer 500a from 1961 lol, it's in excellent condition because she only used it four times, I need to oil it and clean up the fuzzy bunnies, this model doesn't have a belt so that's good I was told. Any tips? P.s. I just made my first stitch with it after an hour trying to figure out how to load the string and I think I figured out, it's my first attempt at sewing ever.

Thank you so much for all your tutorials, Rob! I love to watch them and get ideas as I am just a beginner quilter and your videos are such a help!

My Kenmore sewing machine is 35 years old. I used your video to clean it, but my outdated machine is a little bit different from those you showed.

Hi Rob. I work for a sewing machine/quilt store in Round Rock, TX. I appreciate your videos, and I often refer to our customers to look at different training videos to get the most out of their machines. On the tension video-- well done (even I learned a few things!)-- it would be helpful to edit it to include HOW to adjust the bobbin case with the adjustable screw for horizontal loading machines . It is not always practical to use 40 weight thread in the fixed bobbin case provided by Babylock/Brother-- using 60 and 90 weight bobbin thread does work best when using the decorative stitches. And, not all machine lines have fixed screws, e.g., the Pfaff/Husqvarna line standard bobbin case does not include a fixed screw. So, hopefully you can address this and show folks how to adjust that screw on a horizontally placed bobbin case. And, it is always good to leave one bobbin case, side or top loading, at the manufacturer's setting, and buy a second adjustable one to play with as needed-- embroidery stitches, bobbin work (and some brands with top loading bobbins have special bobbin work cases), etc. Thanks for helping inform our customers how to take care of their machines, and when it is really necessary to bring them in! Sometimes once a year is really overkill...

Oops, I ripped the little felt piece off the bobbin holder when I cleaned it out for the first time. I'm such an ogre- lol

Me just before watching this video….. blasts the sewing machine with spray air 😂 whoops

after cleaning and oiling my sewing manchine jam and keep stuck and not working, any help please?

One thing I learned...take pictures with your phone before you start taking things apart.

Good morning,can you tell me where to find a bobine case for a singer 600e

My sewing machine servers, almost killed up my machine. Went on and line 15 years later and am saving it myself, probably if I could have afforded a new machine and could have been sewing all these years my depression wouldn't have kicked my physical body almost to death. Raspberries to your prejudices, not all sewing machines techs are worth knowing.

Do you have any experience with older Nelco models? Like from the 1960s.

You surely have a "basic tools" video about this, and I just haven't caught it yet - probably with a cute bag to keep everything together!However, since I haven't seen this on supply lists: Add a magnetized bowl to your clean/fix/explore tool-kit. or a least a bowl & a small magnet in it. Corral all those bits! As a side benefit, you don't need to search the floor for roll-aways.

Hello Robb,great idea to use a ten-cent coin. However, I find that a metal bobbin gives better hold and no risk to slip like the mini coin.

Rob, you are awesome! Thank you for sharing all this info. Question: can I use the vacuum cleaner to clean up the lint and dust off my machine?

The man that has done my maintenance for years, asked me to bring in my can of sewing oil when I picked up my 1967 singer. So I did, he took it from me and tossed it in the trash, saying you don't get to oil anything else. I've always sent my machine in once a year. Now I have a Babylock too, but still have no oil rights if I want him to service my machine 😉

This was awesome! No one ever told me to clean my sewing machine before. I did just what you said, and wow! I've never seen that much fuzz this side of a lint trap before. Thanks!

Hi the feed dogs on my new machine have dropped down, and now they will not feed fabric! It’s a new machine, a singer 8768, with the top loading bobbin and all I did was see what the little feed dog switch did. On the backside of the machine. Then when I flipped it back, the feed dogs stayed in the lowered position... what do I do?

I couldn't get a screwdriver or the dime (too thick) to work on the metal plate screws on my Singer One Plus machine. In looking for something to use I spotted an empty bobbin! The edge worked great to turn the plate screws!

I've just watched 3 of your fantastically helpful videos. I actually adjusted my bobbin tension once a while back from my owners' manual (after several moves) like you show, but I've been 'scared' of unscrewing that plate to clean & oil, and never knew not to pull threads backwards when changing spools, nor that the foot had to be raised while threading, nor even that a pipe-cleaner could be used to clean the tension system in my Pfaff 1530! I'll certainly be watching more soon. Thanks! It doesn't seem like rougher treatment in moving should affect the bobbin, but I spent quite a while analyzing the top v bottom thread tension, like you showed and was also in my now lost manual before I finally made the adjustment! I have access to the manual online, so I'm OK.

Love your videos. I always keep a magnetic pin tray handy when I'm taking out needles, screws, etc. You don't want to lose those darn little bitty screws. It helps! Thanks for all you post, AWESOME!

And I have redone my bobbin

Please what to do when you run the motor and it turns very fast by itself, however when you hang on the belt and the machine running very slow. Why? Please help me. Thanks

I just take the spout of the WD-40 can and push it into the needle slot and hold down the button for a few seconds! Lubes all of it at once! :)

Do you have a bunch of caffeine before you film these ? 😂 you have the most energy of anyone I’ve seen making sewing machine maintenance videos, it’s great, thank you 🙏

This tutorial helped get my 20-year old Kenmore humming like new again. Thanks!

Awesome video. Thank you for explaining on how to maintain our sewing machines. I have some bad habits I need to break if I want to keep my machine in good order.

I definite have to thank you. I took my older Janome sewing machine in to get serviced about 5 years ago and haven't used to since, however with the new circumstances that we are all facing. I decided to sew some masks up and yes some jeans. I do have a newer Bother but it's a computer sewing machine and it's for quilting etc. Even that one sat around for a few years. Anyways I watched your video and cleaned and oiled the Janome. I was going to get rid of it, but thanks to you I got it working and it's better for heavier jobs. I saw that the the Janome is a better sewing machine or it's on Amazon as a heavy duty machine. I was having problems getting the Janome to sew properly but I did. I'm keeping both. Learned a few tips from watching your videos Thank you again and Happy Sewing

thank you for this Rob! I have a 1950 singer Anniversary machine my mother bought (and paid for from sewing for $$), and have in the past 2 years purchased another singer Classic (I wanted the easy ability for zigzag and other stitches). I'm old :-) and a bit timid about taking these machines "apart", but know they need to be dusted and the old one oiled. You have now given me confidence to do what I'm able. And I agree...at least every 2 years let the pro's correct and clean. And cleaning the tensions....well, who knew????

Again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL HELPFUL TUTORIAL!!!Hugs

I don't used canned air ever but how do you feel about vacuuming the lint out? Also I keep a nickel in my spare feet box to get those screws loose!

Hello! First of all, thank you for all that you do! I would love to see more sewing machine maintenance videos. For instance, everyone shows how to service and change the tension assembly when it's the old knob, but not when it's the dial wheel like the newer machines have. I have a machine where I was trying to adjust it and the spring fell out and so far I've not seen anything (videos, service manuals, or schematics) online on how to orient it when I put it back together. I'm thinking I can't be the only one looking for this info. Anyhow, I love your stuff and I hope you keep doing what you're doing!

I found while cleaning my beyond basic machine, is that sewing scissors fit nicely in those bevel screws! saved my butt from having to buy a special screwdriver! lol