How to Stop a Chair from Squeaking

There is little in the world more annoying than a squeaky chair that you cannot fix. The constant squeaks can be enough to drive you insane, It’s best if we learn how to avoid all of this. We will cover the reasons as to why you may have a squeaky office chair and how to stop a chair from squeaking.

Why does a chair squeak?

There is a multitude of reasons as to why a chair may start making a squeaking sound but first, it is important you learn to tell the difference between a squeak noise and other natural noises an office chair can produce.

If your office chair is made out of a type of fake or genuine leather, then noises are to be expected whenever the material stretches or is moved. The same rule applies to other materials and even when you lean back in your chair or sit on it. Office chairs are not completely silent and this cannot be helped.

Once you have disclosed whether it is indeed a squeaking noise or not, you may start wondering what causes such a noise. Different types of chairs will have different reasons, which we will discuss now.

Wooden chairs

Armchairs

Having sturdier legs and connections than a wooden chair, armchairs squeak less in terms of items being loose. However, that doesn’t stop them from being a tad more complicated. It’s best to check for loose nuts or screws on the legs and other places and tighten them.

Office and gaming chairs

Being the most complicated out of the three, and also most likely to make noises, it is common they squeak as they have so many moving parts such as:

• Reclining features
• Adjustable height
• Adjustable armrests
• Tilt features
• Swivel mechanics and wheels

All of these items combined can make an awful lot of noise, so make sure to be lenient as the noise you’re hearing may just be natural to the chair and unavoidable. It could still be a matter of screws or a loose bolt, but the issue may be deeper rooted than that.

How to put an end to squeaking sounds

Locate the source of the sound

Using the previous information, make sure you have located the source of the squeaking noises and have also decided if you want to repair this at home or send it to the manufacturer. If you’re taking it into your own hands then carry on. and good luck.

Get prepared

To make sure this goes smoothly, make sure you have everything needed before you start dismantling or repairing anything. To start your preparation, reposition the chair, turn the chair upside down, so that it is comfortable to work on and that you have sufficient access to all parts of it. If you are working on a gaming chair then it may be worth dismantling it to a certain degree so that it is more manageable to work with.

After this, get all tools and anything similar that you may need. If you are tightening screws, nuts, or bolts then the required tools will be needed. However, if you are replacing them instead you will obviously need…the replacements. If you’re working on a wooden chair or something is broken make sure you can access glue and heavy-duty adhesives when you need to. Lubricating oil is needed for any office or gaming chairs, light machine oil or WD-40 is also acceptable.

Service the metal parts

If your chair has any metal parts, give them all a quick look to make sure they aren’t rusted. If they are not rusted but are covered in dust, dirt or debris make sure to wipe them with a wet rag. If rusted, you can remove this with a steel wool brush or soak them in vinegar. A better alternative to this would be to replace them as it is a longer-term solution.

Special attention should be paid to gaming chairs as their mechanisms have more small parts that may become rusted, this includes but is not limited to the wheel swivels, height adjustment mechanisms, and the reclining mechanisms/tilt mechanisms.

Service the moving parts

For gaming chairs, spray any moving parts with a lubricating agent to fight against rust and clean the parts as well as lubricate them. If you are going to lubricate rusty bolts make sure to dry them off with a soft cotton cloth or something similar before you drive them back into a wooden chair as this will act as a preventative measure against rust in the future. You cannot use too much lubricating oil here, especially in places such as the seat tension turn knob and seat tension spring. Any tension spring may also want to be looked at as they are likely to get rusted so apply lubricating oil thoroughly.

Tighten everything

After you have decided to apply oil wherever necessary, it is time to tighten everything that may need to be tightened. This is a bit tedious but make sure to tighten loose joints, loose screws, loosened legs, or anything that requires it. Using a correctly sized screwdriver or drill with a bolt bit, make sure to thoroughly secure the screws completely alongside everything else. if something looks as if it is going in incorrectly then simply loosen it until the part comes out, and then try again. The same rule applies to replacing parts, loosen them until they come free, and put your replacement in there instead.

Future prevention

To prevent anything like this from happening in the future there are a few preventative measures you can take. Some are more simple but others consist of things that people never talk about.

Treat your chair carefully

While obvious, make sure you do not throw yourself into the chair or use it too roughly, leaning back on two legs instead of four also loosens the bolts a lot so be mindful not to do that. Being irresponsible can also damage any moving mechanisms on office and gaming chairs.

Sit in your seat properly

A large cause of the damage is people sitting incorrectly. While it sounds insane, some people do sit in their chairs in a different way than intended. If properly adjusted to your preferences then the weight is quite even, however, if you have to lean too far forward then you can loosen and damage connections all over the chair.

Regularly apply oil

Oil and other lubricants help maintain your chairs and their components. So periodically spray oil wherever necessary to prevent rusting or further damage. Rusted parts are best to be replaced and then properly look after the replacements. When in doubt, oil. Spray oil wherever you think it is needed, apply the oil thoroughly and spray oil inside any small areas that you cannot reach such as joints and connections.

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