Office Chair Maintenance: Simple Habits That Extend the Life of Your Seating

Most offices treat chairs as buy-and-forget. But the same BIFMA-tested chair can last years longer, or fail early, almost entirely depending on basic maintenance that most facilities teams simply never schedule.

The mechanism fails before the upholstery does

Gas lifts, tilt-tension knobs and recline mechanisms are almost always the first point of failure — not the fabric. A chair that looks fine can already be a few months from a sinking gas lift if the mechanism has never been checked.

• Check tilt-tension and recline lock periodically for looseness rather than waiting for a complaint
• Keep casters free of carpet fibre and dust buildup, which strains the wheel mechanism over time
• Avoid repeatedly leaning at the extreme edge of the recline range — it's the single hardest load the mechanism sees
• Periodically tighten visible bolts on armrests and base plates, which loosen naturally with vibration and daily use

Cleaning without damaging upholstery or mesh

Mesh and fabric need different care — mild, water-based cleaning agents work for both, but harsh solvents degrade foam density and fabric coatings far faster than normal wear would on its own.

When a maintenance contract makes sense

For a bulk institutional or corporate seating fleet, a basic annual maintenance check — mechanisms, bolts, casters — is consistently cheaper than an early bulk replacement cycle.

Every Ergon Xlu range is BIFMA tested to reward exactly this kind of upkeep with a service life well beyond what happens when a chair is never touched after delivery.