Three things, none of which takes longer than a minute.
Cover it. Household dust is abrasive and it settles into the bobbin race and feed dogs, where it mixes with lint and any lubricant into a paste. A covered machine needs cleaning far less often, and cleaning is what most machines actually need when they misbehave.
Raise the presser foot. That releases the tension discs. On a machine that will sit for months, it stops the discs holding a compressed position.
Stable temperature. Not a loft, not an unheated garage. Repeated warming and cooling produces condensation inside the machine, and condensation on steel produces rust in the mechanism where you cannot see it or reach it.
If it is going away for a long time, also remove the needle — or at least note that it needs changing before the next use, since you will not remember whether it was fresh.
If you are carrying it, a padded case protects the telescopic thread stand, which is the part that bends. Check the case clears the stand and the handwheel: manufacturers list body dimensions, and a case cut to those forces the stand down every time.
And run it occasionally. A machine that sits unused for years stiffens. Ten minutes of sewing every few months keeps it moving.
Questions people actually ask
Is a hard case better than a soft cover?
For transport, yes. For storage at home a soft cover is enough — you are protecting against dust, not impact.
Can I store it in the loft?
We would not. Temperature swings and condensation are the two things most likely to damage a stored machine, and a loft has both.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11