Manual Wheelchair Maintenance Tips

Save money, effort, time and trouble by keeping your wheelchair properly maintained.

Here are a few short tips from the crew at Balance Mobility to help you keep your wheelchairs maintained.

Do not simply take the advice of this article, take the time and do your research into your brand of chair to be sure you are doing all you can to maintain your device.

Check and Adjust the Brakes

They are easy to test, and you can probably figure out the problem for yourself. In most cases, it is usually about rubber wear.

In many cases, they need tightening, though for the most part, you will find them working fine. 

Check the Wheels for Jams

One of the main reasons why the wheelchair doesn’t move correctly, or keeps veering off to one side, is because there is something jammed in the wheels.

If one wheel moves faster than the other, then the veering occurs. This may be caused by a piece of bent metal, but usually it is because something is caught between the wheel and the joint. 

Check the Tyres

Obviously, if your tyres are not inflated properly, or they are inflated unevenly, then it is going to cause you problems.

Beware that sometimes a slow puncture can cause exist for days before becoming noticeable.

Also, it is easier to see which wheel has the least air if somebody is sitting in the chair. 

Do Not Store a Wet Seat

You wouldn’t store a baby’s pram if it were wet, and you wouldn’t lock a sun lounger in your cupboard if it were covered in rain, so do not store your wheelchair if the seat is wet.

Also, it may be a good idea to spray it down if you have had it out in the sand or mud. 

Check to See if the Screws Are Secure

Your chair can literally rattle itself apart. It has more moving parts than something like a pram or shopping trolley, so it needs more baring, screws, nuts and so forth.

The vibration that comes through perpetual use is what causes the screws and nuts to come loose, which eventually leads to metal fatigue, warping, and all sorts of nasty problems. 

Taking care of the wheelchairs under your control is laudable, and a safe thing to do, but remember that you are not an engineer.

If you think there is a mechanical problem, then get in touch with us here at Balance Mobility.

The same goes for if you need a replacement chair, do not try to fix it, but instead replace it for a better (working) one.