How to Stop Office Chair from Rolling? – 8 Tested Fixes

I know you are already frustrated with your office chair being rolling around for no reason at all. Not letting you focus, or sitting still to get the work done.

Instead diverting your attention towards keeping the chair in its position, consequently causing stress to knees joints.

I share your pain and can feel how much annoyed you must be at this point.

But do you know what!

I did find out a few ways on; “How to stop office chair from rolling” and all were turned out very effective. The best part is that those solutions are neither complicated nor expensive either.

Let me introduce you to all of them so that you can choose the one that suits your need and can be effective for you to keep your chair from sliding around.

Here we go;

How to Stop Office Chair from Rolling [8 Effective Ways]

Before moving on to learn the possible ways to prevent chair wheel rolling, you need to know the reason behind it.

Some of the reasons could be;

• Your floor is uneven
• Floor is slippery
• Your wheels are no more functional
• Casters are not suitable for your chair

Knowing the reason, you will be able to choose the one that goes with your situation. Trying your luck randomly on any shared method, might not be turned out effective.

We have tested all of them, and they work differently under different situations. For instance, if your floor is slippery, changing casters won’t be of your help. You will keep on rolling around.

Now let’s move on to the actual debate, imagining you have identified the reason for your office chair rolling.

1. Switch to Hands-Free Brake Casters

You can simply switch to the hands-free brake casters to eliminate the problem of your chair rolling around.

They come with a locking mechanism that locks the wheels and does not give them freedom of free movement anymore.

You just need to push down or pull up the metal bar attached to the wheel to lock and unlock the wheel movement. It can also be operated with the foot, so you don’t have to feel inconvenience by leaning down to lock or unlock the chair.

They are good to go with because of their ease of installation and ease of use. Being rubber-coated, these casters are ensured to not scratch the floor.

You can find them in different types. Some of them can be locked or unlocked with the foot only, while some have to be operated with the hands.

Even there is a type that is automated, which means the casters get locked as soon as you sit on it, and unlocked themselves when you stand out of it. They are perfect to have, but only limit your mobility when sitting on a chair, by locking the wheel.

When getting one, you should be conscious of its type, and how easy will it be to use for you, and whether it can be fitted into your chair or not.

We have found this way of preventing office chairs from rolling to be more effective for those, who have a slippery or uneven floor.

However, even if your casters are damaged and causing you to slide, still you can think of getting them replaced with hand-free casters. They give you more control to you over your office chair.

2. Using Caster Cups To Stop Rolling

Caster cups also known as Caster stoppers are the square or circle-shaped blocks made up of any of the following materials;

• Heavy-duty vinyl
• Silicon
• Rubber
• Wooden
• Glass
• Plastic frames

You must have seen them placed under the furniture that is not supposed to move every now and then such as the couch and bed.

The idea is to use them under the wheels of your office chair.

They are quite affordable and so easy to use. You can grab them as per the size of your office chair casters, in the shape of your choice, and only place them under the wheels.

It effectively works as an obstacle and stops your office chair from rolling around.

The only drawback of this method is that you will have to adjust them by bending down every time you sit on a chair. It does not even let you readjust your position, without adjusting the cups also.

Even form slight change in the chair position means you will have to reposition the cup stoppers as well.

Another drawback could be that you may not find them as per the size of your wheels. In such a case, you are supposed to get them custom-made from the furniture shop.

But one thing is for sure, they eliminate the problem of your chair rolling and let you focus on your work all the time.

3. Use Area Rug

Placing your office chair on an area rug can also help you stop the wheels rolling off.

Here’s how;

The area rug is usually made up of thick fabric, and when put underneath the chair, the rug reduces the friction between wheels and the floor. Hence, reduces the sliding and keeps the chair in its position.

You do not need to get a rug to cover the whole space. Buying only a 2×3′ Area rug would be more than enough as it can easily cover your chair’s wheel area.

One thing to remember is you should get a rug with the thicker fabric only. More thickness means more reduction in friction and rolling.

The only problem with the area rug is that you will be struggling to roll back and forth even when you want to. The rolling will become complicated and you will have to put more force to do so.

But because of being cost-effective and its ability to enhance the aesthetics of your office, it is still one of the best choices for many to keep office chairs from rolling.

4. Apply Gaffers Tape to Your Wheels

The quick fix to your rolling wheel is applying the gaffer tape. You can find them in different colours and sizes.

Get the one, as per your preference and tape all of your wheels with it. Being able to hold itself firmly with every object, it will keep your office chair wheels static until and unless you put it off.

Being the most affordable and easy fix, we have found many people relying on it. However, it also limits your ability to roll, even when you needed to.

You will have to put them off, every time you think to roll the chair back and forth.
Here’s a video demonstration on how to use it effectively;

5. Use Foam Block

You can place the foam block under the chair’s base to lift the wheels a bit. Hence, stopping the office chair from rolling.

Here’s how to do it;

• Measure the distance between the floor and office chair base.
• Measure the base size
• Now cut down the dense foam as per the base size, and the distance between floor and base.
• Place it underneath the base, after positioning your office chair.

This way, you will be able to reduce the rolling of your chair. And unlike other methods, you will also be able to roll the chair, if wanted to.

What foam should I be using?

There are different types of foam available in the market, you can choose any of them. All works effectively, but Upholstery foam is the better choice to have if you have to choose among different types.

You can find it according to the density and height that you have measured. If can’t find any, you can make your own by packing up the foam in the shape of a block and cutting them down.

6. Use Strap

To reduce the sliding of your office chair wheel, the strap can also be useful.

Grab the strap, attach one end to your chair, and the other end to any other fixed object nearby. It can either be your desk or something static and solid near your desk.

It will prevent your wheels to move freely and will keep your chair from sliding for no reason.

Using it is fairly easy, and effective. But there is a limitation attached to this method.

You won’t be able to roll away from your desk to get the things you want to. You will be restricted to a certain radius and can’t go beyond that.

You will have to remove the strap every time you want to roll the chair by your choice. We don’t consider it to be a long-term solution, instead can be helpful as a short-term solution.

You should consider going this method if can bear the shortcomings and looking for a temporary option.

7. Use Chair Mat

You must be thinking, we have already covered a method of using an area rug underneath the chair. Then why are we discussing chair mat as a different method?

Are they different from each other?

Let’s have a look;

Yes, they both are different and have different properties. Chair mats are made up of PVC plastic or rubber and are hard yet thin plastic.

Whereas, the area rugs are made up of thicker fabric material, and are soft in touch.

There are 3 types of the chair mat, you could consider using;

• PVC mats
• Polycarbonate
• Vinyl

Choosing any of them is all up to you, but we have found polycarbonate mats to be more effective and useful for stopping chairs from sliding.

8. Replace the wheels

With the overtime use, the wheels lose their spark and become un-functional causing your chair to roll around.

You can consider replacing them, if not interested to use any of the aforementioned methods to keep your chair from rolling. And when it comes to the wheel replacement.

You get 3 options to choose from, including;

• Replace wheel with glider
• Replace wheel with locking wheel
• Replace wheel with stationary feet

You can look out for the gliding caster that most people prefer to have. They are easily available and easy to install.

You might be thinking it is hard to replace them by yourself. But believe me or not, you can swap the worn-out caster with the new glider wheels without any hassle.

As already discussed, you can also replace the worn-out wheels with the locking casters, as they give you more control to you over your office chair. You can lock and unlock these casters as per the need for time.

Lastly, replacing the wheels with stationary feet can also be an option. Most people go with this at an extreme point, when they just can’t deal with the shortcomings of the moving wheels.

If you don’t want to have a rolling mechanism at all in your chair, then this can be good to go with. It will provide you with stability and make you get rid of the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs

Final thoughts

Now you are equipped with enough information that stopping your office chair from rolling won’t be an issue for you.

All of the methods discussed are affordable and easy to follow. We recommend trying the combination of different methods to get the desired outcome.

It’s important to know that those were not the only option to consider, these all were the ones that we tested and got positive results.

You can brainstorm more ideas by yourself and come up with new ones. Test and validate it, and stick with the one if it works for you.

But make sure to end up having a solution that is long-lasting and won’t welcome the problem again any soon.