Hardwood floors can improve the look of your home and increase its resale value. But while hardwoods are known for being durable and long-lasting, they aren’t indestructible. If you’ve noticed damage to your wood floors but can’t pinpoint the culprit, it may be one of these ten things.
1. PVC and Latex Rug Pads
A good rug pad can prevent your area rug from slipping and protect the floors underneath. But choosing the wrong one for your floor type will result in irreversible damage. PVC and latex rug pads are two examples of things that can ruin your hardwoods.
PVC and latex rug pads have additives called plasticizers. When in contact with a wood floor with a urethane finish, a chemical reaction occurs, which can discolor the wood below or cause the rug pad to adhere to the floor.
When choosing a rug pad (or backing) for your hardwoods, always go with felt or natural rubber that doesn’t have added plasticizers.
2. Road Salt/Salt Melt
If you live in a snowy climate, chances are you’re tracking road salt or sidewalk salt into the home. When salt comes into contact with your wood floors, it can ruin them in two ways. First, the abrasive nature of the large chunks of salt melt can scrape against your floor, causing scratches. Secondly, the salt can react with the wood’s topcoat, eventually wearing down the finish and dulling the wood.
In the winter, keep snow off of your hardwood floors by utilizing a shoe rack and scraping off shoes and boots before entering the home.
3. Snow from Your Shoes
Wood and excess moisture don’t mix. If you notice that some of your floorboards look warped or swollen, the snow from your shoes may be the culprit. Keep your wood floors dry by taking a proactive approach to keeping snow off the floors during the winter months.
4. Excess Indoor Humidity
Wood is porous, which means it can absorb moisture, causing it to expand. When you have excess indoor humidity, your floorboards are prone to expanding and warping and can even develop mold.
Excess humidity is most common in the warmer months and in rooms without proper ventilation, like the basement and bathrooms. In the summer, the relative humidity in your home should be between 30 and 50%. Keep levels in check with a dehumidifier.
5. Low Humidity Levels
While excess humidity is harmful to your floors, low humidity is just as bad. If you notice that your floors are cracking or splitting, look extra dull, or have gaps between the boards, low humidity is likely to blame.
Low humidity levels in the home are most common during the winter months since cold air can’t retain as much moisture as warm air. Pair this with indoor heating that further dries things out, and you’re looking at less-than-ideal humidity levels.
Purchase or bring out your humidifier and set it at 40% to keep the air in your home healthy and to restore your wood floors back to an appropriate moisture balance.
6. Vinegar
The natural disinfecting properties of vinegar make it a great household cleaner. But that doesn’t mean it’s suitable for all surfaces.
Vinegar is acidic. Sealed hardwood floors have a clear topcoat that protects them from wear, and requires a pH-neutral cleaner. The acidity in the vinegar will eat at your floor’s topcoat, eroding it over time. Once the sealant on your floors is gone, the wood will be susceptible to water damage and wear.
While it’s okay to occasionally use diluted vinegar for a hardwood floor cleaner, it shouldn’t be your go-to. Instead, stick to a gentle product intended for wood floors.
7. Steam Mops
It’s true—steam mops leave floors looking cleaner than just about any other type of mop or cleaning solution. However, they can wreak havoc on your hardwoods. The pressurized steam these machines emit can easily penetrate the cracks between your hardwood planks, causing moisture damage and warping. The high heat may also wear down your floor’s topcoat.
8. Chairs with Wheels
Furniture pads can keep most furniture legs from scuffing up your hardwoods. Unfortunately, due to their rolling nature, you can’t place felt pads under the wheels of a chair.
A wheeled chair frequently rolling around causes scuffs, scratches, dents, and dulling of the wood. You don’t need to throw your chair out, but be sure to place an area rug underneath it to protect the floors.
9. Vacuums with Beater Bars
Carpet vacuums feature beater bars, which contain stiff bristles that scrape against the carpet as the vacuum is pushed, helping dislodge hair, dirt, and debris. While these bars deep clean and fluff carpet they can destroy your hardwoods.
When shopping for a vacuum, ensure that it’s hardwood-friendly. If you have carpet and hard floors in your home, look for a vacuum with settings for each floor type so that the beater bar can retract when sweeping your wood floors.
10. The Sun
If you’ve noticed a patch of discolored floor where you have a large window, the sun may be to blame. Excess sunlight can bleach wood floors, causing them to lighten.
Fortunately, this is an easy fix — utilize curtains or blinds to block the sun during the most intense times of the day.
