How to Dry a Wet Office Chair? A Step By Step Guide

Office furniture is amongst the most expensive furniture categories. We spend our hard-earned money to get the required comfort in our office chairs and desks.

Office chairs are designed using different materials like fabric, mesh, leather, plastic, etc. Like other furniture pieces, office chairs need regular cleaning. Therefore, they need to be washed and cleaned from time to time.

To clean office chairs like a pro, you should know the cleaning mechanism. And after the process of cleaning is done, drying the chairs is yet another most important step. So How can you dry a wet office chair effectively?

Can you Wash the Office Chair?

Washing here means cleaning the chair using a damp cloth. Yes, of course, you can clean your chair with a damp cloth and put it out to dry before using it again.

Usually, people wash office chairs using a mixture of soap and water. Besides this, there is also a wide range of solvents used for cleaning office chairs.

After washing, drying up the chair is equally important. If your chair isn’t dried thoroughly, it cannot be good enough for further use. Therefore, let’s have a look at the process of drying the chair.

The Process to Dry a Wet Office Chair!

Drying your office chair is as important as opting for an efficient cleaning method. There are several ways to dry a chair after washing it, and selection depends on a line of other factors. 

So, to start with, analyze the following situations;

• Please find out the time you have, whether you need your chair dried immediately or you have some time to let it dry naturally. 
• Check out the weather conditions. If it’s sunny out there, leave your chair out in the sun. Otherwise, opt for other methods. 
• Keep the material of the chair in consideration. Some materials might get damaged in the sun, for that you will have to choose hot air for drying. 

Different Drying Methods

1. Sunlight: 

The most easier and effective method of drying the chair after washing is to put it under direct sunlight for a few minutes. It would be best if you stay particular about the time your furniture is exposed to direct sunlight.

So make sure you take care of a few important things;

• Limit the exposure to direct sunlight to 30-45 minutes only. Afterward, you can keep your chair outdoor but under some shade. 
• Some fabrics or colors can fade in direct sunlight. So, avoid it under these circumstances. 
• While you keep your chair outdoors for drying, be alert about the weather conditions. Unexpected rain or moisture will make the situation even worse. 

2. Air Dryer

Another option is to air dry your chair using hair dryers or any other hot air emitting tool. People usually tend to air dry their chairs when they need them urgently. Otherwise, leaving it to dry naturally is best suited. The air-drying process is mentioned below;

• After cleaning your chair, remove the excess solvent or chemical using a dry cloth. Repeat this process several times to soak excess water into the cloth. 
• Now use a hairdryer to dry every corner of the chair evenly. While using the air-drying method, you need to be patient. 
• Once the chair is dried up, leave it for a few minutes on its own, and it’s good to be put to use. 

3. Wipe with a Cotton Cloth

Besides the methods mentioned above, you can dry clean your office chair using a microfiber cloth. For this, you will need a cloth that doesn’t leave shreds after use. Pick a cotton cloth and wipe off your chair; make sure you cover every corner of your chair.

How long does it take?

Usually, office chairs might take a few hours to dry. However, the time depends mainly on the method of drying.

If you wish to air dry it, you will probably have to leave it overnight under a fan. In this situation also, weather conditions play a significant role. For example, too much moisture in the weather won’t let your chair get dried even in 12 hours.

On the other hand, if you put your chair under the sun, it will take a maximum of 2-3 hours to dry completely.

Besides this, drying the chair using a hair drier or other tools will require at least 2-3 hours to complete the process.

Can we dry clean an office chair?

Yes, of course, dry cleaning is a much-adopted method as it causes no damage to your chair. To dry clean your chair, you need a few types of equipment, and in a matter of few minutes, the cleaning gets complete.

In addition, if you dry clean your office chair at regular intervals, you’ll not require chemical cleaning at all.

So, let us read about some of the most efficient dry cleaning methods. 

1. Vacuum Cleaning:

Chairs can be vacuum cleaned to remove the dust and debris. For this, you need a high-power vacuum suction machine; this will help you remove even the most minute dust particles from your chair. 

The best part of vacuum cleaning is it could be performed on all kinds of chairs as this cleaning method is harmless. 

2. Dry Cloth: 

Use a dry cloth to remove debris and dust particles from the chair. Hard strokes on the chair shall clean it and make it suitable to be used. 

However, while using a dry cloth, you need to make sure the cloth of a material doesn’t shred on your chair. Besides, there should be no moisture in the cloth or on the chair. Moisture creates the perfect environment for the growth of bacteria and fungi. 

3. Sun Bath: 

After removing the dust and debris from the chair, clean its legs using a dry cloth. Following this, you should preferably oil the wheels. Furthermore, keep your chair under direct sunlight for a few minutes every week.

Exposure to the sun is one of the most important and efficient ways of controlling the growth of bacteria and fungi.  This is a great step to remove the smell from the office chair.

However, limit exposure to just a few minutes to avoid probably damage from the ultraviolet rays.