How to Care for Your Glider Rocking Chair How to Care for Your Glider Rocking Chair

What You'll Need
Assorted wrenches
Phillips screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver
Assorted painting equipment (optional)

Your glider rocking chair will require minor maintenance from time to time. Just sitting out in the weather can cause mold and mildew growth that will need to be cleaned off, and bolts and other fasteners will work loose over time and need to be adjusted. Because there are so many different types and styles of glider rocking chairs, this article can only provide general instructions. Different tools or procedures may be required for your particular model of chair.

Step 1: Nuts and Bolts of Maintenance

Preventive maintenance for your glider rocking chair will make it last for many years. Loose joints cause the whole assembly to slowly fall apart, often stripping out the screw holes in the process and making repair more complicated and less dependable. It only takes a few minutes to examine the fasteners on a rocking chair to make sure that all the connections are tight. Checking connections can save you extensive repairs later. Replace broken or missing bolts right away. A glider rocking chair is not made with a lot of extra parts, so anything that is missing could result in damage to the chair or to the person who uses it.

Step 2: Nail and Screw Joints

If your folding rocking chair is put together with tacks or screws, make sure that all screw heads are flush or recessed in the chair surface. This prevents the screw or nail from falling out and becoming lost, but it also protects the user from nasty scratches. Make sure that loose joints are free of dirt and fungus before trying to tighten them up.

Step 3: Lubricating Moving Parts

A glider rocking chair is not a typical wood rocking chair. The glider track needs to be oiled or greased occasionally to keep it operating smoothly. If the chair is an outside model, using a heavier grease on the glider track will help prevent moisture from getting into the mechanism and causing damage. Indoor chairs would probably do well with a little 3 in 1 oil. With either method, be careful not to use more lubricant than is required. If you do, the excess may drip onto the flooring, causing permanent stains or even eat away a finished surface.

Step 4: Painting and Weather Proofing

Periodically, any outdoor chair is going to need painting, sealing or some other type of weather proofing. Leaving bare wood exposed to the elements promotes rot and insects such as termites, and both can completely destroy a rocking chair.

Step 5: General Cleaning

Keep the chair free of mold and mildew. These contaminants, unlike ordinary dirt, are living things that will continue to grow as long as they are left unchecked. Mold and fungus are notorious for infiltrating and forcing apart joints so slowly that you don't notice it happening until something falls apart.

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