How to Get Hair Out of Chair Wheels

If your office chair wheels are getting harder and harder to move, there’s a chance they are in need of cleaning. Gradually, dust and hair from the floor can combine and form clumps inside your favorite chair’s casters. So, how do you clean them? 

That’s precisely what we’ll answer in this article, and you’ll get all the information you need.

Take Some Time to Prepare 

Before you start cleaning the casters, you’ll have to remove them from the chair. For some cleaning methods, this won’t be strictly necessary, but it will make the whole process easier. Most office chairs have easily removable casters, so this shouldn’t be a huge problem either way. 

That said, some chairs have wheels that can be a little bit trickier to remove. You will need to pry them out using tools and applying a modicum of force to create enough leverage for the wheels to just pop out.

As for the chairs that don’t have removable casters, you’ll want to flip the chair over in order to clean them. Get yourself in a comfortable position, as the whole process might take some time.

How to Remove Hair From Chair Wheels? 

There are a myriad of different methods when it comes to removing hair from chair wheels. From using sharp objects to pry the hair out to using drain cleaning fluid to dissolve the hair, the methods can vary a lot. 

Best Ways To Get Hair Out of Office Chair Wheels

In the following part of the article, we’ll focus on some of the best ways to get the hair out of office chair wheels.

1. Scissors

Using something sharp, like scissors, might be the best way to get rid of hair build-up stuck in your office chair casters. A sharp object can cut through all the hair and make it easier to pull it out from inside the wheels. 

The downside to this method is that you might just end up scratching up the wheels if you are not careful. This probably won’t affect the functionality of the wheels, but it can affect the aesthetics of your chair. So, if you are a stickler for details, you should probably avoid this method and just stick with the “less intrusive” ones. 

2. Duct Tape 

One of the most popular methods to remove hair from chair wheels is to use a piece of duct tape or any other sort of adhesive tape. The trick to this technique is to wrap the adhesive tape around a thin object, like a small screwdriver or a razor blade. 

After you’ve done this, you should then use the thin object of your choosing to get deep inside the casters and just rummage around for a little bit. The hair will stick to the duct tape, and once you remove the object from the casters, you’ll also remove the hair with it. 

The duct tape method is great if you’ve been cleaning your office chair wheels regularly and the amount of hair stuck within them is not too much. If this is your first time getting hair out of your chair wheels, then you should perform this technique after applying other methods. Duct tape can only do so much, and it won’t help you remove bigger clumps of hair or clumps that are really stuck in there.

3. Use Your Fingers

We have fingers for a reason, and one of the reasons we have them is to remove hair from office chair wheels. This method is not the most hygienic one, so try to use gloves or be mindful about washing your hands immediately after you’ve finished with the whole process.

There’s not much else to add when it comes to this method. Just try to get as many clumps of hair out from the casters as you can. 

4. A Drain Cleaner

Why a drain cleaner? Well, the biggest reason for clogged drains is hair. Because of that, many drain cleaners are caustic and can completely disintegrate hair. So, using a drain cleaner is also a great way to remove hair from office chair wheels. This method also requires you to remove the casters from the chair.

Start by picking up a tray or a bucket that’s deep enough to hold the entire wheel. After that, fill the tray or bucket with the drain cleaning fluid, following the instructions written on the label. Sometimes, drain cleaners require dilution, so be mindful of that. 

After that, simply put the casters inside a bucket and leave them there for a couple of hours. The only thing that’s left is to rinse the casters, and you’re good to go. 

One thing to keep in mind is that drain cleaners can cause some serious damage to your skin if you’re not careful. So, if you opt for this method, be very cautious when dealing with the fluid. Take all the necessary precautions, which include wearing gloves and eye protection glasses.  

5. Tweezers 

If you want to ensure you don’t scratch the wheels or accidentally spill drain cleaner on your skin, then this method is perfect for you. Although extremely time-consuming, tweezers and some elbow grease will get the job done! Do note that you’ll probably be giving up your entire afternoon if you’re using tweezers, so there’s that.

First, you’ll need a pair of strong tweezers. Use the tweezers to grab chunks of hair and pull them out of the casters. This will take some time, but it’s completely doable. If for some reason you can’t find a pair of tweezers, you could try using thin needle-nose pliers.

6. Controlled Fire

You could use a lighter, a blowtorch, or even a heat gun to remove hair from the office chair wheels. 

Hair is extremely flammable because it’s coated with a thin layer of oil, making fire one of the more out-there solutions to this problem. Now, before you start, you’ll probably want to go outside. You don’t want to start an office fire. The second reason is that burning hair smells really bad. 

To keep the plastic wheels of the office chair intact, you should use short bursts of flame. Your goal is to burn the hair, and not the whole chair, so be mindful of that.

7. Crochet Hook 

A crochet hook or anything with a small hook that can reach into the creases of an office chair wheel is perfect for removing hair from them. There are a couple of different ways you can do this, but the easiest one is to try and latch the hook onto the clumps of hair and pull them out. 

8. Get a New One

This might sound a little bit redundant, but the best way to ensure your chair wheels don’t have any hair in them is to buy a completely new chair. Office chairs have an average lifespan of about 8 years, so if your chair is older than that, it might be time for an upgrade. 

Conclusion

Removing hair from office chair wheels is not a difficult task, but it is time-consuming. While some methods require you to completely remove the wheels from your office chair, others could see you just flipping the chair over and cleaning the casters that way. Removing the casters makes the cleaning process way easier, but unfortunately, not all chairs come with easily removable wheels. 

Ultimately, the longer the clumps of hair stay on the inside of casters, the more difficult they will be to remove. To avoid this, try to maintain your chair as regularly as possible. In a perfect world, you would want to do this every six months.

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