After a long day, you may look forward to lying back on your favorite recliner chair. Unfortunately, it has started to squeak lately. Your favorite recliner is supposed to relax you, not annoy you. The good news is that a squeaky recliner is quite common and should be easy enough to fix. Follow these simple steps on how to fix a squeaky recliner and you should have your beloved chair back working as smooth as the day you first bought it.
The first think you will want to find out is where the squeak is. This is easier said than done. Even a heavy duty recliner will take a considerable amount of abuse in its lifetime, so there are a few areas that might be rubbing against each other and causing a squeaking sound. Have these things handy before you start.
Tools Required to Fix a Squeaky Recliner
An old sheet
WD-40
An adjustable wrench
An old rag
How to Fix a Squeaky Recliner
Firstly, place the sheet on the ground to protect your carpet. Flip the recliner over so that you can get at the mechanism inside. The recliner will have a covering underneath that is fastened with tacs or nails. Carefully remove the tacs/nails.
When the you can see into the inside of the chair, have a look to see if there are any obvious issues like a bent spring or rusty joints.
Move the reclining mechanism to see if this is where the squeak is coming from. Spray some WD-40 on the joints, rub in with the rag and then recline the chair back and forth again.
If this is not the issue, then it may be the springs. Carefully inspect the springs to see if any are loose or have unclipped. Press the seat of the chair to see the spring in action. Press several areas of the seat to see if you can hear a squeak. If you hear a squeak in a particular spring, spray it with the silicone spray and rub it in with the rag. Do this until the squeak is gone.
While the underside of the recliner is exposed, check all nuts and bolts to see if any are loose. On the off chance that this is creating a squeaking noise, tighten the nuts and bolts with an adjustable wrench.
When the annoying squeak is gone, carefully reattach the cover underneath. Flip the chair back over and enjoy your squeak free recliner. Hopefully it will sound as good as new.
How to Prevent your Recliner from Squeaking
The only thing you can do to help prevent your recliner from squeaking is to treat it well. It is important to take care of the chair so that you won’t damage any moving parts inside. No sitting down too roughly, and make sure to recline smoothly, not in a jerking way.
Unfortunately, some wear and tear is unavoidable over time and you may just have a look inside the recliner to see what is causing the problem. Thankfully, most squeaks can be solved with a little spray of oil.
