I often take the throat plate off and get all those icky fuzzies out of the bobbin area. I have found that those longer eye shadow brushed or water color paint brushes work the best. I also have a little vacuum made for electronics that works pretty for the fuzzies near the top. I hadn't ever thought about taking the bottom off. I must check and see if I can do that with my Janome.....

I'm with you Nancy!

Pipe cleaners work wonders in getting the fuzz and threads out from underthe throat plate. Never have taken the bottom of my machine off. Its computorized so take it in the the shop for a complete check up

This is a very interesting topic. Going to class a few weeks ago I had to do an emergency stop. When I took my machine (bernina qe) out of its bag the handle on one side had gone under the top piece. The class teacher came and started to undo the side and take it off as well as the back . I was informed how dirty the top inside was and I had not been cleaning it. Like all of you I only did bobbin etc areas. Do we have to undo all this as well and clean? Ps machine repaired ie handle pulled correct by the lawn mower man across the road. The best£2.50 I have spent for a long time.

I clean everything. I mean everything -- every three months. The race is cleaned out regularly, but when I do a big cleaning, I unscrew the cover and get out every bit of lint and wayward thread bits. You'd be surprised at what comes out.

I use q-tips instead of brushes. They pick up the lint rather than moving it around. They are disposible and inexpensive.

I have a poop-less, barkless dog under my bed. Please do not make me remove him or her!

At a Macy's or similar department store, ask one of the clerks at a make-up counter for an eyelash brush that is used for sampling the mascara. They are great for cleaning. On a more personal note, my gynecologist uses a long handled (about 6 or 7 inches) brush that looks very similar to a mascara brush. I don't know what she does with the brush and I'm not asking, but she gave me several (new of course!) to use to clean my machine. You can really get into the deep corners with the gyno brush. Sorry Joe, you'll have to ask your wife for help here!

Let me know if the water color paint brush works for this

Boy am I glad to see this post! I have a ?? or two. I have a Bernina Artista 180 and the manual says on page 74 to push down at the upper right hand corner to remove the throat plate. I have tried that and I can't get it to come off. Is there anyone in QB land that can shed some light on this? I would like to be able to get inside in that area to see what junk I can get out. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!