The first thing I do when I walk into studio is turn on my air compressor. Nothing says you need to wake up better then a really loud compressor. I could just use canned air, but in the long run the compressor is cheaper and has better pressure. Matt keeps telling me to remember to drain the air out of the tanks everyday. He is insistent that I do this to prolong the life of the compressor and he says that it is safer. I go with it because it makes him happy.
Then I make sure I have the following:
A can of WD-40
A rag to wipe my rails (It will get nasty so not a towel I care about.)
An rag that I don't mind getting oil on. (Another towel I don't care about)
A micro fiber cloth to dust the frame and machine
Machine oil
All machine manufacturers have a way they suggest you clean your machine. APQS has you use compressed air and WD-40. I have had people tell me that I will run my machine using them, I tend to believe my machine manufacturer over them. I think WD-40 got a bad rap because people don't understand what it does. WD-40 is a solvent not an oil. It is meant to break things down. So if you just WD-40 your machine and don't wipe it out and oil the hook, you would be heading for a disaster. I am not using it as a substitute for oil; I am using to break down the old machine oil in my hook so that I can replace it will nice fresh machine oil.
Once the compressor has air pressure. I take the bobbin out of my hook and unthread the top thread so that it the it is just hanging out of the tension disk. This means the top thread will just be sitting there but not moving.
While it is running I check the wicks a the top of the machine. If my fingers come back shiny at all I do not oil the upper wicks. I probably oil then every 2-3 weeks. I have never oiled the wick on the left side of my machine head. I check it every time I start up, but it has always had oil on it. My machine is a 2008 so it is has not been oiled in 4 years. Then I wipe my rails and if I am feeling like it dust the frame.
This whole procedure takes me between 5 and 10 minutes. Please excuse the picture of my linty dirty bobbin area. It will get cleaned tomorrow before I start quilting. :)