19 Dec Get the most out of your Office Chair!
Just like any other office item, your chair will need maintenance in order to keep it in tip top shape. Take care of your office chair and your office chair will take care of you.
Take a moment and think about the chair in your office. How many hours a day do you spend leaning on it for support? How about a week or even a month? As that chair is used dust will build up and parts will even start to loosen or wear on their own! Time can get the best of your office chair when you least expect it.
Cloth Upholstery
Dust, grime, dirt, it’s all the same when concerning your office chair. Where are you right this moment? In your office? Let’s test something out, stand up and face your chair. Now take your hand and give that trusty chair a couple firm pats. I feel like that should do all of the talking for me, but just in case you’re not in your office I will explain. What is most likely observed is a compilation of small sand like particles made up of dust, grime or dirt. Just as sand would, these particles will slowly eat away at your chair causing it to lose that comfy, fluffy feeling of a new chair.
So how do you keep this from happening? Easy, whip out the vacuum about once a week and get to cleaning. By vacuuming this frequently the amount of grit that has built up should be kept to a minimal. There is even a special spray foam made especially for upholstery which can be used once a year, which is highly recommended. But be careful, as some chemicals can strip your office chair of color so make sure to do a test on a part of the chair which is not easily seen beforehand. 
Leather Upholstery
Things like dirt and grime do not only stick to regular upholstery, but leather upholstery as well. To clean leather upholstery the process is just a tad bit different. A vacuum will still be used initially but after you vacuum your leather upholstery you will want to then wipe with a slightly dampened cloth. Once dry, some type of leather cream or saddle soap even should be used to treat the office chair. However, don’t forget to do a spot check with whatever soap you use so that you do not ruin your office chair. This process should be repeated once every six months in order to keep the life of your chair at its max.
Wheel or Caster Care
When referring to an office chair pressure is not distributed evenly, instead the wheels receive most of the weight.
Little bits of string, loose hair, dust bunnies to just about any other small item found on the floor of your office can get tangled up in the wheels where it doesn’t belong. The first step is to turn your chair so that you can easily get to the wheels and then get to work. Remove any thing that is wrapped around the wheels of your office chair and then use the suction attachment on the vacuum and run it over each wheel. Another option is to use a can of compressed air, which is normally used for keyboards, to spray out any particles or items which might be stuck in small crevices of the wheel.
Lubrication is key for the wheels of your chair. WD40 or silicone spray can be applied to the spindles with just a light coat. Do not forget that as you spray the mist it can get on unintended areas of the chair, so protect what you do not want stained. This also should be repeated once every six months
Fixings and Screws
Just like most things the screws and fixings on your office chair will take abuse and become loosened or even missing. It is in your best interest to evaluate your office chair and check for those missing parts which might need to be replaced or tightened.
Take a moment and look under your office chair. Do you see empty holes where screws should be? The majority of the time loose or missing parts will be on the bottom of your chair or even at the mechanism of the chair as well. Locate all loose or missing parts and tighten and replace as needed. How your office chair is made can also make a big difference in what you are replacing. Many office chairs are made of materials which often have screw holes that lose their shape. To help prevent this from happening again use something such as Loctite to coat the screw threads with before tightening or replacing the screw. This will improve the durability of your screw.
Again, take care of your office chair and it will take care of you for many more days at the office to come. If you have office chairs in the area of Fort Myers perform your semi-annual maintenance check in order to get the most longevity out of your office chairs!
