How to Stop an Office Chair Scratching Hardwood Floors

Look under any office chair that's lived on a hardwood floor for a year and you'll find the evidence: pale arcs scribed into the finish, right where the castors sweep. Here's how to stop it getting worse — three options, honestly compared.

Option 1: A plastic floor mat (the one we don't love)

Chair mats work, but they're the least satisfying answer: they yellow, they curl at the edges, they slide, and you've paid £40 to look at polycarbonate instead of your lovely floor. Grit also collects under them, which can do its own damage.

Option 2: Soft PU castors (the everyday answer)

The actual culprit is hard nylon wheels grinding dust and grit into the finish. Swap them for soft polyurethane castors (from £6.99, set of five) and the tyre that touches your floor is softer than the floor itself — so it can't scratch. Bonus: they're near-silent and they stop the chair drifting. Fitting is a five-minute, no-tools job on any standard 11mm base.

Option 3: Glides (the belt-and-braces answer)

A wheel that never rolls can never scratch. Chrome steel glides (£17.99) replace the castors with smooth fixed feet — the chair plants itself and the floor stays pristine. Ideal if you don't actually roll around much anyway.

What about the scratches already there?

Light surface scratches in the lacquer often respond to a wood-floor restorer polish; deeper gouges need a repair wax stick matched to the timber. But do the castor swap first — there's no point refinishing a floor while the chair is still armed.

The five-minute fit

Flip the chair, pull each old castor out with a firm tug, push the new ones in until they click. Not sure your stem is the standard 11mm? Email a photo to info@chairoutlet.co.uk for a free fit-check. Free UK mainland delivery; ordered by 11am, dispatched the same working day.