When you buy yourself a new office chair, you want the chair to stay in good condition for as long as possible. Here, you'll find a shortlist of things that will help to protect the condition of your new office chair and make it as comfortable and easy to use as possible.

Buy a Chair Mat

Do you have a chair mat for under your office chair? If not, it's time to get one – they are not just there for looks. The chair mat will do three things: protect the flooring from damage, minimize the dirt and debris that gets wrapped around the wheels, and, if you choose a padded chair mat, it can help with foot, knee and back pain if you do a lot of standing at your desk.

Use Protective Cleaners

Depending on the material that the chair is made of, you'll need to choose a product for cleaning and treating it. If the chair is leather or vinyl, choose a leather and vinyl cleaning and conditioning product – if you have leather and vinyl cleaner that you use on the interior of your car, it will work just fine on your office chair.

Chairs that are upholstered with fabric won't need to be conditioned, but you'll want to spot check them often and clean any spots that may have appeared. One of the best all-around cleaning solutions that you can keep on-hand in your office is a small water bottle filled with one-part white vinegar and two-parts water. This solution will clean ink, food, and even wine off of most fabrics. Just spray the solution onto a cleaning rag and blot the spot until it disappears. It can take several applications if the stain is deep down in the fabric or if it's ink.

After you spot clean the upholstered chair, make sure to spray it down with upholstery stain blocker. You can pick this stuff up at your local department store. It's simply sprayed over the entire surface and allowed to dry. Once dry, it creates a stain-resistant, not stain-proof, seal. This means it will resist stains but, if not tended to, stains will remain.

Your office chair can last many years before you need to even think about replacing it - and it can look as good in ten years as it does today if you put the time into taking care of it. Hopefully, the tips above help you do just that.