9 Clever Ways To Stop A Swivel Chair From Turning

Helen Skeates
Helen Skeates
20 min read

Do you dislike that your swivel chair continues to rotate even after you let off of the lever? How to prevent a swivel chair from turning is the topic of this article. We’ll also discuss the various approaches’ practical uses and how you can choose which one is right for you.

All You Need To Know About Swivel Chairs

Is the concept of a swivel chair familiar to you? You’ll find the most complete and helpful answer to your query right here in this article about swivel chairs.

Definition

A swivel chair allows the user to change their position in the chair’s seat without having to move their legs. Office space can be easily navigated on a swivel chair equipped with wheels.

This type of chair, which is also known as an office chair, is ubiquitous in today’s workplaces. It is common for office swivel chairs and computer chairs to have a gas lift that allows the user to adjust the height of the seat.

Where to use it?

Living room

The living room is one of the best possible locations for a swivel chair, as most would agree. A swivel chair is an excellent option for a living room chair since it can transform the space into several comfortable conversation areas.

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Traditional living rooms with a relaxed, rustic aesthetic can benefit from the addition of linen-skirted swivel chairs. Swivel leather armchairs are typical furnishings for man caves. Swivel chairs are convenient in open floor plans since you can easily pivot to face the action.

Bedroom

Bedrooms benefit from having a swivel chair as well. Conceal one in a nook beside the window for a cozy reading spot.

You may create the perfect late-night reading nook for you and your significant other by placing two swivel chairs next to each other in a larger bedroom suite. Seating in the form of swivel slipper chairs is a chic addition to bedroom dressing tables and desks.

Workplace

It’s little wonder swivel chairs are so commonplace in workplaces; their versatility makes them a must-have for people who frequently switch gears.

Outdoor

Swivel chairs are no longer restricted to indoor use. The beautiful swivels we’ve seen in outdoor settings would be a disservice if we left them out. Picture yourself relaxing on a cushioned rattan swivel on your front porch with a cup of coffee in the morning (or a bottle of wine in the evening).

Benefits Of Using Swivel Chairs

Work is easier with swivel chairs

If you spend most of your day meeting with clients or working at a desk, a swivel chair may be the best option for you. The convenience with which a swivel chair may be turned from left to right is one of its most appealing features.

It is appropriate for professionals such as doctors and salespeople to remain seated when interacting with clients and customers on one side of the room. If you want to avoid getting up from your chair every time you want to talk to someone in a small group, a swivel chair is the way to go.

Swivel chairs are convenient because they allow you to get files from a file cabinet and return to your desk without getting up. It’s not necessary for anyone to leave the room for something to be completed.

In the workplace, swivel chairs are a great investment since they encourage continuous movement and attention.

Casual seating at its finest

While accent chairs add style to any space, swivel chairs make people feel more at ease. Instead of using a stationary accent chair in your living room, try a swivel chair.

These padded seats are perfect for a marathon viewing session of your favorite show or film. Because of their effortless motion and complete freedom of movement, these chairs are ideal for unwinding in comfort and style.

You’ll find that swivel chairs come in a wide range of styles, sizes, and fabric options. These one-of-a-kind chairs are a great addition to any home, whether you’re going for a contemporary or traditional design.

Ergonomic and efficient

When sitting in a swivel chair, you may maintain a neutral spine alignment and have the support you need to keep working for hours.

While swivel chairs may initially cost more than other types of office chairs, they really end up saving you money in the long run by reducing the likelihood of health issues including cervical spondylosis, back pain, poor posture, and inadequate blood flow.

Steps on Stopping Swivel Chair From Turning

First, use wedges to stop the chair’s wheels from turning. A temporary barrier between the floor and the chair leg can also be created using books, your foot, or any other suitable object. This is a simple technique, but it requires having an item nearby.

Step 2: Tape it down. Put some tape on the floor and swivel your chair so that it sticks to the tape. If your floors are very slippery, or if you just want something that will get the job done quickly and easily, this is a great option.

Rubber Band Third, loop a rubber band around each leg and secure it in an X formation. This is another effective strategy for dealing with slippery floors, since you can secure your footing and prevent the chair from moving.

Is There a way to Make a Swivel Chair Stationary?

You can stop a swivel chair from turning in a few different ways. One can use something as simple as tape or a rubber band, or they can go all out and drill holes into the underside of their desk to install rings and hooks on either side. Here’s how to put a stop to that swivel chair action in three different ways:

Remove the swivel mechanism and cover it with a little piece of tape. Be cautious about how much you put your weight here, as the adhesive will start to get all over the place as soon as the chair starts to revolve.

Wrap a rubber band around both legs and secure it in an X formation. If you’re not going to be adding too much weight to your chair, this is another option to try.

Put two hooks and rings under the desk, and then drill holes for them. When the loops on either side of the swivel mechanism come into contact with each other, the swivel mechanism immediately stops.

Put glue around the edges of your swivel mechanism to make an unbreakable seal when twisting or pressing down on them forcefully.

Sticky Pads: You may find sticky pads designed for this purpose at any hardware shop or internet vendor (like Amazon). They are packaged in sets that include several sizes to accommodate a wide range of chair models and shapes, making for quick and simple assembly.

Rubber Cement: If you don’t have any sticky pads, rubber cement can be a great alternative to create an unbreakable seal when twisting or pushing down on your swivel mechanism with force.

In the absence of sticky pads, rubber cement can be used to produce a secure seal that will not be broken by even the most vigorous twisting or pressing down on the swivel mechanism.

Is There a way to Stop an Office Chair From Spinning?

You can never sit still on an office chair. Is there any way to keep a swivel chair from turning in a conference or when working at a desk? Sticky pads, heavy items, and rubber cement are just some of the tools at your disposal. The important thing is to zero down on what serves you best.

One device that can always be relied on to keep an office chair from spinning is a set of sticky pads. Not only does this do-it-yourself solution guarantee exceptional durability, but it also comes in a range of sizes to accommodate a wide variety of chair models and shapes.

Simply adhere circular pieces of adhesive foam to the top of the spinning mechanism and the bottom of the chair where the seat rests.

If you need to use something heavy, make sure it weights at least two pounds more than your chair! It will be easier to maneuver around the object if it is close to where you stand, so place it on the floor near where you stand when working or arrange it on the ground such that it acts as an obstacle for how far you can move with swivel motion.

You may stop a spinning office chair from turning by filling any cracks or holes in the base with rubber cement and covering them with newspaper clippings.

Can you Lock Spinning Chairs?

The chair can’t be moved in any direction because of a lock-out mechanism. Here’s what to do if a swivel chair starts to spin, and how to make it stick, in the workplace:

Fit one of your swivel chairs with a stopper so that it won’t spin (this will be the unfavored chair). Make sure it is attached securely enough so that there are no spaces between the metal frame and the seat, but not so firmly that the seat is damaged or pops off when someone sits on it.

Select the most appropriate locking mechanism. It’s common practice for manufacturers to employ safety latch locks, and you may also find self-locking latches that close securely on themselves if you pull back on them.

How to Clean and Maintain

Vacuum Dust and Debris

You should use the wand attachment of your vacuum cleaner to clean your office chair once every few weeks. With any luck, the wand attachment won’t scratch your office chair while sucking up dust and dirt. To clean the chair, back, and armrests, simply switch to the vacuum’s “low suction” setting and run the wand attachment over the fabric.

Vacuuming your office chair on a regular basis will help it last longer, no matter what kind it is. The wand attachment will vacuum up the tough dirt and particles that would otherwise wear out your office chair and hasten its demise.

Look for an Upholstery Tag

Have a look at the upholstery tag on your chair at work if you haven’t previously. Almost all office chairs will have an upholstery tag, although there are always outliers. Manufacturer cleaning instructions are included on this label, sometimes called a care tag or care label. In order to identify the safest and most efficient method of cleaning your office chair, see the upholstery tag.

The upholstery label is typically located behind the seat of an office chair. After you find it, see whether there’s a code on it that allows you to clean it. Office chairs typically include cleaning instructions labeled with a single or double letter that correspond to the most effective method of cleaning the chair’s fabric.

The following is an explanation of the various upholstery cleaning codes and what they mean:

  • The most frequent cleaning code seen on furniture tags is “W,” which indicates that water or a water-based product should be used to clean the chair.
  • If the cleaning code on the upholstery tag is “S,” then a water-free solvent should be used to clean the chair. Manufacturers of chairs upholstered in natural fibers like cotton, wool, or rayon often advise against using water as a cleaning solvent.
  • Office chairs with the W/S cleaning code can be cleaned with either a water-based or solvent-based cleaner, as you might expect.
  • Finally, the X cleaning code indicates that the office chair needs just to be brushed or vacuumed. If your office chair has this cleaning code, you shouldn’t use water or a chemical to clean it.

If your office chair doesn’t have a cleaning tag attached to the upholstery, the owner’s manual should provide instructions. If a chair in the office doesn’t have a tag with care instructions sewn into the fabric, it should have an owner’s manual with the same information.

Spot Clean Using Soap and Warm Water

Cleaning your office chair is as simple as giving it a quick rinse in a bucket of soapy water, unless otherwise specified on the upholstery tag or in the owner’s handbook. Spots and smudges on your office chair can be removed by blotting the affected area with a damp washcloth and a drop or two of liquid soap.

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Cleaning your office chair won’t require any special detergent. Simply wash the dishes with a mild dishwashing liquid. Wash a clean dishcloth in running water, then add a few drops of dish soap. Then, blot the stained area(s) instead of scrubbing them with a sponge or towel. The substances that produce stains can be removed from the fabric by blotting. Scrubbing the stain will only serve to spread the dyes or proteins that caused the stain even further into the fibers of the garment. Remember to blot your desk chair after spot cleaning it.

Test Stain-Removing Products in a Discreet Area

Soap and warm water should be sufficient to remove most surface stains from an office chair, but for deeper stains, you’ll need something stronger. Many of the commercially available stain removal treatments have potent cleaning ingredients. You should do a test on the underside of your office chair before utilizing any of these products.

You shouldn’t just spray the entire seat of your office chair with the stain remover. Instead, try it out in a hidden spot no one is likely to stumble into. The results on your desk chair can be observed in this manner. To see how well a stain remover works, for instance, you might do a test underneath the seat of your office chair. If the product does leave a permanent stain, which we certainly hope doesn’t happen, no one will be able to tell.

It’s important to perform a spot test before using any stain remover on your office chair, whether it’s something you bought at the shop or something more natural like vinegar. You can move on to another area of your office chair as long as the product doesn’t cause any irreparable damage to the fabric.

Apply Conditioner to Leather

To keep your leather office chair from cracking and drying out, condition it once every few months. Full grain leather, rectified grain leather, and split leather are all examples of the many types of leather available. The greatest quality leather is full grain, and the next best is rectified grain. However, the porous nature of all natural leathers means that they absorb and retain moisture.

Natural leather has millions of microscopic pores. These openings, or pores, are what maintain the leather’s moisture level. Office chairs made of leather are notoriously difficult to dry off because moisture readily absorbs into the material from the surface. But eventually the pores will dry out from lack of moisture. The leather may eventually peel or even split if the problem is not fixed.

Applying a leather conditioner to your office chair will keep it safe from spills and stains. Mink oil and saddle soap are two examples of leather conditioners used to replenish lost moisture. They help prevent leather from drying out and cracking because of the water and other compounds they contain. Applying a leather conditioner will help keep your office chair’s leather from cracking and drying out.

More advice on taking care of the leather desk chair:

  • If you have a leather office chair, be careful not to spill anything on it.
  • Keep the humidity in your workplace between 40 and 55 percent. Your leather office chair could crack if the relative humidity is below 40%. However, if the percentage is above 55%, it could become overly saturated with water.
  • If you have a leather office chair, you shouldn’t condition it more often than once every few months. If you condition leather too much, you risk oversaturating it with water.
  • A leather protectant may be useful, so keep that in mind. Protectants are intended to create a protective layer over the surface of leather, and should not be mistaken with conditioners.
  • Put your leather office chair away from any heat sources like vents and heaters.

Clean and Lubricate Casters

Cleaning and lubricating the casters of your office chair are necessary to keep the chair in good working order. The wheels on a desk chair are housed in metal or plastic components called casters. The wheels themselves are made of a variety of materials, some of which include plastic, rubber, steel, aluminum, cast iron and polyurethane. In contrast, the actual dwelling units are typically metal constructions.

Cleaning and lubricating the casters of your office chair are necessary to keep the chair in good working order. The wheels on a desk chair are housed in metal or plastic components called casters. The wheels themselves are made of a variety of materials, some of which include plastic, rubber, steel, aluminum, cast iron and polyurethane. In contrast, the actual dwelling units are typically metal constructions.

To ensure that your chair glides easily on the floor at work, you should clean and oil the casters. Wheels of an office chair are housed in metal or plastic components called casters. Wheels can be found in a wide range of materials, from plastic to rubber to steel to aluminum to cast iron to polyurethane. In contrast, the housing units almost always include metal construction.

Apply some WD-40 or other lubrication to the casters of your office chair after you’ve cleaned them properly. You may make your office chair roll more easily by spraying a little lubrication into each housing unit. It’s a good idea to clean and lubricate the casters on your office chair at least once every six months.

Tighten Fasteners

Obviously, you also need to check the bolts on your office chair and make sure they are secure. If you don’t regularly tighten the screws or bolts (or both) on your office chair, it could become unsteady and even fall over. A wobbly chair is the result of a missing or loosened fastening on your office chair.

The location of all fasteners may be found in the user handbook. Some office chairs contain a handful of attachment points, while others have dozens. Find the screws that hold your office chair in place, and then use a screwdriver to secure it.

Turn the screwdriver to the right to tighten a screw. However, if you turn a fastener to the left, you will loosen it. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey is a handy mnemonic for remembering which way to turn a fastener.

Replace Gas Cylinder

Does the moment you lift your office chair off the ground it go back to its original position? If that’s the case, you might want to think about getting a new gas cylinder. Pneumatic lift is commonly generated by a gas cylinder in height-adjustable office chairs. This cylinder contains pressurized nitrogen gas that is used to raise and maintain the raised position of the office chair.

If your office chair’s gas cylinder is leaking or malfunctioning in any other way, you won’t be able to elevate it. Luckily, most gas cylinders are inexpensive and simple to replace. Simply remove the old gas cylinder from your office chair with a screwdriver and replace it with a new one of the same size and kind. Try lifting your desk chair after the new gas cylinder has been inserted to ensure it is functioning properly.

Keep Away From Direct Sunlight

Keep your office chair out of the direct sunshine. Most fabrics and materials, including those used to manufacture office chairs, can deteriorate when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) sunlight. It is not an instantaneous process. However, a chair used for office work may fade and dry out if left in the sun for too long.

If you don’t want your office chair to fade from the sun, you don’t have to shut the blinds all day. Put your desk chair somewhere that will be primarily shaded during the day. The quantity of sunlight that reaches your office chair can also be reduced by partially closing the blinds or drapes. If you follow these guidelines, your office chair will be protected from sun damage and fading for the duration of the workday.

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Replace When Necessary

Your office chair may need to be replaced no matter how often you clean and repair it. One estimate places a chair’s useful life in the office anywhere between seven and fifteen years. If your office chair has seen better days and is beyond repair, it is time to get a new one.

A guarantee is a sign of quality and should be included with any office chair you purchase. Manufacturer will pay for repairs or replacements of defective parts during the warranty term. Always make sure there is a guarantee on the office chair you’re considering buying.

Keep these cleaning and upkeep guidelines in mind after purchasing a new office chair. As a result, you’ll be able to delay its inevitable demise. However, if you take the time to keep your office chair in good condition, you’ll find that it really improves your productivity.

Conclusion

Once only found in offices and cheesy retro hangouts, swivel chairs have made a resurgence in interior design and are now a hot commodity on the internet. Everyone wants one, and we can’t say we don’t want one ourselves.

Because they can be used in a variety of ways, are typically quite comfortable, and can add a touch of class to any room, swivel chairs have quickly risen to the top of the list of customer-preferred furniture choices in the realm of interior design. Since you now know so much about swivel chairs, it’s time to acquire one for yourself.

Helen Skeates

Helen Skeates

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