Cleaning Edgerider wheels

[donnavans]

I clean my Edgerider wheels with alcohol and Q-tips. I wipe my table with alcohol and paper towels. I quilt one quilt and my wheels are dirty again. When my wheels are dirty, my machine does not move as easily and freely. Should my wheels be that bad after one lap size quilt? I thought someone told me that I would need to clean my table once a month, but I am doing it daily and still have problems.

[AbigailE]

Are you also cleaning the rails that the wheels ride on?

[Bonnie]

I'm just guessing here but that much Alcohol may be causing the aluminum to oxidize faster than you can keep up with it.

In all the years that I had the Older machine I never used anything but waste batting to wipe down my rails and a plain q-tip to get into the wheels. Then I got the Edgerider Wheels for it and they only needed to be wiped down with a piece of batting.

I've now had the new machine for about 8 weeks and still only wipe down the rails with batting...no alcohol and no wax...just a little black and that it well over a weeks worth of quilting.

Try a little less alcohol and see if that helps or don't use it each time....my welding hubby just about had a fit when I told him about that method of cleaning, and he's the one who set me straight on oxidization.

I need to ADD a P.S. here...Oxidization doesn't mean that its wearing your metal out or taking away from your structure, but just causing the metal to put off a black dust type yuckiness.

[donnavans]

Thanks Bonnie. I will try just batting. Everything that I do, I do with all that I have. (For instance, I was racking the quilt way too tight.) I will try just the batting. That would be so much easier! My quilting studio smells like a hospital. Also glad to know that it is not hurting my frame. You're great.

[Gator]

I'm with Bonnie. The alcohol will cause the oxide to come back faster, plus it evaporates faster then you can clean. I use the batting daily (because my IQ likes clean rails) and about once a month I'll use windex (the original kind with ammonia). No wax it will build up over time and cause problems if you don't get it all off.

[Katydids]

I"m with Bonnie also. I don't use alcohol on my rails as it does make them oxidize faster. I use a plain old piece of dry batting. I only use alcohol on the wheels themselves and that is not often. Once in blue moon ( maybe once a month or two), I will put wd40 on a rag and wipe the rails really good, this kind of gives them a deep clean. After doing this though, you really need to wipe it good with a dry piece of batting till the black stops coming off. Make sure you don't get any wd40 on the wheels!!

[donnavans]

Thanks for all of the tips.

[Quilting Heidi]

I only use ammonia on my rails and wheels and I don't have a lot of oxidation. I usually only have to clean my rails about every 2 or 3 weeks.