Humidity Levels and Wooden Floors

Everyone would love a home with real, solid wood floors. They’re beautiful, relatively easy to keep clean, and can last for a really long time. But did you know that there’s a silent enemy of wood flooring? Well, it’s true and its name is humidity. Humidity levels inside your home can change due to a number of factors, and those factors have a pretty big impact on your nice wood floors. So what can you do? Read on for some tips from the team at Claghorn Custom Flooring.

What Is Humidity?

First things first, what exactly is humidity? Humidity is the measurement of water vapor in the air. In general, when referring to humidity, most people are talking about the outdoors and how it can affect the temperature. But humidity plays a large role inside your home as well. In most cases, you want the humidity in your home to be between 30% – 50%. This is best for your health and your home.

Signs Humidity Is Too High

What happens to hardwood floors when the humidity gets too high? Hardwood floors will absorb the moisture from the air and start to swell. This can lead to your boards cupping, crowning, buckling, or cracking due to increased stress as the boards push on one another as they expand.

Signs Humidity Is Too Low

If your home drops in humidity, your floors can start to dry out. As your floorboards dry, they’ll start to shrink and pull apart from one another. This can lead to gaps in your floors or, again, cracking as the wood becomes too dry.

How to Maintain Humidity

What is the best way to maintain proper humidity levels in your home? Start with measurement. Some thermostats will have the humidity level on them, and if not, you can find devices that will measure the humidity of a room for relatively cheap. From there, either use a humidifier or dehumidifier to raise or lower the levels appropriately. Also, it’s important to know that different seasons will lead to different humidity levels as well.

Need help with hardwood flooring in the Zionsville, Indiana area? Claghorn Custom Flooring has you covered. We can also handle your carpet installation, vinyl flooring installation, or tile flooring installation. You can contact us today at (317) 873-6202 to request a free estimate.