If you're a salon owner or chair operator, you know your chair is your money maker.  It's gotta look good and it's gotta work properly.  Taking it a step further, the hydraulic pump is the heartbeat to your chair.  If it doesn't go up or come down, it might as well be dead.  These days, hydraulic pumps vary in quality depending on where they are made and with what materials they are made of.  The saturation of the cheaper, imported product (check out our "American Made vs. Import" post) makes for a less reliable and less durable pump.  However, getting yourself started with a high-quality, heavy-duty hydraulic pump gives you a strong chance to make your investment count for years to come.  Along the way, hydraulic pumps need to be maintained and looked after, just like cars, houses, or any other mechanical goods.  Here's a few tips to get the most out of your hydraulic pump: One, keep your baseplate looking shiny and new by cleaning it with all purpose cleaner, every so often or as often as you see fit.  For lubricating your pump shaft, using general purpose 3-in-1 oil is what we recommend.  It's a light oil and a little goes along way with it.  You'll apply at the low point of the pump, then pump to the high point to apply around the shaft there.  Then you can work the shaft up and down and turn the chair around so that all the parts of the shaft are appropriately accounted for.  Please do not use WD-40.  If your pump begins making noise, like a squeaky noise, apply a little grease at the yoke (the part that pushes down on your plunger when you're pumping your chair up) and the fork after lifting up on, or taking off, the cap on the top of the pump.  These are really the only two areas where you'll see working components that may need attending to.  Other than that, if you don't use your chair very often, it's recommended that you pump your chair up and down 8-10 times a week in order to keep everything lubricated and the pump running smoothly.  Let us know if you need a replacement base and we can take the necessary steps to get you set up accordingly.