At any point, you may notice that the wheels of your office chair are no longer moving smoothly over the floor. That could be due to the debris lodged in them. If the wheels are clogged with debris, especially hair, they may not move smoothly.
Over time, debris such as dirt, pebbles and hair build up in the office chair wheels. So, to get the wheels functioning properly again, you’ll have to clean out the wheels thoroughly. To ensure you get everything, you need to clean the outer and the inner part of the wheels.
In this article, we’ll show you how to remove hair from office chair wheels in a few simple steps. Here are the steps:
- Cover the Work Area Floor
- Remove the Wheels
- Remove Larger, Visible Debris With Your Fingers
- Remove Stuck Debris With Tools
- Use Some Duct Tape to Remove Hair And Smaller Debris
- Use a Vacuum Cleaner to Access Much Smaller Debris
- Use a Blowtorch
- Clean the Outside of the Wheels With a Scrub Brush
- Soak the Wheel in a Mixture of Soap and Water
- Dry the Wheels With a Clean Rag and Reattach Them
- Lubricate the Wheels
- Replace the Castors
This guide lists and explains the entire process of removing hair from office chair wheels. It covers how to use duct tape, a vacuum cleaner, and a blowtorch for this activity.
12 Steps to Removing Hair From Office Chair Wheels
If you don’t want to keep dragging your office chair around, removing the hairs trapped in the wheels is a good place to start. When you don’t clean your office chair wheels for a long time, the wheels will become useless, it will reduce the chair’s functionality, and you may even injure yourself lugging it around.
So, if you want to clean the chair, this guide is a step by step process on the most effective way to get it done.
1. Cover The Work Area Floor
Before cleaning the wheel, you’ll have to ensure you have a way of protecting the floor or the area you’ll be using to clean so that you won’t have to clean up the place after cleaning the wheels.
The most convenient way to do this is to lay a plastic sheet underneath the office chair before you get to work. However, if you’re cleaning in the workshop and don’t have to protect the floor, you don’t have to bother with the sheet. You can always clean away.
2. Remove The Wheels
After you prepare your work area, you’ll need to remove the wheel. You can’t remove hair from inside a wheel without removing the wheel. So, flip the chair and remove the wheel. It will be much easier to work on an office chair if you turn it around.
If you flip the chair over, you’ll have easier access to the wheels to do your work. After you’ve flipped the chair, go ahead and remove the wheels. Some wheels you can remove with your hands, but for others, you’ll have to use a wrench or a screwdriver to remove the wheels.
If the model of your chair doesn’t allow you to remove the wheels, remove the base of the chair or the legs so you can have easier access to the wheels. It’ll be difficult for you to remove the wheels if they are still attached to the main body of the chair.
3. Remove Larger Visible Debris With Your Fingers
When you turn the chair, you’ll find smaller visible debris or some trapped hair that you can easily remove with your fingers. Remove them carefully; if you’re not careful, you may get your fingers caught in the wheel and injure yourself.
You can remove only the larger, more visible chunks of hair with your hands. Pull them out, but if it’s stuck, you’ll have to use a knife or other tools to remove them.
4. Remove Stuck Debris With A Knife
Suppose there is any hair or other debris that you can’t remove with your fingers, use some other household tools to remove it. The most reliable tool for this is a kitchen knife, preferably a butcher knife.
You can use the knife to scrap out the clumps of hair, and it can reach the out-of-reach places that your fingers won’t reach. It will easily fit between the groves. But be careful so that you don’t gouge the plastic. If you do, the chair wheels may not be able to roll around as easily.
In place of a knife, you can also use a pair of tweezers, scissors, nail clippers, or bottle cutters.
You should have at least one of these tools, and you can easily pick it up and use it to remove the debris. You can also try a screwdriver if the other tools aren’t available or don’t work. Be careful, though, all these tools are sharp, and if you’re not careful, you can injure yourself with them.
5. Use Duct Tape To Remove Hair And Smaller Debris
You can use duct tape to remove hair and debris from your wheel. The duct tape will not remove stuck hair, and it’s only to pick up hair that you’ve already removed but can’t get out of the wheel.
So, cut a strip of duct tape, not too large, just enough that it can fit into the wheel. Fold it so that the sticky strip is outside. Roll the duct tape into a small ball that can fit into the wheel.
Pat the hair and dirt with the duct tape so that the smaller bits of debris and hair catch onto the tape. After the dirt and hair have caught on the tape, take it out and discard it. Of course, if the duct tape is covered with dirt, you can discard it and get a new strip. Roll as many strips as you need to clean up the dirt.
6. Use A Vacuum Cleaner To Access Much Smaller Debris
Using a vacuum cleaner is one of the lesser-explored ways of getting hair out of your chair wheels. But, the goal is to get the hair out of your wheels, so you can use as many materials as possible to get the desired effect.
If using the knife and the duct tape does not get you the desired results, you can use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the smaller debris. Unfortunately, most vacuum cleaners are not strong enough to remove hairs that are very tangled.
Use a smaller vacuum cleaner attachment for easier access to the wheel. But you can use it to clean up after you’ve removed the hair. It can also suck up smaller hair pieces. A bigger attachment will not be very effective. Instead, use the more effective method.
7. Use A Blowtorch
Well, if you’ve exhausted your options for fighting the hair in your wheel, don’t fret; there’s one other thing you can do. It may feel like an extreme, but it’s a very effective measure to eliminate the hair on your wheels. Use a blowtorch or any other source of fire to burn the hair.
However, I’ll recommend that you use a blowtorch instead. This is because hair does not do well with fire, and once you expose the hair to fire, it will fade up instantly. But if you don’t have a blowtorch, you can use a cigarette lighter.
The intensity of a blowtorch will quickly melt down the hairs but won’t affect the plastic wheels. But a cigarette lighter burns slowly, so there is a definite hazard. You may end up burning your chair wheels.
If possible, take the chair outside to be on the safe side. But make sure you don’t put the chair near any flammable materials that fire can damage. For example, please don’t put it near a newspaper or on a rug.
Make sure you remove all the ashes and burnt hair from the wheels. If that completely removes the hair, pour warm water on the wheels, preferably using a hose. Using a tap or even a container will suffice if you can’t find a hose.
8. Clean The Outer Part Of The Chair Wheel With A Scrub Brush
Get a very strong scrub brush and use it to clean the outer part of the wheel. Soak the brush lightly in some soapy water. You only have to do that if the office chair wheels are dirty. If they’re not dirty, you can move on without cleaning them.
But, if they’re dirty, you have to clean them too.
9. Soak The Wheels In A Mixture Of Soap And Water
After you wash the wheels, soak them in soapy water and leave them in the water for at least 10 minutes. If your wheels are dirty, you can continue scrubbing them with a strong brush while they soak.
However, cleaning the wheel’s outer part is better before soaking it. And if it is clean enough from the initial scrubbing, you won’t have to soak it in water.
10. Dry The Wheels With A Clean Rag
When you finish cleaning and soaking the wheels, let them dry before moving to the next step. The moisture may attract additional hair and debris if you don’t allow the wheels to dry thoroughly.
Also, if you attach the wheels while they’re still wet, they won’t roll properly. So make sure all the moisture gets out of the wheels. So, you can dry the wheels with a clean rag or let the wheel air-dry for some time.
11. Lubricate The Wheels
After you clean the ash and the water from the wheels, you have to lubricate the metal parts of the wheels so that they won’t rustle when you reattach them. Coat the wheels with a generous amount of lubricant.
Coat the wheels’ metal and plastic parts for optimum rotation and movement. But be careful not to get any of the lubricant on the part of the wheel that rolls on the floor. If you lubricate that part of the wheel, it will get the lubricant all over the floor, and you’ll have the additional task of cleaning it.
If you cannot lubricate the crack in the wheel’s wheel, then use a lubricant with a long nozzle for application.
12. Replace The Castors
Finally, if you think it’s impossible to remove all the hairs from the wheel, you should consider getting a new castor. If your old one is not functioning anymore, you can get another one. You can order another one and even install it yourself.
There’s a simple way to replace the chair castor if you can’t fix the one you already have or want to install a new one.
- Flip the chair so that the legs of the chair are in the air. That way, it will be easier for you to access the legs of the chair and do your work.
- Next, remove the threaded castor. To do that, twist it in a clockwise direction.
- Next, uninstall the grim castor. To do that, apply lubricant to the point where the chair base meets the wheel and pull away with force.
- If the lubricant doesn’t work, use a screwdriver and pry away at the base.
- Once you remove the castor, measure the size of the stem. (The stem is the part of the castor that connects with the base of the chair)
- If you have hardwood floors, it’s best to get hardwood Castors and get carpet castors for carpet floors. It’s essential to get the appropriate castors, especially if your chair will be rolling on the surfaces.
- Install the new threaded castors, and keep turning the new castors until they don’t turn anymore. If it stops turning, don’t push further, as that can damage the castors.
- If you have a grip castor, push the castor in until it snaps into place. If there is any resistance, apply some more lubricant before you continue.
- You should also know that if you clean out the wheels more often, they won’t become too clogged with dirt and hair, making cleaning easier.
Conclusion
If there is a lot of hair in your office chair, it will not be good across surfaces with ease anymore. However, another way to make cleaning easier is to clean the office chair wheels before they become too clogged with hair.
Also, if you use harmful tools like a knife, a blower, or a cigarette lighter to clean out the wheels, be cautious so that you don’t compromise your safety and that of your neighbors, co-workers, or family.
Also, some people find that removing hairs from office chair wheels is a little tricky, so they prefer to pay professionals. But if you’d rather do it yourself. Then, the guide above should be very helpful.
