How to get smell out of Office Chair – The Complete Guide

You are not the first one to be confronted by the “my new office chair smells bad”. This article will purely focus on a very common problem faced by many of us today, that is, to get smell out of office chair.

Have you ever been greeted by an unpleasant smell in your office? While in some situations, it’s possible to laugh it off, but if it’s your office chair, then it might be an embarrassing event.

What would others think of my hygiene? This is one primary question that is the first to pop into your mind. 

In fact, there are many who are facing the issue. So, here is all that you need to do to remove odor from the office chair. 

But first things first, why do office chairs get so stinky? There are a few handful reasons to this end.

The three most important ones are:

The 3 main reasons for a smelly office chair

1. Bacteria

Bacteria can be the root evil for that stinky office chair of yours. Since you sit on the chair for a lengthy period, it’s obvious that the sweat gets absorbed by the chair material.

From there on, the material absorbs the sweat and produces that stinky smell. 

2. Chemicals

Do you remember how your office chair smelled on its arrival?

Did it stink, to begin with?

Mostly, the answer is yes because manufacturers use chemicals to preserve material on the chair. However, unlike the smell generated by bacteria and fungi, the chemical smell fades over time. 

3. Fungi

Mold and mildew are likely to grow on your chair if the material used in its construction absorbs too much moisture. If your chair has a musty smell, it’s probably for the fungus growing on it. 

But what causes this moisture?

Well, the most obvious source of moisture is sweat, followed by the humidity in the air and liquid you may have spilled on your chair.

Now that you know what might be causing that stench in your office chair, it’s time to focus on how to get the smell out of the office chair.

How to get smell out of office chair – 6 Practical Tips

1. Keep it outdoors for a while

Now that you are working from home, it’s easier to try out this method. Once in a while, leave your best office chair on the balcony or the roof for a couple of hours. 

Do this on a cloudy day. That way, the chair would receive the direct sunlight, and the blazing sun would not affect the color of the material too. 

However, if leaving the chair on the roof or balcony is not to your likes, leave it near a big window with access to sunlight.

2. Use Detergent

Use a mixer to dilute one part of any laundry detergent with three parts of water. Then use a cloth to apply this mixture on the chair and scrub it well.

After some time, you will see the dirt coming out of the chair. Keep scrubbing till the seat material is free of dirt and muck.

Leave the chair out to dry for the night.

3. Use Vinegar

This kitchen ingredient can do wonders while you try to get rid of the odor of your office chair. (Conduct a patch test while trying to remove the smell from the leather chair)

[su_note note_color=”#008037″ text_color=”#ffffff” id=”Recommended”]But be very careful while using it. Too much vinegar can damage and tear your chair material. It’s a form of acid, after all. [/su_note]

Thus, if you are planning to use vinegar to get rid of the smell, then make sure you always mix it with water to dilute its acidity levels. 

Mix one part of vinegar with one part of water. Put the mixture in a spraying bottle. 

If the smell is too strong, use two parts of vinegar. 

Shake the spraying bottle before well to make sure the solution is mixed well, and then spray it on the chair. 

Remember that you have to moisten the chair, not soak it. So don’t overuse the spray. 

Finally, leave out the chair to dry.  

If the smell persists, do the process again. 

The smell of vinegar will last for some time, but it fades away soon, leaving your chair, and you feeling fresh!

However, using vinegar on office chairs can be tricky. Not all materials are suited for a vinegar wash. Some may discolor, or worse, tear off if vinegar is used on them. 

Thus, conduct a patch test on a small portion of the material first. Apply the solution, wait for it to dry, and see how it turns out. 

4. Baking soda

This is a household miracle powder that can be used for cleaning anything, even your office chair!

Baking soda effectively neutralizes the bacteria’s membrane pH. Thus the bacteria no longer remain acidic and can’t produce any odor!

So, contrary to popular belief, baking soda does more than just absorb the smell of the bacteria. 

Unlike the other means mentioned so far, you don’t need to make any solution or slurry to use baking soda. Simply sprinkle the baking soda powder on the chair and rub it into the material so that it seeps deeper. 

But be careful. Do this gently, or else you might end up scratching the chair material. 

Leave the chair for the night and then vacuum the soda powder off the chair. 

Remember to use dry soda powder, or else your vacuum cleaner might clog. 

Indeed bacteria and fungus are two of the most major causes of smelly office chairs, but they are not the only ones. 

Preservative chemicals also make office chairs smell, and here are two ways to deal with them:

5. Airing out the smell

This is as simple as it gets. Put the chair outside on a dry, hot, windy day to get the smell out or put it near a big window if the material used is too sensitive to heat or sunlight.

6. Keep the chair dry

The chemical smell of the chair can intensify if the chair gets moist. Thus ideally, keep it in a dry area. 

Though this solution will not remove the odor of the chair, it will reduce the span of the odor. 

A moist chair does not only produce a stench but also does not last long. 

To keep your chair dry, there are 2 tips to keep in mind:

• Turn your air conditioner to the “dry mode.”
• Install a dehumidifier in your room

Well, now that you have got that odor off your office chair, you are pretty much safe. 

But can the smell come back?

Unfortunately it can 🙁

However, if you are taking some basic preventive measures, then you can save your chair from smelling.

The steps are simple:

• Clean your chair with soapy water solutions once in a while
• Leave your chair out to dry outdoors or near a big window with the fan on
• Make sure the chair is not moist

But before all this, make sure you know the dos and don’ts of the material used in your chair thoroughly.

Not every two materials are the same. Thus if you apply the same techniques to clean all sorts of office chairs, you may counter different results.

A stinky office chair can indeed be embarrassing. But don’t worry about it! With these handy solutions recommended above you can get the odor off in no time.

So stay fresh and enjoy the bliss of an odorless office chair!