There’s no extent to which a squeaky office chair can annoy you. Truly, no one wants distractions while trying to work in the office. But, no matter how long you have been with it, you can never get accustomed to the annoying sounds of a squeaky office chair. So it’s either you fix it or suffer from the annoyance it’ll cause.
A squeaky chair’s level of distraction gets higher until you fix it. Therefore, it’s high time you learned how to fix a squeaky office chair. Nonetheless, here are a few steps you will need to fix a squeaky office chair:
- Listen for any Squeaks
- Inspect the Chair for Bolts, Nuts, and Screws
- Oil the Mechanisms
- Remove Bolts, Nuts, and Screws to add Lubricants
- Let a Friend Sit in the Chair as you Grease
- Spray the Springs in the Back of the Chair
- Fix Squeaks in the Wheels
- Gently Sit in the Chair
This article carefully examines the circumstance around a squeaky office chair and provides a possible solution to the problem. Here, you will receive a step-by-step guide for fixing the chairs.
Eight Steps To Fixing a Squeaky Office Chair
You need to know where the squeaky sounds come from before you can even think of fixing it. You can’t just fix it when you do not know what causes the squeaks in your office chair. Knowing the cause of the squeak is already halfway to remedying the situation. Chairs don’t begin to squeak because they feel like it starts from somewhere.
Specific areas or parts of an office chair contribute to the squeaky sounds the chair produces. These include the Backrest, Wheels, gas lift mechanism, bolts, and nuts.
This article outlines the steps to fixing a squeaky office chair according to where the squeaky noise comes from. Although the discussion dwells on the areas mentioned earlier, the article doesn’t refer to them in any specific order.
Squeaks from the backrest, wheels, gas lift mechanisms, bolts, nuts, and screws can occur independently. So it means the backrest and wheels can still be okay, but the chair will be squeaky. And on the other hand, the bolts, nuts ànd, screws, and gas lift mechanism all be suitable, and yet, the chair will be squeaky.
However, checking all areas is the best approach to follow because you wouldn’t want to be going back and forth trying to fix a squeaky chair. As we dive into knowing the root cause of a squeaky office chair, there is something you should consider first:
1. Listen For Any Squeaks
You must trace the source of the squeak; only then will you concentrate your effort on the specific parts instead of trying to fix the whole chair. While this may be true, you can’t find the source of any squeaks if you do not care to listen to where the distraction is coming from.
To know or confirm the potential places of squeaks, you must first listen very well to squeaky sounds when sitting in the chair. The easiest way of detecting the source of the squeaks is to let someone sit in the chair while you listen attentively.
After carefully listening to the squeaks, at least you know what to do next. At this stage, you must have known the exact problem that you’re up against. For example, if it’s a wooden office chair, simply position the squeaky chair upside down to access the areas that have issues.
2. Inspect the Chair for Bolts, Nuts, and Screws
If your chair squeaks, whether a year or two years old. You should check the bolts and nuts, and screws very well. Ensure to turn over the chair for a clear view, or you can still lay it on its side. The squeaky and creaky sounds that come from the chair where you sit are not sounds that depict damage.
Instead of presuming that only one thing could be wrong with the chair, fixing every little squeak on the chair is preferable. And basic principles can allow us to fix a squeaky chair very well. For example, if the screws, bolts, and nuts are loose, get a wrench or a screwdriver to tighten them in certain areas.
It will help if you tighten the chair components that do not seem loose. Because you might cause squeaks as time progresses if you do not tighten them more.
There’s no denying that loose screws and bolts are well-known for causing squeaks. When the screws and bolts become loose after some time, they make chair parts periodically rub against each other.
The rubbing of those chair parts together produces a squeaky noise. So ensure always to inspect the nuts, bolts, and screws of your office chairs. However, you will have to check the chair for loose legs, nails, or screws in wooden office chairs. Although wooden office chairs seem old-fashioned, several small offices use them.
Check to know whether or not the chair legs are loose and the chair’s back. You can move them back and forth to see if the chair moves. If there’s any movement, that becomes an issue because there should be no movement.
3. Oil the Mechanisms
Sometimes squeaks occur due to the slight stiffness of the office chair mechanisms when the interaction between the metals is no longer easy due to the rust. Rust on a metal surface could also come as a result of moisture on the surface of the metal. In case you’re wondering where the moisture comes from, it is the atmospheric moisture.
After a while, when the moisture causes the metals to rust, the interaction between the metals becomes uneasy. Also, squeaks emanate as a result of the metals going hard against each other as they rub together.
To this effect, apply a greasing oil on all metal parts, including screws, nuts, and bolts, to enable easy joint movements. Next, spray lubricating oil directly on the chair mechanisms, and rub them dry.
You can also spray lubricating oil on a soft cotton cloth and rub all the oil onto the area where you identified the squeaks. That way, you can have better control over the oil, so it doesn’t move in the wrong direction.
Aside from atmospheric moisture, the moisture from air conditioners causes rust. Therefore, regularly applying oil stops rust from building up.
4. Remove Bolts, Nuts, and Screws to Add Lubricant
If the chair still squeaks after tightening the nuts, bolts, and screws but squeaks continue. It will become necessary to wholly remove the bolts and screws before applying a lubricant.
Fixing squeaky chairs involves your time and attention, so you shouldn’t try to rush it over. But steadily, follow all the steps and take caution too. First, remove all nuts, bolts, and screws and apply freezing oil on them; it should be light engine oil. Then, after greasing, put them back in and watch what’s next.
Nevertheless, when it comes to wooden office chairs, you will have to remove the nails or wooden joint plugs and replace them with new ones. In addition, if the chair seems to have loose hardware, you may have to replace all of them.
But if you don’t feel comfortable removing the hardware that has already been inside, add more nails or bracket hinges to realize a strong standing chair. However, when you add the reinforcement, ensure that the screws or nails are long enough to join the wood.
5. Let A Friend Sit In The Chair As You Grease
To treat the squeaks, have someone sit in the chair when you’re applying the grease. Let the person turn the chair from side to side to see if there are any squeaks. Applying some weight to the chair will make the chair squeak, which gives a better description of what you’re dealing with.
Hence, you can move to apply the oil in the right direction. As you use the oil, let the person in the chair swivel it side by side, so the oil falls in the right spot.
You can also sit in a chair, especially when fixing a wooden office chair. Even without sitting on an old wooden office chair, you can tell that the chair will be squeaky. Still, some wooden chairs prove to be strong yet are squeaky; for such chairs, sitting and leaning your back on the chair to try to move back and forth can reveal whether or not the chair is squeaky.
There shouldn’t be any movement, but if there’s any, you can figure out where the squeaks are coming from. So now you can begin the necessary procedures of fixing the chair.
6. Spray the Springs in the Back of the Chair
Fixing a squeaky chair requires attention because squeaks occur at different chair parts. There’s no specific part that treats chair squeaks. A chair may also squeak when you work, get tired, and lean back. The squeak here is due to the high tension at the joint between the spring’s end and housing ends.
To fix the squeaks here, you will have to apply lubricating oil to the tension spring of the chair. You can find the tension spring inside the turn-knob housing. Start with loosening the tension turn-knob of the seat and remove the turn-knob to apply oil inside the housing.
You will have to apply glue to the loose joints in wooden chairs. Applying the glue to the joints stabilizes loose legs. You can buy many reliable wood glue products to carry out the repairs.
When you flip the chair over and apply glue to the joint of the chair’s loose legs, allow it to dry very well before turning it back again. Use a rag to clean off any unwanted glue that escapes the joints. Adding wood filler to the bond can formulate a thicker wood glue. Thicker wood glue can help significantly in stabilizing shaky chair legs.
Nevertheless, the glue may not satisfy some rickety chairs. So, for every chair with loose legs that require more than glue, take out the legs completely. Taking out the legs will give you a better way to use a wood-swelling liquid. Sometimes, dowels can reduce in size, resulting in loose chair parts.
Applying a wood-swelling liquid to the dowel makes the dowel fit stronger and better in the chair, causing the chair to be stable and not squeaky.
7. Fix Squeaks in the Wheels
The wheels are another place where squeaky noise can come from. The noise from the wheels occurs frequently, and it’s unbearable. Therefore, you have to check out the wheel as well.
Move the chair back and forth to roll the chair wheels and check how they are fairing. Often, the wheels on most office chairs move a lot in any direction without restrictions. The frequent movement of the wheels causes friction tending to rub and tear at the joint.
Because of the frequent rubbing, squeaky sounds are born, so it would help if you applied some silicone spray on the axles on the wheels. After spraying silicone on the wheels, flip over the chair and swing the chair to help circulate the silicone throughout the whole reel.
8. Gently Sit in the Chair
Falling into a chair will result in the chair becoming squeaking; it can even cause it to sink if the fall is too hard. In addition, chairs experience a series of wear and tear; therefore, you should always sit gently to prevent the loosening joints.
Gently sitting in a chair is the first step to avoiding chair squeaks. If you’re cautious about your chair, not only will it prevent squeaks, but it will last longer than I had imagined.
Just like sitting gently in the chair helps prevent squeaks, you will also need to sit gently after fixing the squeaks. When you collapse on an office chair a few moments after it’s been fixed, the chair will likely go back to being squeaky. So endeavor to sit gently after the fixup for at least a day before you start to sit as you please.
Final Thoughts
Squeaky chairs are not that terrible, and even though their noise gets unbearable, they are just the result of stress and friction. Notwithstanding, fixing them involves nothing less than identifying the parts that cause squeaks and applying lubricating oil there. That way, the chairs stay calm, at least for a longer time.
Well, I hope that you’ve found this article helpful and that you’ve been able to fix your squeaky chair. Remember that following these steps, tricks, and tips will create the best results.
