Protecting your Hardwood Flooring in Summer

Beyond the beauty of your hardwood flooring, the warmth they bring to any environment, and their long-lasting characteristics, these floors are not indestructible. It is easy to forget that harsh weather damages them.

Also, during the summer many circumstances can be particularly aggressive to them. More direct sunlight, the higher summer temperature, a higher percentage of humidity, and the wear and tear produced by increased dirt or sand, can damage your wood floors and make them look worn, rustic, or simply ugly. Our PETER Hardwood Flooring professionals have a few ideas on how you can deal with these problems and even prevent them.

Sunlight
The summer sun is warm and relaxing in the rooms of the house, but it can be a problem for your engineered hardwood flooring Chicago as well as for your solid hardwood floors. Sunlight also means ultraviolet rays, which slowly discolor things, including your hardwood floors, making them more brittle. This doesn’t happen in the short term, but it does happen slowly and inevitably.
Over time the sun bleaches everything from your roof, car to your floors. The sun-induced discoloration is inevitable over time and gave rise to the popular expression “sun-bleached”. The darker your wood floors are, the more vulnerable they are to sunlight.

Preventing Sunlight Damage
Thinking of a preventive approach, it would be ideal to shut the blinds and curtain to avoid sunlight during the hours of more intense sunlight on our hardwood flooring, especially during summer. Usually, these hours are between noon and 5 pm in the United States. One option is to lower the blinds or use sunlight filtering curtains, allowing some light to pass through. It will prevent this UV-intense radiation and also will keep your home cooler during the night.
You can also have your wood floors professionally treated to minimize sun damage. Some of the available solutions include sealing and the application of UV-resistant wax or varnish to your wooden floors. Your best option is to have one of these treatments applied to your floors periodically by an experienced wood floor maintenance professional. Our PETER Hardwood Flooring skilled and knowledgeable specialists can take care of this job, guaranteeing a top-quality result. Recoating is not the same as refinishing, but we will explain the difference later on.

Temperature Changes
Major temperature swings between summer and winter are unavoidable in many areas of the United States. This causes certain materials, wood among them, to expand and contract accordingly. This process leads to progressive wood deformation and possible cracks, ruptures, or loosening of parts of your wooden floor.

Prevention of damage caused by temperature
The solution is simpler in winter since you only have to keep the house relatively warm. In summer, on the other hand, it means keeping the house cool. By doing this, we minimize the range of the seasonal temperature variation, making it moderate, instead of drastic. If you also combine this action with proper sealing and insulation of your engineered hardwood flooring, the damage caused by temperature will be minimized, giving your flooring extra life.

Insidious Summer Humidity
Humidity, combined with high temperatures, can be a powerful element that destroys your hardwood floors. In areas with a dry climate, humidity is not a problem, but in other regions, there is persistent moisture during the summer. It will eventually damage and even rot any type of wood floor and can also contribute to the wood warping. These damages are even quicker when there is humidity associated with drastic temperature changes.

How to prevent humidity damage
The first step in preventing humidity damage is to minimize it on your hardwood flooring. You should avoid getting them very wet more than strictly necessary. If your hardwood floors get wet, dry them quickly and when cleaning them, avoid using very wet or steam mops.
Secondly, as we mentioned above, keep your floors well-sealed and professionally treated. Finally, try to lower the air humidity in your house throughout the year. You can try good ventilation, or use humidity control devices or a robust HVAC system.

Sand, gravel, and dirt during the summer
Summer is ripe for outdoor adventures, trips to the beach, or backyard games if you have one. Unfortunately, all of these activities will likely mean more dirt or grit on your hardwood floors. Dirt, in particular, can create a breeding ground for fungal infections, therefore increasing the risk of damage to them. On the other hand, gravel and sand can begin to wear away the layers of varnish or wax on your floor, allowing humidity and sunlight to do additional damage.

Prevention of summer dirt damage
The solution to prevent sand and dirt from damaging your floors is easy. First of all, be proactive and ask everyone to remove or clean their shoes before entering the house, and if dirt or sand gets in, just remove it as quickly as possible. Keep a dirt trapping mat outside the door to wipe shoes and feet on before entering. If your hardwood floors are still deteriorating and looking worn, you may use our hardwood floor repair service to make that summer damage disappear.

Treat your floors as they deserve
It doesn’t matter how damaged your hardwood floors are. Regardless of the type of wood of your floorings, we can professionally refinish them, giving them back their original appearance or giving them the color of your choice. Our experts at PETER Hardwood Flooring offer these hardwood floor refinishing services, which include a variety of staining, sanding, repair, and installation options. We can make your home look completely new again.