Tips For Protecting Your Solid Wood Floorings
For many, luxurious hardwood floors are a must for a modern, beautiful home. While wood flooring has an elegant appearance, it does require some effort to keep it safe, namely from water. Wood is hygroscopic, meaning it expands and contracts when exposed to water and moisture. Too much exposure where the wood can’t properly dry will cause the development of mold and eventually rot the wood. If you want your solid wood flooring to retain its flawless finish, then you’ll need to consider a proper finish to protect it. We at Natural Wood Floors want to spread information on proper wood flooring care so that less homeowners will suffer the unfortunate consequences of wood damage to their homes. We offer hardwood flooring for sale around the United States, and these are the tips we give our customers regarding hardwood floor care.
Choosing Solid Wood Flooring and Finishing
If you’re interested in hardwood flooring for sale, then you’ll need to consider a few things to ensure you get the right kind of wood and the right kind of finish to ensure it lasts for a very long time. If you’re just remodeling your bedroom which won’t likely be exposed to much moisture, then softwood floors can be an option, but hardwood is the preferred material anywhere that water may appear. This is because the wood fibers are more tightly packed in hardwood, which means the wood will absorb less water. You can even take it a step further and try engineered hardwood for additional moisture protection--a great choice for humid areas.
Next is the finish. A finish is a kind of protective barrier that keeps your floors from absorbing a lot of moisture as well as preventing scratching and scraping. It’s important to note that all finishes only provide water resistance and not water proofing. No matter the kind of finish, none will 100% block water from seeping into your floorboards, but they do work to different efficiencies. Oil-based varnishes and polyurethane are some of the best finishes at maximizing your floor’s water resistance.
Maintaining Your Wood Flooring
If you live in a humid area, install your hardwood floors in water-prone areas like the kitchen or bathrooms, or both, then maximum protection is what you’ll want to invest in. As mentioned above, though, even that is not 100% waterproof. In order to keep your floors looking gorgeous, you’ll need to pay attention to areas where water leaks are common and respond appropriately. This means placing absorbent matts in your bathroom, placing a plastic water dish underneath your washing machine, and other preemptive measures to catch water where it will naturally drop. Even then, spills and leaks will eventually happen and you’ll want to respond as quickly as possible to prevent your floor from absorbing the moisture.
Get Hardwood Flooring for Sale from Natural Wood Floors
When it comes to solid wood flooring, we at Natural Wood Floors are one of the United States’ most experienced at sales and floor maintenance. If you dream of having beautiful wood flooring, know that your dream is possible, and by contacting us to supply your wood floors is the first step to making your home perfect.
