My Serger Maintenance

Nice picture, huh?

I have a Babylock Imagine serger. It’s a fabulous serger with the infamous “swooshing” sound of the jet air threader. My local dealer (10 minutes away) has told me to use a can of air to blow out the lint, fabric particles, & dust out of my serger. And it’s safe to do. Well, that works great, but I don’t care to breathe in all the swirling debris that comes out of my serger. And I definitely don’t need the debris to migrate over to my sewing machine area.

So what do I use? I use a small makeup brush. I found a little makeup brush kit at Sephora. The bristles are soft. The brushes are well made as it doesn’t leave behind any bristles that might get stuck in the serger parts.

I carefully remove any lint or debris that I can see. I usually start with the stitching area and then work my way down and into machine. Again, it’s the areas I can see.

How do I remove the lint on my brush? Easy. I keep a small stack of fabric pieces/discards from my sewing projects. I take my brush and sweep it across my fabric piece. The lint likes to cling to the fabric more than the brush.

Could I use the included brush that came with my serger? Sure, but after the first use, the bristles got bent and would get stuck in the serger. Pretty lame accessory for such a wonderful machine.

How often do I clean my serger? Usually it’s after every two sewing projects. Sometimes it is more often, especially if there’s a buildup around my cutting blade. That’s usually a good sign that it's time to clean.

I love a clean machine. My simple maintenance routine has become a good habit.