Hardwood flooring is a lifelong investment that brings a lasting beauty and style to your home. Even though we may find it difficult to keep our floors clean as well as protect them from scratches, dents, spills, and all other unforeseen events; the biggest offender to hardwood floor is the damage done by ultraviolet rays of the sun. You may notice that areas of the floor that get a lot of sun may begin to lighten and dry up. Once wood floors begin to dry, they tend to split and crack. Mike’s Custom Flooring has a few tips and suggestions that will help you keep your hardwood floors from becoming a victim of sun damage.
Protect Your Floor from Sun Shining Through Windows
One way to prevent the sun lightening your hardwood floors is to make sure your windows and other sources of light have proper screens and blinds. Preventing the sun from damaging your floor is much easier than people think. If you have blinds that retract up and down, have the blinds slats point upward. In other words you want the top of the slats to face in and the bottoms tilted outwards. Most people don’t consider that the angle of the light is being reflected down onto your hardwood floor. Curtains on windows are an added layer of protection that will help prevent the sun from causing damage.
Protective Coatings for Your Hardwood Flooring
The next best step is putting on a protective coating. You may want to use a professional floor company to get the best products for hardwood floor coatings. There are many products that are on the open market today that do absolute wonders for your floor. Waxes, and floor sealers have many top choice that can be found in local markets. However they don’t last long and will need reapplying about every 3 months.
Area Rugs & Furniture Help Protect Hardwood Floors from Sun Damage
For those who don’t want to live like a bat, and want to occasionally let in the glory of sunlight, use area rugs. If it goes with your personal home décor, you might want to use rugs in the areas most prone to the force of the sun’s light. However if the rugs don’t cover the whole area, you may end up with the lighter rug outline on your hardwood floor. More than likely, this will become unattractive to you very quickly. If you use a rug, make sure it covers the entire area affected by sunlight. Another suggestion is to rearrange your furniture. Not only does it change up the walking paths to prevent wear from high foot traffic areas, it also gives the wood time to recover. After recoating your floors, you show change up the furniture layout.
Hardwood Floor Services in Charles Town & Eastern Panhandle of Berkeley & Jefferson Counties in WV | Winchester & Frederick County | Round Hill & Loudoun County | Fairfax County VA
After you have covered your windows, used rugs, rearranged furniture form time to time, and applied your protective coatings, you’ll find you have beautiful hardwood floors that will last for a long time. Hardwood floors bring a beautiful and unique characteristic to your home. Mike’s Custom Flooring wants to help you to preserve that investment. For more tips on how to protect your hardwood floor, don’t hesitate to ask Mike’s Custom Flooring. We’re always happy to help you!
