How to Clean a Gaming Chair

“Cleanliness is next to godliness”. A popular phrase used to show the importance of keeping yourself, your belongings, and your personal space clean. If you want to stand any chance at being a god when it comes to gaming, first you’ve got to learn how to keep your gaming setup clean. Gaming chairs are ergonomical and expensive, it would be wise to keep them as clean as possible.

Why clean gaming chairs?

Like everything we may own, dust and bacteria find their way to taint it. A gaming chair is no different. As you sit on the chair for prolonged periods of time, any dead skin cells on you may fall off and land on the chair. If you’re enjoying a mid-game snack, all those crumbs and grease will end up all over your chair, making it dirty and unhygienic. So before you complain and ask ‘Why is my chair dirty so often?’ ease up on the crumby foods!

Those of us with PU leather chairs can simply wipe the majority of this off whenever we fancy, but that is no excuse not to give your chair a thorough deep clean every now and then. If, instead, you possess a fabric chair then cleaning may be more of an issue. A cloth soaked in warm water may get noticeable stains or crumbs off of your chair, but it is crucial that you go the extra mile and clean it properly.

How do I actually clean a gaming chair?

Before we can even think about how to clean a gaming chair, we must prepare. For some, this could have the extra step of psyching yourself up but I will leave that to you. If you’re at all unsure about this, check the manufacturer’s instructions on cleaning and maintaining your gaming chair.

Preparation

The very first step before you even think about spraying that chair with anything is discovering what material it is made from. This can be found on the website you bought it from, the handbook that standardly comes with a gaming chair, or sometimes a little white tag will hang off of your chair similar to how they look on tops and trousers. If worst comes to worst, you can just guess although this is a bit risker as you may not be providing your chair with the products that it needs. Whilst the internal materials may vary, we only care about the external upholstery.

Fabric

A fabric-lined chair may well look nicer than a PU leather chair but you have to clean a fabric chair regularly to avoid anything absorbing into the fabric. Leather chairs can be wiped down very often to get rid of surface grease and the occasional spot of crumbs, but a fabric chair has a higher chance of absorbing grease and liquids making them a tough stain that may well be stubborn and difficult to get rid of. If it is an especially warm day, your chair may be prone to sweat stains.

Pu leather

For those unfamiliar with this term, Pu leather is faux leather (also known as PVC leather, though they differ in some ways). It is a leftover product after making real leather and is then treated with polyurethane, hence the name PU. Whilst less durable than genuine leather, faux leather chairs are much cheaper which makes them a nice affordable alternative. Much like their genuine leather counterparts, a PU leather gaming chair is more resistant to stains as the material is a lot less absorbent. However, due to this, they are also a lot worse when it comes to grease and liquids as they are more noticeable. This is by far the most common material used, chances are your gaming chair or racing gaming chair will be made from faux leather.

Genuine leather

Similar to artificial leather, genuine leather gaming chairs are resistant to most stains and can easily have grease wiped off of them. However, genuine leather requires more special treatment than other types of upholstery as it is prone to cracking and drying out if left unattended. As leather is technically animal skin, it needs to be maintained and moisturized to keep it hydrated and reduce the chance of it cracking and peeling.

Cleaning

Step one – Vacuum

For fabric chairs, loose debris can get stuck anywhere so it is best to take a vacuum cleaner and start sucking up all the dirt. A brush attachment may help to dislodge any stubborn crumbs. As for your leather or PU leather gaming chair, a damp microfiber cloth will be more than enough to prep your chair for deeper cleaning. Let your chair air dry for a few minutes if you have time although, a paper towel will also do the trick. A cotton swab can be used with all chairs to get in between tight areas.

Step two – Wipe

A thick microfiber cloth will come in handy here. Fabric chairs can be deep cleaned using a bowl of warm water with a few drops of dish soap or mild detergent mixed in. Soak up the suds and wring it out, then take your damp cloth and start to gently rub the areas that need cleaning. After giving the area a gentle rub, the soap should help remove stains from your gaming chair. A steamer may also be used but is for more of a thorough clean.

your Pu leather gaming chair will be easier to clean and requires the same damp cloth and cleaning solution to get rid of those tough stains. Wipe the chair down and use a dry cloth to remove excess water afterward.

Genuine leather can undergo the same cleaning process as the other chairs however, it will need some after treatment too. For this, you will need a cotton ball and your preferred leather moisturizer/balm. Apply a small amount and wipe your chair in circular motions with the balm-covered cotton ball. This will moisturize the chair to prevent cracking.

Optional Step three – Sanitize

After your chair has undergone your cleaning process, whether it be with a vacuum cleaner or microfiber cloth, you can take extra steps to further your effectiveness. Using a soft sponge and some rubbing alcohol, you can sanitize your chair to remove leftover bacteria. As for leather chairs, faux or genuine, check your manufacturer’s cleaning instructions to see what they recommend.

Future prevention

Regular cleaning your gaming chair with a damp cloth or any of your preferred cleaning methods will help prevent having to follow this guide so often. Make sure your leather chairs avoid direct sunlight as this dehydrates them at an increased rate making it more crucial to moisturize them. To avoid stains in general, be cautious of what you have near your gaming chairs. While water stains and other stubborn stains may be difficult to counter, you can prevent dirt and dust by keeping the rest of your area clean. Other than that, there isn’t much else in the way of a step-by-step guide on ‘how to clean a gaming chair’.