Office chairs are arguably one of the most important pieces of furniture in an office space.
They allow you to work comfortably for long hours each day.
They also give you extra mobility when you need to move around your office space. This is thanks to the wheels attached to the bottom of these office chairs.
Everything works perfectly well in most conditions…
Unless you have carpeted floors.
If your floors are carpeted and you buy an office chair, you’ll soon find out that carpets and office chairs don’t go well together… they’re simply not friends.
Carpets prevent office chair wheels from smoothly gliding around the floor.
The wheels often get stuck and tug at your carpet when you drag your chair.
This will damage your carpet really quickly.
Are we trying to say that you should never use an office chair on your carpet floors?
Not at all!
Although they don’t work well together as they are, there are some tricks you can do to prevent carpet damage from your office chair.
Keep reading to learn three ways in which you can safely use your office chair on carpet floors without damaging the carpet.
1. Office Chair Mats
The easiest and most convenient way to prevent carpet damage from your office chair is to get an office chair mat.
These are large mats that are made from different types of hard materials. They’re often made from either plastic, wood, or tempered glass.
They’re designed to be placed in between your carpet floor and your office chair.
This allows you to smoothly glide around the mat surface on your office chair without damaging your carpet.
Before you purchase an office chair mat, you’ll first need to know the right mat thickness to get.
This will depend on the carpet you have.
If you have a low pile carpet, you can get a thinner office chair mat. A thick one will be required for high pile carpets.
Chair mats often include a label that tells you what type of carpet they are designed for. This makes it easier for you to pick out a mat that will work for your carpet.
One downside to getting a chair mat is that it will limit the area in which you can drag your office chair around.
You will need to get a very large mat if you move around a lot.
Luckily, office chair mats come in all shapes and sizes. You won’t have to look very far to find one that will work well for you.
Here are a few of our recommendations:
2. Carpet-Safe Wheels
We’re going to be honest here, office chair mats don’t give you the best aesthetics.
And, again, they limit the area in which you can move around on your office chair.
If those two downsides don’t bother you, then, by all means, you should go with an office chair mat for the convenience.
If, however, you want something that looks better and that won’t limit your movement, then you should get carpet-safe wheels instead.
What exactly makes carpet-safe wheels safe for your carpet floors?
Carpet-safe wheels are often larger than normal wheels. This gives them more traction and allows them to roll over your carpet more smoothly.
These wheels will not get stuck on your carpet as you drag your chair around.
Carpet-safe wheels are also usually made from harder materials. Rubber and soft plastics do not work well with carpet at all.
Harder materials such as metal and hard nylon work much better on carpet floors.
The shape of your wheels also matters. The larger the area of your wheels, the better they will work on your carpet.
This is why ball wheels work a lot better than standard two-blade wheels.
Here are a few carpet-safe wheel recommendations we have for you:
3. DIY “invisible” Chair Mat
If you’re someone who likes doing DIY projects, you might want to make yourself an invisible chair mat.
This will take some time and work but the results will be great.
To make this invisible chair mat you will need the following items:
- Carpet offcuts (should be the same as the one you’re using in your office/room)
- MDF board or
- Saw (to cut the board to size)
- Carpet cutter
- Carpet gripper
To start, take your MDF board or plywood and cut it to the size and shape you need.
Then take your carpet offcut and, using your carpet trimmer, cut it to a size that is a bit larger than your MDF board. The idea is to have some of the carpet “overflow” so that it covers the edges of your board.
If you know how to whip the edges of your carpet, you can do so to make it look neater. This isn’t a necessary step, though.
The next step is to attach carpet gripper onto your MDF board. Make sure to cover all the edges of your board.
Then press your carpet offcut on the board and trim off any excess carpet if necessary.
When you’re done, you can lay your new invisible office chair mat on the floor next to your workspace.
And you’re done!
If your invisible mat gets damaged by your office chair, you’ll be confident that the carpet underneath is safe and sound.
Here is a demo video of a similar project. You can use this to get a better idea on how to make your DIY chair mat:
Conclusion
There you have it! Now you don’t need to worry about ripping your carpet apart when you roll your office chair over it.
This is possible when you follow our three methods to protect your carpet from office chair damage.
Just to recap, let’s take a look at the things we’ve just discussed to protect your carpet from your office chair:
- Purchase an office chair mat
- Purchase carpet-safe office chair wheels
- Build yourself a DIY invisible office chair met
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you learned a new skill!
My name is Vance, and I am the owner of To Ergonomics. Our mission is to improve your workflow by helping you create a supportive and welcoming environment. We hope that you’ll find what you’re looking for while you’re here.