Is Home Office Chair Safe? Zhihu Translation

Home office chairs are generally safe when used normally and in compliance with safety standards. However, their safety is influenced by the quality of components, usage habits, and maintenance, posing certain risks that require vigilance.

Sources of Safety Hazards

Pneumatic lift swivel chairs are the primary risk point, with explosion incidents often linked to low-quality gas cylinders. According to a spot check by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the failure rate of office chairs reached 23.3% in 2020, with 17 batches being swivel chairs. The main issues were the gas cylinders' failure to meet high- and low-temperature resistance standards and the lack of explosion-proof steel plates. Low-quality gas cylinders may explode due to thin tube walls, insufficient purity of inert gases (even replaced by compressed air), or sudden temperature increases caused by frequent lifting and lowering.

Typical Accident Cases

• In 2007, a chair explosion in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, resulted in fragments embedding up to ten centimeters into the body.
• In 2009, a 14-year-old boy in Jiaozhou, Shandong, died after being impaled by a lifting rod while adjusting a pneumatic chair.
• In 2017, an office chair explosion in Anhui damaged a computer case.
• In 2024, a national spot check still found that 23.3% of non-compliant chairs posed explosion risks.

Safe Usage Recommendations

• Choose certified products: Opt for products priced over 200 yuan, certified by QB/T2280-2016 standards, and equipped with 5G5-certified gas cylinders. These products have undergone rigorous testing, ensuring greater safety.
• Check for explosion-proof steel plates: Ensure that an explosion-proof steel plate with a thickness of at least 2 millimeters is installed between the seat cushion and the gas cylinder. This can effectively block explosion fragments and reduce injury risks.
• Avoid risky operations: Minimize frequent lifting and lowering, avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight or proximity to heaters, and prevent performance degradation of gas cylinders due to temperature changes.
• Regular maintenance: Keep the environment dry, regularly clean the wheels and seat cushion, and promptly replace worn-out components to prevent safety hazards caused by component aging.

Other Safety Risks

In addition to explosions, non-compliant office chairs may also pose risks such as base fractures, caster detachments, and formaldehyde exceedances (which may cause cancer with long-term exposure). For example, the boss chair produced by Anji Shangshu Xie's Furniture Factory had a substandard static load-bearing capacity of the base, potentially leading to falls during use. Therefore, choosing products from reputable manufacturers that comply with national standards and following safe usage practices can significantly reduce risks.