Cleaning and Maintaining Your Serger!

TobiasB

February 23

After a holiday season of sewing and serging, your machine is likely in need of some TLC! In today's blog post we're covering sergers. For tips of cleaning and maintaining top loading sewing machines, check out this previous blog post.

We're using the Janome AT2000D serger for this blog, but these techniques are applicable to all sergers. Always refer to your machine's Instruction Manual when cleaning and maintaining your machine. Many of Janome machine manuals are also available online to download and print. Click the SUPPORT tab, then MANUALS on Janome.CA.

Supplies you'll need: 1) Sewing machine oil, 2) lint brush, 3) cotton swabs, 4) wrench and spare knife blade which come included with your serger, 5) screwdrivers (not pictured). Many of these supplies can be purchased from your Janome Canada dealer.

Part 1: Disassembly

First, disconnect the power by unplugging the machine. You'll want good lighting from an overhead, or task lamp nearby.

Remove the needles and the presser foot. Review your machine's Instruction Manual for details.

Next, remove the foot holder/ ankle from the presser foot bar. Unscrew the needle plate and remove it. You might want to keep a magnetic pin dish, like the Janome Pin Pal handy to keep hold of the screws so you don't loose track of them, lol!

Part 2: Cleaning

Brush out the tension discs with your lint brush. I also like to 'floss' the tension discs with a folded piece of clean, lint free fabric. Old t-shirts work great for this!

*Important*: Make sure the presser foot lever is raised up before cleaning the tension discs. If down, the discs will remain closed and won't get cleaned properly.

Next, brush away dust from the needle bar area (left photo) and be sure to clean around and in between the feed dogs. I like to push the bristles of my brush in between the feed dogs to really clear away all the compacted dust and lint (right photo).

Now we're tackling the real mess! Here's a sped up video of me brushing out the dust from the main looper area. I like to use a 'up and out' motion with my lint brush to try to prevent dust going further into the machine.

Notice how half way through I give the balance wheel a half turn or so toward me. This moves the loopers to a different position, and exposes more dust and lint I may not have seen before.

Don't forget to open the side cover and brush out dust from there! After I'm done brushing, I like to give everything a once over with cotton swabs to pick up any tiny particles that stick on the metal parts.

Part 3: Oiling

Now for the most satisfying part: lubricating so everything stays moving as it should! Remember to only use good quality Sewing Machine oil which you can pick up from your Janome Canada dealer.

First, put one drop of oil on the needle bar and put a couple drops in the little hole located to the right of the foot pressure adjustment on the top of the machine. Review your machine's Instruction Manual for details of where to oil, or consult with your authorized Janome Service Technician.

Now to oil the loopers. There are 4 spots to oil here which are clearly shown in the manual. Basically, oil goes on any spot where metal rubs against metal, like in the looper assemblies. Here is a video of me oiling them liberally.

Janome AT2000D Instruction Manual page 55 shows detailed instructions exactly where to oil

For the side of the serger, give a drop or two of oil to each spot where the manual tells you to. This will differ by model, so consult your machine's Instruction Manual for this step.

Part 4: Replacing the cutting blade!

Now we're going to replace the cutting blade! Please only do this if your blade is old and no longer cutting well. A good cleaning can often resolve cutting issues.

Removing the blade is very easy. Loosen the screw with the wrench often provided with the machine, then, use a Phillips head (star) screwdriver to fully remove the screw. The blade will slide right off with it!

Now, place the new blade into the slot. It will conveniently stay it place until you tighten the screw all the way back in!

As you'll see in the video, there's a bit of back and forth 'play' in the positioning of the blade. As you tighten the screw, hold the blade so that it's leaning more towards you (or to the left in the video perspective). Then, finish it off by tightening the screw fully with the wrench. Make sure to give this screw an extra turn so it's firmly secured in place.

Rotate the balance wheel by hand a few cycles to be sure everything is moving freely. Lower and raise the knife blade a few times to be sure it easily moves up and down.

Congratulations! You now have a clean and lubricated serger that is ready for your next project! I recommend cleaning after every project, and oiling every 3 projects or so.

Consistent cleaning and oiling will prolong the life of your serger, but it's still no substitute for a proper tune-up at your Janome dealer. There are many internal parts which need to be oiled and adjustments to be made which only your authorized Janome Service Technician should do. Janome recommends an annual service at least once a year for all machines.