It takes a full 30 days for the floors to cure, so it's ideal to wait 30 days before putting area rugs on the surface. If you want to put area rugs back sooner, than 2 weeks is another good benchmark.
How long do I have to wait to use my room after my floors are refinished? We recommend waiting 6 hours before walking on your new floors in socks. After 24 hours you can walk through with shoes on.
The manufacturer recommends the following for floors finished with Bona Traffic HD: The curing process takes approximately 3 days (80% cured after 1 day, 100% after 3 days). The floor may be walked on after 24 hours, but remains susceptible to scuffing or marring until completely cured.
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 strong scent of polyurethane and stain lingers in the atmosphere for very long and can kick-start a migraine any time or all the time. Even if it's not causing migraines, it's still uncomfortable to live in a house where the floor is being refinished and there are strong odors in the air.
It is a terrible idea to sleep or stay in a house after staining floors. The stain fumes are often overwhelming and highly toxic. In addition, exposure to such a stinky smell for long periods of time can trigger severe breathing problems and other health issues to both humans and pets.
Distilled white vinegar
White vinegar can also refresh the air in your entire house. Pour a bit of this vinegar into small containers and place them in the corners of the varnished floor. Let it sit overnight and replace them as necessary. Alternatively, you can simmer a bit of the vinegar for about an hour.
Can Hardwood Flooring Acclimate in the Box? It is possible to acclimate hardwood flooring in the box, but it will take much longer due to the lack of air circulation.
It is important to acclimate solid hardwood because wood is hygroscopic. This means that it will take on moisture from the environment it is in. Taking on or losing too much moisture will cause wood to change. It can expand, shrink, check, or split because of excessive moisture changes.
If hardwood planks are not allowed to acclimate to their environment before installation, issues like cupping, warping, and gapping can arise.
We recommend at least 2 coats of oil based polyurethane + a lacquer sealer coat as a minimum for hardwood flooring. Extra coats = extra protection, but only one coat of oil based polyurethane may be applied per day, as it needs 24 hours to dry before applying another coat.
When using water-based or fast-drying oil-based finish, you can walk on polyurethane wood floors with socks in 24 hours. After 7 days you can put heavy things on polyurethane wood floors.
Polyurethane dries in 24-48 hours and takes about 30 days to fully cure.
If they buffed any of the coats (the sealer, or one of the finish coats), you shouldn't be feeling that roughness.
Dogs should stay off refinished hardwood floors for at least 24 hours. This will be the amount of time that an oil-based polyurethane coat needs to dry all the way.
The acid in animal urine or vomit can damage the finish and the wood floor boards. Large, active dogs with long, sharp nails digging into hardwood can cause scratches and dents. Spilled food or water, when left for extended periods of time, can seep into hardwood plank seams and lead to unsightly water damage.
You probably have heard that wood expands in the humid conditions of summer and spring, and then contracts in winter dryness. For this reason, it is usually recommended that you install hardwood floors during the cold months. Because as the days warm up, the wood will expand, maintaining a good fit.
The safe temperature range for hardwood floors is typically between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Proper humidity level for your hardwood floor
The National Wood Floor Association (NWFA) states that normal relative humidity levels should range between 30%-50% to ensure successful long-term performance of your wood flooring.
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.
If the wood is installed too dry, when it picks up moisture from the higher humidity environment it will expand and could cause permanent cupping. The goal is to acclimate the wood to whatever the normal living conditions are and ensure the wood flooring moisture content is within 2% of the subfloor moisture content.
The easiest and most common way to acclimate is to place the cartons in the room you'll be installing in for a minimum of three days prior (longer is always better). If you have the room, space the cartons out. If not, cartons can be stacked (but staggered) to allow as much air to circulate as possible.
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.
While these oil-based products can off-gas for months or years, the most severe off-gassing occurs in the first few days after application. For a greener alternative to traditional floor finishes, stick to water-based products, which contain around 50 to 250 grams of VOCs per liter.
Depending on the product used, and the current weather conditions, each coat could take either hours or days. Figure at least two days for the “sand and poly” job or three to seven days for a full refinishing project, plus at least one day if you're adding color.