We asked our veteran standing desk users and review staff for their tips on getting the the maximum stability out of your desk. The good news is if you follow these tips you’ll also be reducing the wear-and-tear on your standing desk’s base frame.
1.Level the feet perfectly
This is so important! Most floors are uneven, which is the reason there are four foot levelers on every desk. Use a level tool and get each foot perfectly level, making sure that the entire desk is level between the left and right sides (i.e. lay the level on top of the desktop). This will reduce the amount of “side loading” strain on the lifting columns, maximizing motor life, reduce wear-and-tear on the glides, and make height changes as smooth as possible—and squeak-free.
2.Balance the weight of items on your desktop
This also has a profound effect on side-loading stresses on the actuators. Since most people have their monitor arms mounted on the back edge of the desktop that puts a lot of weight on the back already, so get your other heavy items either closer to you or at least as close as possible, if not directly over the crossbars. Avoid having too much weight over one leg versus the other.
3.Keep your linear actuators clean
Poorer-quality actuators will exhibit vertical grease lines on the inside tube(s) over time. This is especially common with lower-cost Chinese-made bases. It is a good idea to wipe this grease off once in a while so the actuators down accumulate dust and dirt, and to re-grease with white lithium or whatever kind of grease the manufacturer recommends. If you hear squeaking from your desk legs then do this immediately, and follow the two tips above, as well.
