Hardwood and laminate floors are quite popular in today’s workplaces and homes. Hardwood and laminate are both long-lasting materials, which not only look good but are also easy to clean. However, they are not scratch-resistant.
Thus, people are wary about utilizing gaming chairs on hardwood and laminate flooring. They’re curious if the gaming chair damages hardwood and laminate flooring by leaving markings. We looked at hardwood and laminate floors as well as gaming chairs, and it turned out to be quite a topic.
Do Gaming Or Office Chairs Ruin Hardwood Floors And Laminate?
Yes, to put it succinctly. They do so by scratching the surface of laminate and hardwood floors with their caster wheels. The scratches created on hardwood or laminate by moving gaming chairs may be expensive to repair. Getting a gaming chair without wheels, on the other hand, is not the best answer to this problem. You can look for alternatives as there are other more effective options.
How Do Chairs Ruin Hardwood And Laminate
The combination of body weight and the frequent movement of the chairs is not good for hardwood floors and laminate. Casters meant to preserve flooring perform a good job of safeguarding the floors, but they are still prone to scratching and chipping the laminate and hardwood floors.
The damage to the floor is indirectly caused by the casters. The treads of the casters are provided with a soft polyurethane coating to allow smooth moving while keeping floor damage to a minimum. But that only works if the treads are clean.
Unfortunately, dirt particles collect quite easily on the soft PU surface of the chair castors tread so that over time a rough sandpaper-like texture is created. This slowly sands the surface sealing of the hardwood floor or the laminate. The result is unsightly dull and matt spots on the floor
Therefore, you need to take action to protect the flood from gaming chair wheels.
How to protect hardwood floors and laminate?
You can find some simple techniques that can help you keep your hardwood floor and laminate clear of scuffs and scratches caused by gaming chair wheels. These tips are not costly, but they provide adequate protection for hardwood floors from gaming chairs wheels.
Keep Treads Of Chair Casters Clean
The simplest, but unfortunately the most neglected method to avoid floor damage is to regularly clean the treads of the chair wheels.
It is best to lay the chair on its side, then the castors are easily accessible. Pre-clean the treads of the rollers with a fine brush. If the treads on the office chair casters are very dirty, clean them with a damp cloth. In the case of particles being pressed into and stubbornly lodged in the tread, carefully scrape off with a knife.
If hair or fabric fibers are in the swivel stem or in the wheel axle, cut them with pointed nail scissors and pull them out with tweezers or a thin wire (office clip).
You can also pull the pre-cleaned casters out of the wheelbase and wash them in the dishwasher.
If the tread is extremely damaged then you might consider buying new ones to replace the casters.
Keep floor safe with floor pads
You can use floor mats to protect hardwood floors and laminate. These are a low-cost option to protect against the constant dragging of gaming chair wheels. The mats can withstand the force of a moving gaming chair wheel on the floor and prevent scuffing. They’re often constructed of rubber or cork, both of which are gentle on laminate and hardwood floors. You can also use felt mats as they are an excellent choice since they allow the furniture to move around easily without resistance.
You can find a variety of floor mats for desk chairs in the market that you can use to protect the laminate and hardwood floors from the gaming chair wheels. They are simple to install and do not necessitate a lot of setups. You can protect the furniture from actively harming the laminate and hardwood flooring by just elevating it a little and laying the pads below the wheels of the gaming chairs.
Use area rugs
Put a small rug under your chair. Like special floor mats for desk chairs, the area rugs are also an effective way to protect the laminate and hardwood floors. It is one of the most practical ways to protect any floor from scratches caused by gaming chair wheels. It stops the gaming chair wheels from making direct contact with the hardwood floors and laminate.
Consequently, it prevents the floor from being scraped or harmed by the gaming chair wheels. Area rugs are also practical to minimize rolling noise. But you should make sure that you use tightly-woven rugs with a short pile for a chair mat. Carpets with long pile lose these over time and when the threads come into the axle of the casters then the rollers do not turn well and drag across the floor. But in general, area rugs are a quick, easy and inexpensive solution to protect your laminate and hardwood floor from the wheels of the gaming chair.
Use special gaming chair wheels
Gaming chairs are equipped with universal casters, which aid in their smooth movement over the floor. The gaming chair wheels are typically standard casters that are ideal for most types of flooring. While the casters that come with your gaming chairs would suffice on most surfaces, hardwood flooring will necessitate a bit of extra attention. Hardwood casters are comprised of softer materials than standard casters. As a result, they provide more floor comfort while moving the chairs.
They’re quite common and can be installed by anybody who knows how to use a screwdriver. It’s simple and less expensive than fixing a chipped or scuffed hardwood floor. Furthermore, it is a one-time effort that will pay off in the long term because it is effective in protecting hardwood floors from scratches and chipping. Similarly, you can find suitable gaming chair wheels for laminate, such as rubber chair casters.
Avoid pushing the gaming chairs
Any chair that is dragged on a laminate or hardwood floor can cause it to deteriorate. Scratches and scuffing from dragging gaming chairs are more likely on laminate and hardwood floors. In addition, gaming chairs are designed to move in order to give back support to people who sit in them for lengthy periods of time. However, it is not laminate and hardwood floor friendly and can scrape and scuff the expensive floor.
Furthermore, the most common cause of laminate and hardwood floor damage is pushing the gaming chairs across the floor during renovations or while shifting positions. Pushing gaming chairs is simpler than raising them off the floor, so we do it unconsciously. Gaming chairs are heavy to lift from one location to another, and they’re bulky, so they usually required the assistance of a second person.
All Chairs damage hardwood floors
Hardwood floors and laminate are extremely vulnerable to being scratched and damaged by chairs. Repairing damaged floors is always costly, so preventive measures should be taken. It makes no difference whether the chair stands on its legs (they need to have felt pads) or whether it has wheels. If it has wheels they have to be kept clean, because only a clean tread can protect the floor. Otherwise, a floor mat and rug are the way to go. These are not particularly costly, but they are quite effective in preventing serious floor damage.
