office chair: When to replace it
An office chair, as widely seen in previous articles, is an extremely important work tool within a working day. Unfortunately, however, like all work tools, it is susceptible to breakages or malfunctions of various kinds, especially over time.
In this article, our intent is to analyze the most frequent problems and recommend the best solution, using our experience and passion. If it is possible, our advice is to repair or replace the damaged component; when, however, this is not possible, the entire chair will have to be replaced.
Grendene offers an important repair service on its products. This service is an added value that many companies do not offer. This allows the customer to keep their office chair alive and avoid purchasing a new one, saving money.
Furthermore, recovering an existing ergonomic chair also represents a great advantage for the environment. By doing so, we avoid processing new raw materials, causing a less impact on everything around us.
The gas column and the castors
The two components of an ergonomic office chair on which most problems occur are the gas cylinder for seat height adjustment and the castors.
It often happens that, after several years of use, a chair, adjusted to a certain height, may no longer be able to maintain the desired position and, therefore, return to its minimum seat position.
This is because the gas spring is a gas regulation instrument, which loses effectiveness over time, until it runs out completely.
It can happen, although much more rarely, that a gas column loses effectiveness even after just one year of use. In that case, you have certainly stumbled upon a defective or very low quality column.
Another component that can often present problems are the castors, as they are subject to heavy wear. In fact, the entire weight of the chair or swivel stool rests on them, plus the weight of the user.
It may happen that, due to incorrect use or an unbalanced base, they may break. We always advise you, when purchasing the chair, to find out about the type of floor you have and the type of wheel best suited to be used on it.
If your office chair also has one of these two problems, don’t despair because the solution isn’t necessarily replacing the entire chair. We advise you to contact the person who sold you the chair and ask them if they can also provide you with spare parts.
Ruined seat in my office chair
As manufacturers, it often happens that our old ergonomic office chairs are brought to us with tears, holes and other heavy wear on the seat, both in terms of padding and upholstery.
In many cases, the cheapest solution could be to have a new seat made to replace the damaged one. The cost will certainly be considerable, but always lower than purchasing a new chair.
Clearly this is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Our advice is always to carefully evaluate how long you have owned your chair and how much safety it can provide once the seat has been replaced.
Otherwise, you would risk spending money on the creation of a seat for a chair that could only perform well for a short time.
Unsteadiness when I sit
A different matter is when we talk about instability when we sit on our chair, in that case it’s good to pay attention, but let’s see why.
A sensation of instability or rocking could be the warning of a fairly significant problem, it could be a damage to the mechanism.
The mechanism, which generally connects the column to the seat, is one of the most important components of our seat. Here there are two options:
- Replace the mechanism
Replacing the mechanism, if you use a chair you are particularly attached to, could be a solution. It is good for you to know, however, that this is a rather delicate and expensive component; and this could cause prices to rise.
- Replace the seat
The mechanism is generally the last element to wear out in chairs at the end of their life, so if you also notice some other problems, the advice is to consider changing the chair.
We at Grendene are committed to creating products that last over time and to offering an assistance service that can accompany you in the best possible way when choosing your swivel office chair.
Despite this, however fond you may be of it, we advise you to replace a seat that is already 10/15 years old; it may have already lost its ergonomics and, consequently, is affecting your health.
In any case, before proceeding with the purchase of a new ergonomic armchair, we advise you to evaluate, also with our help, the extent of the damage and the most suitable solution.
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