How to Protect Wood Floor from Office Chair

by Andrew Smith| Last Updated: February 10, 2022

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How to Protect Wood Floor from Office Chair

Replacement of hardwood floors is expensive and time-consuming. In fact, installing wooden floors across 100 sq ft is as good as buying a quality leather desk chair. Besides, if you need to fix or replace your floor, you’ll disrupt your office’s routine.

Therefore, it’s imperative to cushion your flooring as wood floors are highly vulnerable to damage. Find out four easy ways on how to protect wood floor from office chair below.

But before you do, note that office chairs damage hardwood floors if they have unsecured feet or incompatible casters. However, you can put rugs under your desk chair to protect the floor. Still, you can put pads on chairs to protect hardwood floors. Careful handling and wooden casters also help.

Table of Contents

Do Office Chairs Damage Hardwood Floors?

The wheels of rigid plastic desk chair casters can scuff hardwood surfaces. However, polyurethane roller-blade style casters are suitable for most floors, including wood.

Your initial instinct may be to criticize your office chair for damaged wood floors. The casters/feet, however, are to blame. The plastic wheels on most conventional office chairs are unsuitable for wooden floors.

Most desk chairs have hard plastic, dual-wheel casters, usually nylon. So when you move in the desk chair, the plastic scrapes against the wood rather than rolling. Dirt and debris can lodge between the casters, further damaging the wood.

How to Protect Wood Floor from Office Chair

It’s best to enhance your wood floor’s protection irrespective of your chair’s wheels or feet. Here are some methods to keep your wooden flooring looking good when using your office chair:

Never Carelessly Drag Your Chair Across Flooring

Pulling most furniture across floors degrades them. Scuffs and scratches from furniture drags are more prevalent on hardwood floors.

The motion and weight of rolling office chairs on the floor are among the things that damage the floors. Also, dragging chairs across the surface during renovations or moving locations is another primary source of hardwood floor damage.

We tend to push office chairs because it’s simpler than lifting. Shoving the chairs around, causing scratches, if not significant scuffing. So, carry your chair whenever you need it elsewhere. Enlist help if it’s too heavy.

How Do You Keep Office Chairs from Ruining Wood Floors? Method 2: Wooden Casters

Office chairs include casters that allow easy mobility across the floor. Generally, these wheels are standard, hence suitable for most floors.

While the wheels on your office chairs may suffice for standard surfaces, hardwood floors demand a bit of extra care.

Hardwood wheels are softer than standard casters, providing extra floor cushioning while moving chairs. They are easily accessible and insertable with a screwdriver.

Your chair’s wheels are the pillars that support and convey your weight to the floor. If the wheels feature hard materials like tough plastic/nylon, they scratch the floor more.

Meanwhile, hardwood wheels have designs meant to lessen the impact on wood flooring. They consist of smooth surfaces like rubber and neoprene, which reduces the force on your floor, minimizing scratches.

Remember not to use mats or rugs with wooden wheels as they restrict movement, limiting caster functioning.

What Can I Put Under My Desk Chair to Protect the Floor?

Hardwood wheels are simpler to use as you don’t need additional wood floor protection. However, many hard wheels need a layer between them and your floor.

Use Rugs

These are the most practical way to protect any floor from scratches. Rugs keep your chairs away from the floor, eliminating scratches and damage during movement.

They cushion chair pressure on the floor by minimizing friction and lowering the contact surface.

Area rugs are aesthetically attractive, keeping the office looking nice while protecting it. They come in various shapes and colors to match your office style and provide a cohesive effect.

Most rugs are large, allowing your desk chair to move without getting on the floor freely. Besides, they are cheap and provide convenient protection on a budget.

Clean the area before installing the rugs as particles trapped beneath can scratch the floor while shifting furniture.

What to Put on Chairs to Protect Hardwood Floors?

Besides rugs, chair pads are another affordable way to safeguard your wooden floor from damage. They raise the furniture off the floor to avoid immediate contact with it.

Chair Pads

Chair pads absorb the force of moving chairs on the floor, preventing scuffing. Most come in rubber or cork material. Felt pads are an excellent alternative for moving furniture around without resistance.

Various furniture pads protect the wood floors from rolling desk chairs. They are simple to set up and place. Lift the chair and insert the pads beneath the chair legs.

Popular chair pads include:

Sticky Pads

Sticky pads offer a cheap way to protect the flooring from rolling desk chairs. They have glue on a single side with rubber cushioning on the side that touches the floor.

Adhesive pads are effective protectors that are easy to apply. However, over time the glue loses its sticking power. Moreover, they aren’t a lasting fix for wood floor protection.

Slip-on Pads

Unlike sticky pads, they act as caps on chair legs. Moreover, slip-on pads are gentler and faster to install than the former. They also typically last longer.

Nail-on/Screw-on Pads

These are a permanent option, making them ideal if you don’t want to fix your chair regularly. However, they are tricky to attach to chair legs due to nails or screws.

Protruding nails or screws damage the floor more than your chair would. So, you must correctly install these pads.

Cardboard Pads

These are the least permanent, but you can have them before acquiring a better option. Use thick cardboard for ample protection. Cardboard pads require care with liquids for them to serve for a considerable duration.

Related Articles

How to Remove Caster Wheels from Office Chair
10 Best Office Chair Without Wheels to Buy in 2022
How to Protect Carpet from Office Chair (Easy Fixes)
10 Smart Ways to Stop Office Chair from Rolling

FAQs

Do Wood Chairs Scratch Wood Floors?

While they seem compatible and unlikely to harm each other, wood chairs scratch wood floors. So, irrespective of your chair’s material, never drag it across your hardwood surface. Any chair with considerable weight can dig into the wood, creating grooves and scratches.

Why Do Felt Pads Keep Coming Off?

Top amongst the reasons why felt pads keep coming off is failure to wipe your chair’s legs before attaching them. If these legs have debris deposits, the pads are sticking on the dirt and not your chair’s material. A bit of movement or water is enough to disengage them.

Sometimes, the felt pads aren’t quality or are dried out. So, get quality options.

How Do You Get Felt Pads to Stick to Chair Legs?

You get felt pads to stick to chair legs by cleaning the legs and securing the pads with glue. You can scrape your chair’s legs with a blunt item to remove dirt. Next, apply denatured alcohol and wipe away remnant dirt with a rug.

Finally, evenly smear glue on the leg’s surface, attach your felt pad, and wipe off excesses.

Closing Remarks

As simple as that, you are through with how to protect wood floor from the office chair. No matter your method, regular maintenance is mandatory. Office chair wheels can wear out or get clogged with dust or pebbles, causing more damage to floors.

Particles trapped on casters cause the wheels to drag across the floor, scratching or damaging it. Pads and mats also trap particles that damage your floor each time you move your chair. Plus, office chairs with loose casters and pads easily roll on wooden floors, causing damage.

Cleaning and maintaining the wheels, padding, and area rugs ensures your fix isn’t detrimental in the long run.

Author

  • Andrew Smith

    Andrew Smith is the founder of CozySeating, is a father of 2, and an engineer from one of the leading furniture stores in the country. Due to his 10 years of experience, he has proved to be the best person to offer advice to clients regarding different seating furniture based on their needs and performance. Besides, he is a specialist in product reviews and always keeps up with the current trends in the market.

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