Office jobs are frequently seen as chief contributors to our sedentary lifestyle and sometimes even as the main reason why we spend so much time sitting. Yet we should not blame chairs themselves for various detrimental effects that sitting has on our health. Most office chairs nowadays are ergonomically designed and comfortable, be they upholstered, meshed or more executive-styled (i.e. leather), but no amount of ergonomic design can help if you sit in your office chair for hours on end without stretching, taking breaks to walk around and countering the time spent sitting with exercise.
But chairs in offices can indeed be a source of health risk, in a manner of speaking. The problem is that they are one of the most often overlooked aspects of office equipment when it comes to cleaning, especially regular cleaning. The carpets and hard floors are the main stars in that respect, not to mention kitchens and office toilets. And even tables get more regular wiping and cleaning than does a simple office chair.
This can be a problem, although admittedly less of one for those who have an office chair only to themselves. But in offices such as call centers, or in conference rooms and similar shared spaces, chairs not only get dirty faster, they can be a vehicle for germs and transfer of dirt, hair and skin particles.
The office environment is an important factor of an employee’s satisfaction and overall state of mind. Cluttered, dirty or unkempt offices go hand in hand and indeed encourage sloppiness and inefficiency. Lack of order and hygiene leads to a decrease of productivity.
Additionally, if your office space sees a lot of clients or partners coming, you should take special care to make the space welcoming, which basically means clean and orderly. The appearance of your office space is a way to send a message about your entire business and your approach to it – and if the message is “hygiene and order are priorities” or “we don’t really pay much attention to details”… Well, take a second to think about whether you would do business with such a company.
Of course, as any manager knows, the most important reason for investing into regular, professional, high-quality cleaning is not really a polished-looking office. Rather, it is the fact that it helps prolong the life of your furniture pieces and thus is paramount to keeping overhead down and ultimately saving money – that you can then invest elsewhere.
So, from an executive’s point of view, especially if you are in charge of facility appearance management, chairs and other office furniture with upholstery or leather should be one of the top priorities for cleaning, right there with carpets. Moreover, the maintenance should be performed on a regular basis and for best results, our advice is to pair office chair cleaning with regular carpet cleaning whenever possible.
In order to point you in the right direction, here’s a quick rundown of how to approach and how often to perform the maintenance of the most popular types of office chairs.
Upholstered Chairs
Upholstery is great at attracting dirt and dust, but fortunately, it is also easy to maintain. For optimal dirt and dust removal, upholstered seating should be professionally cleaned at least once a year, and in case of high-frequency spaces and shared chairs, once every three to four months. Simple vacuuming should do most of the job and if there is soiling and stains, some heavy hitters should be called in. The exact method of cleaning depends on the type of soiling, but rest assured that professional cleaning companies will have everything needed to make your stained chair as good as new.
Mesh Chairs
Mesh-backed (and mesh-seated) chairs have been steadily increasing in popularity in offices during the recent years. No wonder, since comfort is the main selling-point: the mesh is stretchy and it adjusts to your shape and movement. Additionally, they are durable and provide better ventilation, which ultimately makes their cleaning easier. In most cases you can even do it yourself, but in order to really get all the dirt out, calling the professionals once a year is a good maintenance idea.
Leather Chairs
Ah, leather, so easy on the eye, so nice to touch and feel, and seemingly so easy to keep shiny and clean. You mostly do not need to worry about everyday dirt and particles, since they are easy to simply brush off. But if an accident happens to your leather chair and something is spilled, great care should be taken before cleaning and the manufacturer’s instructions should always be checked out before attempting to deep clean it. Only stained or extremely dirty leather chairs should require professional treatment, and there is no recommended frequency here – if an accident happens, call us.
Whatever the frequency of maintenance, be it regular or ad hoc, when the time comes for office chairs to be cleaned, the moment is also perfect to check for any issues with their mechanism. Spillage may leak into joints or swivels or wheels, dirt and hair may clog them and so on. But this is actually good news, since it usually means that a chair that was considered broken or dilapidated can be restored to full use simply by undergoing professional-level cleaning. Of course, some parts, like wheels, may need to be changed, but that is a small expense when compared to purchasing a new chair or chairs.
Ultimately, doing everything you can (with the help of your friendly professional carpet cleaners) to make your office clean and orderly is beneficial in so many respects – for your employees, for your company image and for its bottom line. That means investing into regular maintenance not only of carpets and hard floors, but also of your office chairs, as probably the most important and most interacted-with pieces of furniture in your office.
