You can protect your wood floors with a whole-home humidifier. Most wood flooring manufacturers require the homeowner to keep their floors in a consistent environment because wood responds to temperature and humidity changes. When the air is dry, wood shrinks.
Low humidity can cause hardwood floors to dry out, shrink, crack, or damage the wood's finish. It is vital to keep the humidity level between 35-55% for the well-being of your hardwood floors.
Here's the Hardwood Golden Rule: With both solid and engineered hardwoods, you should aim to keep humidity levels in your home between 35% and 55%. Now here's why. If the humidity level drops below 35%, it can be a problem for your hardwood.
Your hardwood floors would be at risk of warping, crowning, and buckling. So if you live in a place that happens to get humid, especially in the summer, then it's highly recommended that you get a dehumidifier. It could help you save money in the long run on repairs needed for your home.
According to wood flooring experts, moisture levels of between 6-9% enable wooden floors to maintain optimal performance. Therefore, if your hardwood floor is too dry, you can rehydrate it to the recommended levels using vinegar solution, a humidifier, water-based polyurethane, or oil-based urethane.
That's called hardwood cupping. Excess moisture is the culprit when it comes to hardwood cupping. This happens when the humidity level is high, when the boards absorb too much moisture from the subfloor, from water leaks and spills or even by cleaning your hardwood flooring in the wrong manner.
Install an appropriate humidifier during heating season or areas of low humidity. Install a dehumidifier if your room exceeds more than 50% RH for more than a few days. Clean your hardwood floors with products approved by the manufacturer. Never use water-based products.
It can take up to several weeks for wood flooring to completely dry. Also, the humidity in the room and the amount of water that was present on the floor can prolong the process. So leave the fans and dehumidifier running until the moisture test shows that no water remains in the wood.
During the summer, all wood floors tend to expand because wood reacts to moisture. Air with a high moisture content (MC) or high relative humidity (RH) causes wood to gain moisture. Extreme moisture can cause cupping (when the edges raise higher than the middle of the wood planks) or even buckling.
Acclimation of wood flooring begins with proper storage at the job site. It should be cross stacked and spaced to encourage air circulation around the boards. Most manufacturers recommend materials acclimate for a minimum of three days with no maximum suggested.
The area immediately surrounding the portable unit can get too humid, and the water droplets that fall from the air close to the humidifier can damage small areas of your floors.
At a minimum, you should wait at least 24 hrs before walking on the floors; for hours 24-48, it's best to wear socks only (no shoes, no bare feet). Ideally, you should wait a total of 4 days before moving furniture back. This is to allow enough time for the floors to dry and cure.
So why exactly could your second floor be so humid? Many factors can contribute to the humidity level in a home, such as poor insulation, a faulty air conditioning system, a leaky attic, the climate and summer season, and even whether you use exhaust fans when you shower or cook in your home.
The best way to clean hardwood floors is to adopt a regular routine. Use a broom or hardwood floor mop for cleaning wood floors daily. A microfiber dust mop pre-treated with a dusting agent will pick up dust and dirt and prevent scratches. Vacuum your hardwood floor once a week.
When wood gets wet, the wood absorbs the water and begins to expand and eventually cup (or warp). This is when the sides of the wood flooring swell and rise higher than the center of the boards, creating an uneven surface.
There is no set time. This depends upon the type of hardwood you have as well as the finish. Some finishes are better than others at repelling water. However, if the water sits on your floors for longer than 24 hours, you'll likely deal with some type of damage or mold growth.
Generally, the required range is between 60-80 degrees with a relative humidity range of 35 percent to 55 percent. Wood floors don't like sudden indoor climate changes, and neither do we.
A poor balance of humidity in your home has the potential to destroy your wood furniture. When exposed to an excessive amount of humidity, the wood furniture can expand and begin to deteriorate. High levels of humidity are most frequently observed in the spring and summer time.
Solid hardwood floors move in sync with fluctuating conditions in their environment. They expand when the humidity increases, and contract when it decreases. During the winter months, contracting floors will often leave thin cracks or gaps between the planks.
This cupping will gradually subside with time and multiple seasonal changes but may not completely go away. The most often repair choice is to re-sand and refinish the flooring.
If the buckling is only minor, in many cases the boards might return back to normal. If the boards are still showing areas of damage and buckling, you'll need to replace them.
High Humidity
Especially in small and windowless parts of your house, like the bathroom and kitchen. Your wooden floor can absorb moisture from the air, and this will cause the wood to expand and to buckle. Fans and ventilation can reduce buckling, though.
Dehumidifiers work by removing moisture from the air and replacing it with dry air. Used in conjunction with fans and heaters they can speed up drying out a floor. The problem with using a dehumidifier to dry out a floor is that it will collect moisture from the entire room not just the wet surface.