On the face of it, figuring out how to clean a gaming chair shouldn’t be all that complicated, should it?
Surely there’s nothing more to it than grabbing a cloth, giving your beloved throne a quick wipe, then sitting back down and getting on with some quality gaming.
Sure, it seems obvious, but if you’ve ever spilled a soft drink on your chair and find that the stain won’t shift or -worse- that your chosen cleaning products actually start to damage the fabric, you’ll know that good game chair maintenance isn’t always as straight forward as you’d imagine.
Don’t worry though, because today, we’re here to help.
Whether you’re planning to give your Elecwish a wash or get your DXRacer looking dapper, in this guide we’ll talk you step-by-step through the process of properly and effectively cleaning your gaming chair.
How to Clean a Gaming Chair: Step-by-Step Guide
1. Determine Your Gaming Chair Material
The difference in the design and materials of your chair affects much more than just the comfort level, it also determines the best way to clean it.
On the whole, the majority of the best quality gaming chairs are made from either PVC Leather, PU Leather, mesh, or fabric.
The popular Von Racer 8280 for example, comes with a PU leather finish which means your approach to cleaning it will be slightly different than it would be if you had say, a GTRACING chair made from breathable mesh fabric.
Before you do anything else, then your first task should be to work out what kind of chair you have.
You should be able to find this information in the paperwork that came with your chair, but if you’ve already thrown that out, you can always look it up on the manufacturer’s website.
2. Clear Off the Crumbs
Now that you know what kind of chair you’re dealing with, it’s time to get started with cleaning it. First and foremost, you’ll want to get rid of all those crumbs, dust and dirt, which, let’s face it, make your gaming chair look a mess.
How you do this all depends on the type of chair that you have.
If your chair is finished with either PVC or PU leather such as you’ll find with most Vertegear gaming chairs, then this is no more difficult than getting a good microfiber cleaning cloth and wiping it down. The static should make all that rogue debris stick to your cloth without much trouble.
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When you’re done, be sure to put that cloth aside and give it a clean as the last thing you want is to be wiping down your prized gaming chair with an already dirty rag.
If your chair is made from mesh or fabric, then this is going to take a bit more work as you’ll find dust, dirt, and crumbs tend to get absorbed by the chair material making them more difficult to get out.
Instead, get a decent hand-held vacuum such as the Bissel AeroSlim model. This comes with a handy brush attachment, making it perfect for getting into those tight nooks and crannies.
This way, you’ll be able to get all of those crumbs out of the fabric in a way that simply using a cloth isn’t able to achieve. Be careful though, for while it may be tempting to press down hard, this will only serve to damage the fabric. A soft rubbing motion across the surface of the chair will be more than sufficient.
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3. Tackle Stubborn Stains First
While it’s easy to think of tough stains as being the end-level boss that you only face after you’ve done everything else, it’s much more efficient to get onto them first.
The best way to do this is usually by applying a dab of rubbing alcohol to a cotton bud and applying it to the stain. But don’t approach this task with the same gung-ho attitude that you’d normally apply to slaying the enemy in your favorite game.
Though rubbing alcohol is usually harmless, it can cause some damage to the upholstery on certain types of gaming chairs. As such, it pays to apply just a small amount of rubbing alcohol to the underside of your chair (or any other spot that isn’t easily visible) and leave it for a few minutes.
If there’s no damage, go ahead and use the same approach to finally get rid of those stains once and for all.
4. Give Your Gaming Chair an All-Over Deep Clean
With those stains demolished, the next step is to give the rest of your chair a good and proper deep clean.
Again, this will all depend on the type of chair that you have.
First up, check out the care tag that is usually located somewhere towards the back of the chair. On that tag, you’ll generally find that it’s marked with one of the following three symbols:
- S = clean your chair with a solvent only
- W = clean your chair using water only
- S/W = clean your chair with a mix of water and solvent.
When using a solvent, you might again find it useful to first test out a small drop on the back or underside of the chair to make sure it isn’t going to damage your upholstery.
When done, apply the solvent first to the chair and then give it a thorough clean with a microfiber cloth. If you’re using a water/solvent mix, you might want to put a little water in a spray bottle, spray a few drops on the table and then again wipe it all down.
How you do this will all depend on the material.
If you have a PVC or PU leather chair, you should rub gently to avoid damaging the fabric, while a chair with fabric will actually need a firm scrub to really get it clean. If you have a mesh chair, avoid rubbing altogether and instead lightly blot the chair until it’s clean.
5. Pay Attention to Detail
Finally, it’s time to get to all those extra features such as the armrests, the castors, and the frame. If you bought a gaming chair with a footrest, you’ll want to attend to the footrest too.
To make life easier on yourself, you may want to remove these parts and clean them separately. And if you have more delicate chair components, such as a gaming chair with LED lights, make sure you remove or protect these pieces during cleaning (unless the manufacturer advises otherwise).
Soap and water should be more than adequate for most steel or plastic parts, though you may want to revert back to the rubbing alcohol for tougher stains.
When you’re finished, put the whole thing back together, give your complete chair one last gentle wipe down with a clean and dry microfiber cloth to make it really sparkle, then leave it an hour or so before sitting down to your next game.
The Final Word on How to Clean Your Gaming Chair
If you follow the five simple steps above, you’ll have no problem making that grubby old chair look as good as new, though as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words, if you take care of your chair on a regular basis, you’ll save yourself much of the time and hard work that usually goes into a more vigorous clean.
For the best results, aim to vacuum or wipe down your chair once a week, and give it a wipe down with solvent and/or water once every few weeks. If you do spill, attend to those stains immediately as they’ll be much easier to clean than they will be if you leave them to fester for weeks on end.
Finally, if you find that maintaining a clean gaming chair is proving impossible, consider laying a throw or blanket over the chair. You can always toss this in the laundry when it starts to get dirty which is not only easier than cleaning the chair, but also means you get to spend less time with a rag and more time with your PS5 controller.
