You don’t need us to stress the importance of keeping your wheelchair in optimal condition, its simply a must if you want to ensure that your wheelchair is performing as safely and as efficiently as it was when you first purchased it. So what kind of checks should you be doing on a regular basis?

Repairing or even replacing your wheelchair will likely cost you a lot of money, time and unnecessary stress. However, you can hopefully avoid all this if you treat your wheelchair the same as you would a car, by performing frequent and on-going maintenance. Doing this can greatly extend the life of your wheelchair. So what are we suggesting you do?

The brakes on your wheelchair should be checked on a regular basis. This is to ensure that they are not loose and can hold the chair in place on a slope.

The wheel locks on your wheelchair may need to be lubricated if for some particular reason they do not operate easily.

You should also check the front and rear wheels of your wheelchair to ensure that they are spinning freely and the bearings are not making any strange noises.

A very useless exercise that we always encourage our customers to carry out is simply to push your manual wheelchair across a smooth surface to test if it travels in a straight line. If it doesn’t, this is a sure sign that your wheels are out of alignment or the bearings may also need replacing.

It is important to note that you do not need to be a qualified mechanic or an expert in the sense of the word, in order to do some regular maintenance checks on your wheelchair. Why not ask a friend or family member to offer some assistance if you are having difficulties in doing so. All of this will ensure that your wheelchair is performing optimally, just like it did when you first bought it.

Wheelchair Maintenance Checklist:

1. Clean your wheelchair on a regular basis. Doing this will prevent dirt building up that will ultimately impair the functionality of your wheelchair or even cause it to rust.

2. Check the axle and axle plate of your wheelchair to ensure that all connections are tight. A loose axle may break and ultimately put you in danger.

3. Make sure that you tighten all nuts and bolts on your wheelchair on a regular basis so that they are secure. If you notice a bolt that is constantly becoming loose, see to it that it gets replaced straight away.

4. Make sure that you test the brakes, foot rests and all other moving parts to ensure your wheelchair remains optimally safe and secure.

You can contact us at any time if you have any queries regarding the maintenance of your wheelchair. Our team of experts will only be too happy to help you.