10 Common Office Chair Problems: How to Fix Them Yourself?

Does your office chair keep sinking?

Are the casters full of hair that they can hardly move?

Does your office chair keep making a popping noise?

It seems that your office chair always runs into problems. And it might feel like a hopeless case.

You’re not the only one!

Office chairs go through a lot every day, it’s no wonder problems appear here and there.

Good news!

You don’t need to replace it or call the professionals. You can repair them yourself.

Here, we’re going to show you how to fix 10 common office chair problems.

This is your one-stop article to solve any common office chair problem.

So let’s get to it!

1. Office Chairs That Keep Sinking

We can’t think of a more common problem than a sinking office chair.

You adjust it to the right height only for it to sink to its lowest level once you sit on it.

Why does this happen? The shaft, the one that lifts and lowers the office chair, has lost its pressure. It can no longer hold your weight up.

You can fix this problem in 3 ways.

1. Restore the shaft: this is the least effective solution. Still, it’s the easiest and worth a try. All you need to do is remove the base and spray the shaft with WD-40 .
2. Replace the shaft: this might sound like a scary thing to do yourself, but it’s actually easy. You’ll need to know how to remove the old shaft and place the new one, though. Click here to learn how to do that.
3. Block the shaft: this approach is to put a sort of blockage so that your office chair can’t sink anymore. You can place a poly insert coupling or anything similar over the shaft. Bear in mind, you won’t be able to lower your office chair with this.

So this is how to fix a sinking office chair problem. If you want to read more about it, click here.

2. Office Chairs That Don’t Sink

Funny enough, your office chair refusing to sink is another common problem.

Talk about total opposites!

Why does this happen?

3 reasons: you’re too light, the lever is too loose or the shaft is faulty.

Whatever the cause, there’s a way to fix it.

1. You’re too light. This is super simple to solve. All you need is a heavier weight. Try bouncing on the chair or let a heavier person sit on it for you.
2. The lever is too loose. To fix this, you’ll need to get into the shaft’s housing. Remove the seat, trace the shaft’s lever, and tighten its screw. Once tightened, the lever pushes down hard enough to activate the shaft.
3. The shaft is faulty. You can either try to restore it with WD-40 or replace the shaft.

If you want to read more about this common problem, click here.

3. Office Chairs That Won’t Recline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=37&v=7lRkw-LwwVc

One of the best features of an office chair is its recline.

It provides relaxation during those short breaks.

Unfortunately, it’s also one of the first to run into some issues after some time. This makes “my office chair won’t recline” complain a very common problem.

Why does this happen?

Either the adjustable tension knob is too tight. The recline knob is not in its proper position. Or, the recliner spring is dislodged or broken.

Here’s how to fix each problem yourself.

1. Loosen the adjustable tension knob. If the knob is tight, that tenses the recliner spring, holding the backrest in one position. If you turn the knob counterclockwise, that’ll loosen the springs, making it reclinable.
2. Position the recline knob. To do that, you’ll need to open up the shaft’s housing and trace the recline knob. If the recline knob’s pin is dislodged, you can position it back by hand or a screwdriver . This will reconnect it to the recliner spring.
3. Position or replace the recliner spring. If the recliner spring is dislodged, push it back in place. If it’s broken, you’ll need to replace it.

For more information on this, click here.

4. Office Chairs That Lean Forward

What if the problem is that your office chair keeps leaning forward?

We know how uncomfortable and distracting this is. Not to mention, bad posture, backaches, and zero blood flow in the legs.

Why does this happen? It all has to do with the forward tilt knob.

Now, there are 3 causes and 3 solutions.

1. The forward tilt knob is too loose. To tighten, simply turn the knob clockwise.
2. The forward tilt knob is stuck. To free it, you’ll need to clean the whole mechanism with WD-40. This requires you to get inside the shaft housing to remove all dirt, grease, and rust.
3. The forward tilt knob is dislodged or broken. If you keep on turning the forward tilt knob to tighten it but nothing is happening, the pin is dislodged or broken. Open up the shaft’s housing and either place the pin back if dislodged or replace it if broken.

Do you want to learn more about this problem? Then click here.

5. Office Chairs That Lean to One Side

The problems keep coming…

This time, your office chair leans to one side.

Such an awkward position to be in.

Why does this happen?

For one, the tilt pins and mounts can bend or break when carrying weight for too long. Another reason is that the tilt mechanism rusted, weakened, and then cracked overtime.

How do you fix it?

1. Replace any pins or mounts that have bent or broke.
2. For a cracked tilt mechanism, you can weld it back together. If you’re not experienced with welding, then the next best thing is to replace it.

To read more about it, click here.

6. Office Chairs That Make a Noise

Do you know what we find so frustrating?

When you’re trying to not disturb anyone, but your office chair insists on making a popping noise.

So much for keeping quiet!

Why does this happen and how can you fix it?

The noise comes from worn-out bearings and washers at the bottom of the shaft. It’s no wonder since these take most of the impact.

To remove the noise, all you need to do is clean and lubricate the shaft, the bearings, and the washers.

This should do the trick.

Use WD-40 to clean the shaft. Make sure you remove all the grease and dirt in every corner and crack. Do the same with the bearings and washers.

Grease it after to restore the worn-outness. You can use Lucas Oil Heavy-Duty Grease for this.

Want to learn more? Click here.

7. Office Chairs That Keep Losing Their Casters

Now, let’s move on to the common office chair problems that deal with the casters.

There’s a lot.

Casters falling off is a common problem for office chairs that rely on an inserted pin to keep the casters in.

If the pin’s hold on the socket loosens, the casters will wobble when you move around. Also, it’ll fall off whenever you lift your office chair.

Nobody wants that.

There are 2 easy solutions for this.

1. Stick a piece of paper in with the pin. This will tighten the fit, securing the casters’ pin to the office chair’s leg socket. You can also use duct tape  or a piece of rubber.
2. Glue the caster on. Apply super glue  on the caster’s pin before placing it back in the socket. Bear in mind, you might damage the caster if ever you need to remove it.

To learn more, click here.

8. Office Chair Casters That Are Full of Hair

Are you having a hard time moving your office chair around?

Or worse, do the wheels not budge at all?

Why does this happen? It’s almost certainly because there’s too much hair caught on the wheels.

This is so common, we won’t be surprised if it happens to every office chair owner.

The solution is easy enough – remove the hair.

If you try plucking it out with your hands, you’ll soon discover that’s a difficult and not very effective way.

Here are the 3 easiest ways to get that done.

1. Use tools to remove the hair. You can cut the hair into sections with a clipper . From there, use a tweezer  or duct tape  to pluck the hair out from the wheels.
2. Disassemble the caster. This will allow you to remove every bit of hair, even the ones stuck in the corners and cracks.
3. Replace the casters. The rollerblade casters are great replacements because it hardly catches any hair. It’s also super easy to replace.

If you want more details on each solution, click here.

9. Office Chairs That Keep Rolling

Imagine this.

You’re sitting in your office chair hard at work on your desk…

Suddenly, your office chair rolls away.

This is a very distracting problem that happens more often than you think.

Why does this happen? If the floor slants, if the floor is too shiny, or if the casters’ wheels are big.

There are several ways you can fix this rolling problem.

1. Remove the casters. Click here to see how to remove any type of office chair caster. You won’t be able to move your office chair around anymore, though.
2. Place an area rug. A good area rug is one that has fibers or grooves to keep the wheels in place. Click here for available area rugs.
3. Put a stopper. You can put anything to stop the wheels from rolling. A sort of coaster is a good idea. You can go full DIY on this or buy one that’s already made.
4. Replace it with casters that have locks. This will allow you to lock the wheels in place when you need to stay put and release the lock when you need to move around. Click here for a selection of available locking casters.

To learn more about this problem and solution, click here.

10. Office Chair Casters That Damage Your Hardwood Floor

Do you want to preserve the beauty of your hardwood floor?

Of course, you do!

Unfortunately, office chair casters can leave scratches and scuffs on it.

Why does this happen? The floor is full of dirt and debris that the casters can drag along across the floor. Another reason is that hard casters put too much impact on the hardwood.

How can you avoid those?

1. Sweep or vacuum the floor. Something as simple as this can help you protect your hardwood floor from scratches.
2. Put duct tape around the circumference of the caster. What this does is that it lessens the impact of the wheels on the floor, avoiding scuffing.
3. Place an area rug. This protects the floor from the wheels.
4. Use rollerblade casters. These casters are softer and have less sharp edges. It won’t do much harm rolling around your hardwood floor. Click here for a selection of available rollerblade casters.

If you want more details on the solutions, click here.

Conclusion

So these are the 10 common office chair problems and how to fix them yourself.

What problem is your office chair experiencing?

Now that you know the solutions, you don’t have to worry every time one of these problems comes up.

You’ll know what to do.