Pleater Cleaning Instructions

courtesy of Debbie Baldwin

First you will need: Q-tips, WD-40, paper towels and a screwdriver.

Remove all the needles and set them aside. Then remove the knob. It should unscrew facing towards you if the needles are pointed towards you.

Remove the screws on the bottom of the pleater base from one bracket only. I usually do the same side as the handle.

After you remove the bracket, lay the gears down in the following order: top front, bottom front, top back, bottom back. It is easier this way until you are really familar with the pleater.

Lay some paper towels down to catch the overspray, and then spray the cotton on the Q-tips with WD-40. Go in the holes of the brackets until there is no more grime. Spray some paper towels and then go over the gears, being sure to clean the tabs on the ends of the gears.

After everything is cleaned and cleared up, start reassembling the pleater. Inserting into the stablebracket, put the gears back in the following order: bottom back, top back, bottom front. Slide the other bracket on and put the screws in the bottom, stabilizing the bracket. Re-insert the needles and then put on your top gear.

You can run a piece of scrap fabric through the pleater to be sure you have removed all the grime. WD-40 is not supposed to stain fabric so this may not be necessary.