Controlling Humidity Levels To Avoid Flooring Problems

Because it is a natural product, hardwood floors respond to temperatures and humidity levels in your home. For example, when the humidity level in your home is high, wood flooring expands. On the other hand, when humidity levels drop, the flooring in your residence will contract.

The reality is that this cycle of expanding and contracting can actually cause unnecessary and damaging wear and tear to your wood floors over time if the levels are extreme enough. There are tactics that you can and should consider employing to address the issue of rising and lowering humidity levels in your home as a means of prolonging the life and luster of your hardwood floors.

Install Humidity Controls Before Placing Hardwood Floors
If you are planning installing hardwood floors, you can be proactive when it comes to rising and lowering humidity levels. Before you have your hardwood floors installed in your residence, you can first have a humidity control system added to your home.

This type of system is the only real way in which you can garner continuous and reliable control over fluctuating humidity levels. Although there are some other strategies that can be employed to control humidity levels in your residence, an automated system is your best bet. Once it is programmed, it really does all the work for you.

Optimal humidity in a residence is between 40 and 60 percent. If it deviates beyond this zone, hardwood flooring can be impacted in a negative manner.

Controlling Humidity in Wintertime
In the wintertime, particularly when the heater is on in the residence. humidity levels drop. When humidity levels drop, wood contracts. This can result in gaps between the planks of a hardwood floor.

If the home lacks a humidity control system, a portable humidifier can be placed in the room or rooms that hard hardwood flooring. In the alternative, in the absence of an installed humidity control system, a humidifier can be added to the furnace.

Controlling Humidity in Summertime
In the summertime, humidity levels can rise significantly inside a home. Humidity levels can rise as high as 90 percent in some instances based upon your home’s location.

High humidity results in an expansion of wood. It can result in planking, as has been discussed. If this persists, the wood planks that make up a wood floor can lose their integrity and become damaged permanently.

In the absence of a humidity control system, a homeowner should look at installing a dehumidifier to control rising humidity levels.

Dealing with Floor Cupping
Cupping is the ultimate problem you may experience with hardwood floors when you have humidity issues in your home. Cupping occurs when hardwood floors bows up, usually rather slightly, but noticeably.

In addition to humidity being a potential cause of cupping, it can also be caused by a plumbing leak, usually in the basement under the floor. In most cases, cupping corrects itself when the source of the moisture, a leak or humidity issue, is corrected.

If cupping is more than minimal, some additional work may be need to be done on the floor in order to restore it to a normal condition. It may need to be sanded and refinished. Keep in mind, however, that the floor must be completely dry before the restorative processes are commenced.

Domestic Versus Exotic Wood Flooring
A homeowner needs to keep in mind that some of the more exotic types of wood flooring is more susceptible to cupping and other problems associated with variable humidity levels. Domestic woods tend to be heartier and less susceptible to significant issues associated with humidity fluctuations.

Contact a Flooring Specialist
If you find yourself having problems controlling your interior environment in your home, do not hesitate to consult a specialist. You invested a good deal of money in your hardwood floors. You do not want your floors to suffer permanent damage because of an issue like humidity levels that truly can be regulated and controlled.

Your Health and Humidity
There is a major side benefit to getting humidity levels under control beyond taking care of your hardwood floors. A constant humidity level is believed to improve the health of residents in a home. This includes lowering the incidence of lung related issues and other maladies like the cold and flu.

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Three key types of hardwood flooring

There are three key types of hardwood flooring: solid, longstrip, and engineered.

Solid wood floors are typically a single plank of wood, with “tongues” and “grooves” that allow the pieces to connect. Solid floors are extremely moisture sensitive, and generally nailed down to ward off humidity fluctuations. As we’ve discussed before, seasonal moisture shifts cause wood to contract and expand—cold weather causes wood to shrink, while more humid climates cause wood to expand. Because of this, expansion space should be considered when placing your planks.

Longstrip and engineered floors share a key trait: both are composed of multiple sheets (called “plies”) of wood pieced together to create a single plank. For longstrip flooring, the core of the piece is usually a more pliable, softer wood. The top layer, however, can be any number of hardwood species. Longstrip production creates an interesting effect—a board a few planks wide and many planks long. Each piece resembles a single preassembled chunk of the floor. One advantage of longstrip floors is that they’re easily replaced if they’ve suffered irreparable damage.

The layers which make up Engineered floors are arranged in opposing directions. This is often known as “cross-ply” construction. This method effectively guards the flooring against moisture-related problems. The planks’ arrangement causes the expansions and contractions to counter one another, limiting or reducing the amount of cupping and crowning a floor can exhibit when exposed to differing levels of humidity. Engineered floors are versatile, allowing them to be installed in any part of the home whether it be the basement or directly on slab. These floors can be stapled, glued, nailed, or even floated over existing subfloors.

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How to protect hardwood floors from rolling office chairs?

Are you concerned about the appearance of your hardwood floors becoming ruined by office chairs? This is a legitimate concern for many hardwood floor owners who enjoy sporting hardwood floors in their office, either at work or even at home.

Rolling office chairs undoubtedly overtime will leave marks on your hardwood floors unless you take proactive steps in an effort to prevent this issue from occurring. Scuff marks are the number one issue, which occur from wear and tear moving back and forth, especially if your chair has hard casters on it.

Follow our advice below to prevent shredding your hardwood floor from rolling office chairs.

1. Check Your Chair’s Casters/Wheels

Check out your chair’s casters, or wheels, and see if they feel hard or not. Chances are they will be hard as most are made from hard plastic or hard nylon.Replacing them with a softer alternative is what we recommend. Softer alternatives include rubber, urethane, and neoprene options. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully in order to replace your casters.If this is too daunting of a task, then we have an easier approach you could try. Place a layer of duct tape around the caster’s circumference and this will lesson the impact on the floor.

2. Utilizing Area Rugs or Chair Mats

Look in to purchasing a chair mat for your rolling office chair. This will keep the wheels on the mat and off of your hardwood floors. If you find yourself moving your chair around often and in wide space, then consider purchasing a larger area rug instead. Rugs of woven material are recommended.

3. Maintenance

Maintenance goes a long way. By consistently keeping your floors clean from debris, as well as your chair’s rollers or casters, very little damage will happen to your floors. Combine this with the other 2 options we suggested above and your office floors will shine for many years!

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How to Protect Your Floors/Furniture from Exposure to Sunlight

If you’ve ever had an upholstered sofa or a decorative rug in front of a window and noticed it fading more and more each year, you know what direct sunlight can do to your furniture and belongings. You might not realize that it can actually even change the color of your wood floors and bleach your artwork and family portraits. Sun damage isn’t only unsightly, though. It is also costly and will likely force you to replace your rugs and other home furnishings more often. While you might not be able to slather a layer of sunscreen on your sofa, there are a number of preventive measures you can take to ward off sun damage. Use these tips to protect your belongings and save yourself a little money while you’re at it.
What Is the Best Form of Protection?

Obviously, some measures of protection are relatively common sense, such as keeping your curtains closed and blinds drawn. However, if you’re like most of us and don’t want to feel like you’re living in a dungeon, you may want to consider other options.

Windows – One of your first lines of defense is your windows themselves. If you are in the process of building a new home or upgrading your windows in your existing home, a great option for your windows is laminated or low-e coated glass. Some manufacturers claim their products made with this type of glass can filter as much as 99 percent of harmful UV radiation. Keep in mind, though, that this option may cost more than traditional windows.

Window Film – Window film is another option to consider if you’re not in the market for replacing all of your windows. Not only does this film filter UV light, but it also makes windows resistant to breaking and facilitates less heat loss. If your main concern is sun damage, then focus on UV protection when you are selecting films. You can purchase window film from a local home improvement center and install it yourself, or have a professional complete the install.

Floor Protection – Sun exposure lightens certain types of wood and darkens other. Be sure to move furniture around regularly so as to create more even sun exposure throughout the room. Likewise, consider applying a sun-resistant sealant on your wood floors. Depending on the type of floors you have and the look you’d like to achieve, you can use varnish, lacquer, polyurethane, or shellac. There are also several wax and oil finishes that will protect your wood floors.

Carpet and Rug Maintenance – Rugs and carpets are also highly susceptible to sun damage. You may want to consider applying a spray-on protector, though their efficacy has come under debate in recent years. Likewise, rotating your rugs and moving furniture around periodically can help equalize fading.

While you may not be able to completely eliminate sun damage to your floors and furniture, you can prevent and reduce a great deal of it. Follow these tips to minimize damage and keep your floors and furniture as pristine as possible for as long as you can.

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