Minor repair of a computer chair. eliminating squeaks

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Modern office furniture is so thoughtfully designed that even long hours of work at the computer are comfortable. But sometimes during constant use certain inconveniences arise, for example, creaking. This unbearable sound is not only annoying, but also leads to a decrease in performance. If a similar problem occurs in an office or enterprise, they usually call a specialist, but at home this service is not available to everyone. This article will tell you why computer and office chairs squeak and what to do first. Eliminating trouble with your own hands is not so difficult, and a basic set of tools necessary for all manipulations can be found in every home.

Causes of squeaking

Office furniture has a complex design. In addition to the frame of the back and seat, it has several moving mechanisms. Therefore, it can creak for various reasons. Even a new product sometimes makes strange sounds immediately after purchase, which is often due to improper assembly or poorly tightened screws - this is a common reason for a computer chair to squeak .

There is no need to rush to return the product to the store; the nasty squeak can be eliminated by tightly tightening all the bolts.

Furniture often begins to make annoying sounds even after prolonged use. There may be several reasons why the computer chair began to creak:

• the bolts are loose;
• one of the parts has worn out;
• the swing mechanism has failed;
• gas lift broke down;
• the weld of the piastres burst;
• The grease has dried out.

Most often, an office chair squeaks because the bolts are not tightened properly, or the lubricant on the moving mechanisms has dried out. Sometimes it can make such sounds when a person just sits on it. But more often, a computer chair creaks when rocking or turning. Traditionally, sounds come from under the seat or backrest.

If creaking is heard in the lower part, the gas lift is most likely broken. This is a shock absorber that is needed to ensure that the seat is comfortable and can be raised or lowered. Breakage of an element often occurs among those who sit down abruptly or swing on such furniture. After finding out the main causes of the malfunction, it will not be difficult to understand what to do if the office chair squeaks.

Design Features

Before assembling an office chair, you need to familiarize yourself with its main features.

The main feature of such furniture is the mechanisms installed in it. They are used to manually adjust the angle of the backrest and seat. Some types of chairs have a special swing system that allows you to set the product to any position. With its help, it is possible to adjust not only the angle of inclination, but also the rigidity of the rear backrest swing. Also, office chairs have a gas lift, which is responsible for adjusting the height.

Necessary tools for repair

To repair a computer chair and eliminate unwanted sounds, you will need the following tools:

• screwdrivers - Phillips and straight;
• hexagon;
• pliers;
• hammer;
• special furniture lubricant;
• spare accessories.

Most often, there is no need to change any parts of the chair; they break very rarely. The entire repair will consist of lubricating the mechanism or tightening the bolts. For lubrication, it is best to use WD-40 spray. If you don’t have it at hand, or the product doesn’t help, you can use any oil lubricant or even regular Vaseline.

Sometimes repairs may require thread sealant or PVA construction adhesive.

Operating Instructions

In order to correct a defect that has appeared in the refrigerator, you need to perform a number of actions:

1. Identify the hinges on the door that are squeaking.
2. Lubricate them with a special product prepared for this purpose.
3. Check the door for squeaks by opening and closing it.

Preparation

To work, you need to prepare tools and materials:

• screwdriver;
• Vaseline, mineral oil or paraffin;
• brush, pipette, syringe or cotton swab;
• latex gloves.

You should buy a lubricant in a convenient bottle with a long narrow spout. If it is not there, prepare a lubricant, syringe or pipette, with the help of which it will be easy to deliver the lubricant to its destination.

Remove all food and items stored in the refrigerator door. It is opened and raised on its hinges until it stops. For convenience, it is better to do the work together. If necessary, the door can be completely removed from its hinges. They are cleaned of dust, dirt, old grease using a brush or cloth.

How to apply

Apply a small amount of Vaseline to the joint and distribute it evenly over the entire surface. To do this, use a small flat head screwdriver.

To apply paraffin, warm it up and lubricate problem areas with a brush or cotton swab

Particular attention should be paid to areas that are heavily worn or beginning to corrode.

After lubrication

After the lubricant is applied, remove excess with a cloth that can absorb it. The door is lowered into place or hung if removed from its hinges.

Examination

To check, you need to open and close the refrigerator door several times to make sure there is no creaking. If the procedure did not help and the door still creaks, you should remove it from the hinges and lubricate the hinges more thoroughly so that the lubricant penetrates to the rubbing parts and the amount is sufficient. After this, the door is hung again and tried to open and close. The absence of a squeak indicates that the lubricant has reached the problem areas.

Fixing the defect yourself

After prolonged use, users notice that the chair begins to make grinding noises and other unpleasant sounds. What to do if your computer office chair squeaks depends on the root cause:

1. Most often the problem occurs when bolts are loosened. To correct the situation, you need to turn the chair over and, depending on its model, use a screwdriver or hexagon to tighten all the fasteners until they stop. If some of them scroll, you will need to remove the element, pour sealant or PVA into the hole and quickly screw the bolt back. After this, you cannot turn the chair over, much less use it, until the glue is completely dry.
2. To figure out why the back of an office chair creaks, you need to remove it. This is easy to do: unscrew the screw and, lifting the element up along the guides, pull it out. After this, you will need to remove the plastic trim from the back in the same way. The plywood frame has metal plates secured with bolts. All of them must be checked and screwed well. If necessary, gaskets or sealant can be used. In addition, it is recommended to clean the backrest from dust.
3. Quite often the swing mechanism of an office chair creaks. You can get to it after removing the backrest. At the point where it connects to the seat there is an L-shaped mechanism responsible for tilting. Dust also collects there, so a squeaking sound may be heard when swinging. The mechanism can be easily disassembled by removing it from the case, but it is important to remember the assembly order. After dismantling, it is cleaned of dirt and lubricated. To assemble furniture, all steps are performed in reverse order.
4. A computer chair often creaks due to the drying of the lubricant that covers all the moving parts of such furniture. This substance is short-lived, sometimes it dries out in the warehouse, so even a new product can make a squeaking noise. Therefore, it would be useful for any user to know how to lubricate an office chair so that it does not squeak. For this purpose, you can use any lubricant except grease. It is very convenient to use a special product in a can. It is best to first disassemble the mechanism, wipe it from dust and remnants of old lubricant, and only then apply a new layer of it. You don't have to completely disassemble the chair to do this. If the lubricant is in a can, you just need to spray it on all problem areas. But often this is not enough, since dust and dirt accumulate inside during operation.
5. If the chair squeaks when turning, the problem is in the bearing located at the bottom. Lubricating it is very simple: to do this, you need to turn the chair over, remove the latch and the washer holding the gas lift in the middle of the cross. After this, you can easily pull out the cross, exposing the gas lift mechanism. There is no need to disassemble it anymore, it is better to wipe and lubricate it like this. If the device fails, it must be completely replaced.

The instructions for any office furniture indicate that lubrication and checking of the mechanism, as well as tightening of connecting elements, should be carried out every six months.

Removing the back of the chair

Installing gaskets

Changing bolts

We clean the disassembled elements of the mechanism from dust and dirt, and then lubricate them

How to go through the floor

If you cannot eliminate the squeak using simple methods, it becomes necessary to dismantle the coating.

Dismantling

First you need to remove the baseboards. When needed for reuse, they are removed very carefully.

To determine the location of the nails, carefully pry the baseboard with a pry bar. Then it is recommended to use it to remove the boards

When removing bars, they should be numbered immediately. This will help you lay the boards in the required sequence. Cracked and rotten boards are numbered and set aside.

Cleaning the base

After removing the boards, it is recommended to carefully remove the base. Otherwise, it will not be possible to determine the causes of the creaking. If there are cracks in the concrete base, they need to be widened, cleaned and primed. Damage can be repaired with cement mortar. It is also permissible to use a special putty.

Setting lags by level

It is recommended to set the logs level. They must be located in the same plane. For leveling, a long level measuring 1.5-2 meters is required. If it is necessary to raise the logs, it is permissible to use spacers or special anchors. After aligning the logs in one plane, they are firmly attached to the base.

Insulation and sound insulation

To do this, the floor is covered with waterproofing material. Insulation is placed on top. Its role is played by polystyrene foam or expanded clay. It is also permissible to use mineral wool.

The insulating layer is covered with a membrane, which helps remove moisture and prevents dust or mineral wool lint from entering the home. All coverings are attached to the joists with a stapler and staples.

Installation of new coating

Finally, the old boards are returned to their place. If necessary, some of them are replaced with new ones. The boards are fastened so as to leave some distance between them. The gap should be 8-10 millimeters. It will help maintain the integrity of the coating as the material expands.

Prevention

In order not to search on numerous sites and ask friends what to do if your computer or office chair creaks, it is better to prevent this problem in advance. It is wrong to neglect the rules for operating such furniture, believing that it is made reliably, and if something is wrong, then the manufacturer is to blame .

You need to know how to use chairs with moving parts correctly:

1. They should not be ridden unnecessarily, rocked or tilted too far back. You should also not spin around in your chair like on a carousel.
2. It is important to remember that there are weight limits that such furniture can withstand, so obese people need to choose special, stronger models.

If you don’t sit down in the chair from a running start, don’t swing on it and don’t overload it, you won’t have to think about how to repair it later. In addition, it is very important to regularly lubricate and inspect all mechanisms, tighten bolts and clean dust - then the product will serve for a long time and without failures.

The process of dismantling a part depending on the type of base

If the structure no longer rises and locks in the desired position, it means that the gas lift on the office chair needs to be repaired. You can do this yourself. The algorithm of actions will be almost identical for both plastic and metal bases.

Plastic

Dismantling of the structure, the base of which is plastic, occurs in a certain sequence. If a person is changing a gas cartridge for the first time and does not know how to remove the gas lift from office chairs, he will need an assistant. Instructions:

1. Unscrew the bolts located under the seat. Carefully remove it from the mountings.
2. Stand on the crosspiece and gradually, using rocking movements, pull the chair up by the armrests. Set it aside.
3. Use a rubber hammer to apply several light, precise blows to the body of the structure from the side of the cross - the gas lift should come out of the base gradually.

After this, you need to replace the part and perform the same steps in reverse order.

Unscrew the bolts under the seat

Removing the base

We insert a new gas lift and secure the crosspiece

Metal

The principle of removing a gas spring from a metal base is similar to the previous one. The only difference is that some manufacturers use fragile material in the manufacture of the structure. Therefore, it is recommended to be careful when knocking out the gas lift. The blows should be weak so that the cross does not crack.

In fact, repairing an office chair gas lift with your own hands is a simple process. If you approach the solution to the problem responsibly and study all the nuances, you can repair the furniture yourself and very quickly, rather than spending money on a new product.

Unscrew the bolts and pull the seat towards you

When knocking out the gas lift, be careful, apply weak blows

Ready

How and with what to lubricate gas lift chairs

1. Turn the chair back down.
2. Locate the gas lift column and the latch on the crosspiece on the rear side.
3. Remove the latch, lift the crosspiece and lubricate all elements: washers, bearing, gasket. Most often, creaking appears due to the dryness of the upper washer adjacent to the gas lift column from the inside.
4. If you disassemble the mechanism for more thorough lubrication, be sure to reassemble it in the correct order.
5. In principle, almost anything can be used as a lubricant, except vegetable oil or grease, which is more suitable for massive equipment and vehicles. You can even use hand cream. But it’s best, of course, to lubricate with a special solution like WD-40. Usually the long-awaited silence does not come immediately, but somewhere during the day.