Easy steps to protecting your hardwood floors this winter
So, to say it’s been a strange year is an understatement! Summer has already disappeared from our minds (did it even happen?) and the winter months are now in the here and now.
We think it’s important to get ahead of the cold winter weather and ensure your hardwood floors are protected from, shrinking, warping or any other unwanted changes.
Here are some key things you can do to save your floors and save you money.
Warping
Whilst we’re normally used to tracking in debris and dirt into our houses after any prolonged time outside, during the colder months you’re more than likely going to bring in moisture because of sleet, snow and of course rain.
One of the biggest issues here is the possibility of your floor warping out of shape – by adding more water to the wood, the moisture levels become unbalanced and a hardwood floor can ultimately warp. And there’s still every possibility of you bringing in dirt and debris into your house during the winter months causing scratches, so the best way to get around this is to sweep up and then mop your floor straight after.
Shrinking/Warping and other damages can be quite very expensive to fix, so by introducing these very easy, straight forward solutions, it’ll save you a lot of money in the long term.
Bringing the outdoors, indoors
With the colder months come an unfortunate amount of snow, which call for the gritters to come out. When grit gets caught in your shoes it can damage your hardwood floors.
Calcium chloride AKA salt can cause scratches and scrapes on your floor, so to avoid this, the best thing to do is introduce floor mats beside every outside-facing door and wipe down shoes when you enter.
It’s important to remember that calcium chloride can cause a wood floor to lose its shine and gloss, so by taking off your shoes and boots, your floor protection will double.
Shifting boards
Have you ever noticed a gap starting to appear between your hardwood floorboards? This happens often during the winter months as a lower humidity causes a lack of moisture in the air and the boards, causing them to shrink quite a lot.
To stop this happening to your floors, get a humidifier. By feeding water into a humidifier, you’ll be introducing the necessary moisture back into your home and therefore protecting your floorboards from shrinking.
You’ll probably need around 5 pints of water per hour to make up for the loss in moisture.
In conclusion…
Speak to the team at Wood Lane Timber Merchants on 0115 964 0888 or email sales@woodlanetimber.co.uk.