From the rolling carts and bins to the carts and trolleys you use around your facility to transport products and merchandise, you probably spend a lot of time focusing on keeping your material handling equipment operating well so your daily production is not inhibited. The steel caster wheels on the bottoms of these equipment pieces perhaps serve the most important role of keeping these devices mobile. Therefore, they definitely need your attention to ensure you aren't left with carts, trolleys, and other transport items that will not roll. Check out these three easy ways to ensure your steel caster wheels are ready for the workday for a long time. 

Keep the steel caster wheels clean and free from dirt and debris. 

The steel caster wheel contains a wheel inside of a protective housing, but if the wheel inside the housing gets caked with dirt and debris, it can get caught up on the housing and refuse to turn as it should. Because of this, it is important that you keep the steel caster wheels clean and free of dirt and debris that can get built up on them during daily use. It is a good idea to clean the wheels on occasion and remove any visible debris. 

Grease the wheels' grease fittings on a regular basis. 

Pretty much all types of caster wheels have a grease fitting inside that houses a small amount of lubrication to keep the wheel freely turning through many rotations. On occasion, these grease fittings will need to be refilled with more lubrication. Use a heavy-duty lithium grease to fill the grease fittings every once in a while to make sure you do not run into problems, such as stuck wheels, because of lack of lubrication inside of the wheel. 

Tighten the hardware of the wheel as needed. 

Many times, a piece of loose hardware, such as a screw or pin, that holds the wheel together or holds the caster wheel to the piece of equipment it is mounted on, will come loose and cause damage to the wheel or the wheel housing. To avoid this issue, make sure you regularly check the hardware of the caster wheel to ensure the hardware that holds it together and in place is firmly secured. Most of the time, this task can be performed with a simple screwdriver or wrench, and while it can seem to be a daunting task to check every wheel, it is well worth the effort to avoid future failure.