Stop what you’re doing right now and look down at the wheels of your rolling office chair. What a great invention, seats on wheels, such a marvellous and underrated creation; so we can all manoeuvre comfortably around the office without standing up.
If you are like most people, you will probably not have cleaned these wheels for as long as you remember and they will be caked in dust, dirt and potential pet hair. If you are wondering why your office chair doesn’t glide as smoothly as it once did, this is probably the reason.
Our office chair wheels, also known as castors, are very important to our work day whether we work at home or in a cubicle. They allow us to slide back and forth easily when grabbing important files. They can also come in handy when messing around and having chair races! However, in order for them to work properly they need to be periodically cleaned.
Here are some tips for cleaning the castors of your office chair:
- First of all, inspect the wheels for anything clogged in them, which could be stopping the wheels from turning, such as hair, cotton thread, yarn or other debris wound around the rolling mechanism. You might need to use scissors to cut it out.
- Flip the chair upside down so that the wheels are in the air. If you are able to detached the base from the rest of the chair that might make things easier.
- If there is still hair and other debris stuck around the wheels, you can use the sticky side of duct tape to easily pick it up.
- The next step is to fill a large bucket with hot soapy water and submerse the wheels after you have detached them from the chair. If you have a hose you can use the hose pressure to remove objects stuck underneath the cover of the wheel.
- Wipe the wheels off and then place them on a towel so that they can dry thoroughly before being placed on the chair again.
- Last but not least, spray the inside mechanism of each wheel with a spray lubricant, which will keep them rolling smoothly. Remember to wipe away the excess lubricant because it will attract and hold dirt.
- Make sure you vacuum the floor so that the wheels won’t get dirty again right away.
When your wheels are ready, attach them back on your chair and you are ready to roll!
Here are some helpful tips for cleaning the castors on your office chairs so that you can glide smoothly through your workday.