Protecting Your Wooden Floors from Inclement Weather

Inclement weather will take a real toll on those beautiful wood floors that complete the look of your home. While wood flooring is definitely durable and modern protective treatments can take care of the issues that used to damage floors back in the day, nonetheless homeowners can’t get complacent. You have to prioritize securing your hardwood floors from the elements. Some seasons can be very tough on wood flooring. Spring, winter, and fall bring lots of moisture and precipitation, which can damage the flooring. If you’re unprepared, it might be your floor’s season finale. Cold and snowy days can be really damaging. So for homeowners in places with all four seasons, they can take the following preparations to keep their floors pristine:

Proper Arrangement

 

• Use mats that can handle drips, which people can also wipe their shoes on. Strategically position them near entrances. 

 

• Shoe storage will help because wet or snowy boots can create puddles in the house. Put some mats, trays and shoe racks near the front door and promptly remove your footwear when you enter the house. They can switch to inside slippers or other footwear. 

 

• Seats or benches near the entrance can make it easier for people to remove their footwear as they enter the home.

Managing Moisture

• Mind the salt. Sidewalks and streets are salted to clear the snow and ice, but this unintentionally ends up inside a home when people enter. The hard salt particles scratch the flooring and if they stay there, they’ll leave marks and stains that will be hard to remove when they solidify. So routinely vacuum and sweep up salt. 

 

• Avoid petroleum-based, rubber-backed mats since these can discolor the wood.

 

• Mind the air humidity. Overly cold and dry air indoors will cause the moisture within the wood to evaporate into the air, which is tough on the wood. When the moisture is sucked from the flooring, it will shrink, creak and even splinter, making them brittle and weak.

 

• Humidifiers for the home’s HVAC can maintain a good amount of humidity.

 

• Remember hardwood floorboards accommodate minor temperature and humidity fluctuations. 

 

• Use the proper cleaning products and avoid using too much water when you’re cleaning floors. Use soaps that are designed for wood floors. If need be, check with flooring manufacturers and services to find out which detergents are safe to use.