If you are being driven insane at home or in the office by the sound of a squeaky chair, then we can feel your pain.
Squeaky chairs are not only annoying to the person sitting on the chair, but anyone else that also happens to be around them.
They are especially annoying if you are trying to get work done, but keep getting distracted by the squeaking of your chair.
Thankfully, the annoying squeaking sound that your chair is producing can often be fixed by following some simple methods.
Squeaking does not always have to lead to a purchase of a brand new chair, and you can save yourself some money by diagnosing the problem and fixing it.
In this article, we are going to tell you everything that you need to know about fixing a squeaky chair, so you can get back to working in peace without being disrupted everytime you move in your seat. Just keep reading to find out more.
Oiling Metal Parts
The first thing that you will need to do is to check all of the nuts, bolts, and screws on your chair. You should turn the chair over and look at all of the hardware to try and find what is causing the problem.
It is often helpful to get a screwdriver or a wrench, depending on the tool you need, and tighten anything that may have come loose. It is also beneficial to try and tighten those that don’t appear loose.
Over time, it is really easy for screws and bolts to become loose, which can then lead to certain parts of the chair rubbing together irregularly and creating a squeaky noise.
The next thing that you should do is grease the mechanisms by applying a lubricating oil to all of the nuts, screws, and bolts to help loosen them.
You simply need to spray the oil directly onto the chair mechanisms and then pat them dry.
You could also spray the oil onto a soft cotton cloth and rub the oil into any problem areas. This will give you more control over where the oil goes.
However, you should keep in mind that regularly applying oil can lead to rusting of metal parts, so make sure that you don’t do this too often.
It can also sometimes be helpful to remove the bolts and screws before adding any lubricant.
So, if your chair is still squeaking after simply spraying the oil on the mechanisms, then try removing the screws and bolts, oiling them up, and putting them back in again.
Something else that you can try is getting someone to sit on the chair as you apply the oil, as this will help you to locate the area in which the chair is squeaking.
Applying weight to the chair will make it squeak, which will help you to identify the problem area, so you will know where to focus your efforts.
Once you have applied the oil, give it a minute and get your friend to move around on the chair to find out if the squeaking has stopped.
If your chair is only squeaking when you lean back on it, then you might have an issue with the springs in the back of the chair.
This is usually caused by too much tension, and the springs will end up rubbing on the housing ends.
To fix this, you will need to apply oil to the seat tension spring, which can be located inside the turn-knob housing. Just loosen the seat tension turn-knob and remove it. Then, spray oil inside of the housing.
Now, roll the chair back and forth to find out if you have any issues with the wheels.
Desk chairs that have wheels will move a lot, so it is common for the axels in the wheels to need some silicon spray over time.
To fix this, turn the chair over and spray the wheels. Now, flip the chair back over and roll it around to spread the silicon around the whole wheel.
Make sure that when you sit down on your chair, you are doing so gently.
Collapsing into the chair will eventually cause it to squeak over time because general wear and tear can loosen up joints.
Be cautious when you sit down to avoid this happening sooner rather than later.
Fixing Wooden Chairs
If you are trying to fix a wooden chair, you should first check it for loose legs, screws, or nails.
Check how loose the legs are by pushing and pulling them back and forth to determine if there is any movement. They shouldn’t move at all, so if they do, this is a problem.
Put your chair upside down and ensure that all of the screws are tight. You can go in with a screwdriver or wrench and check every screw.
Even if they don’t appear loose they still can be sometimes, so it is worth double-checking.
You can also apply glue to any loose joints. Just push wood glue into the joint and allow it sufficient time to dry completely before you flip the chair back over again.
Be sure to wipe away any excess glue that comes out of the joint with a wet rag.
You can also expand the dowels with wood-swelling liquids for any loose legs that seem to need more than just a bit of glue.
Sometimes, dowels can shrink, causing chair parts to come loose. You should remove the chair leg completely and use a wood-swelling liquid, which will allow the dowel to become securely fixed into the chair again.
The final thing that you should try is to replace any nails or wooden joint plugs that are no longer fit for purpose.
If the hardware of the chair is no longer any good, then you can simply replace them with new ones.
You don’t even have to completely remove the existing hardware if you don’t want to, you could simply add reinforcement with more nails or bracket hinges.
