Top Summer Tips for Wood Flooring

It is official – the long-awaited summer season of 2019 has finally arrived and we are more than happy to enjoy all the upcoming summer adventures! It is the wonderful season of holidays, longer days spent with the people you love, sipping on a delicious cocktail on the beach, digging your toes into the warm sand, and… well, the long-awaited season of practically everything wonderful!

But as much as the summer is synonymous with holiday and relaxation, this does not mean that you should be completely and entirely carefree, at least as much as you don’t forget about your home! That is right, no matter if you are planning to spend the season at home, or leave it for a few weeks while you travel and visit the beach, you should now take proper care of it, make sure you keep it protected, so you can enjoy it the most once you are back home from your holiday. Well, remember, taking care of your home is not a party killer and it takes little to no effort to keep it in the cosy and pleasant condition you want to enjoy once summer rolls around.

One of the most strategic things you can do for your home while it is the beginning of the summer season is to take proper care of your solid wood flooring and prepare it for the upcoming season. Honestly, wood floors come with a bunch of benefits and advantages over other flooring options available on the market, but just anything else in this world, if you want to enjoy something for a long time, in perfect condition and appearance, and have it serve you with loyalty and in long-term, you should take care of it.

Real wood floors are naturally very hygienic and easy to maintain, besides being very beautiful, elegant, durable, and hard-wearing. This pretty much means that seasonal transition is a simple process when you are lucky enough to have a wooden floor and even your everyday cleaning and maintenance routine is easy enough. Real wood floors will not make you invest too much energy, money, time, and elbow grease into keeping them in pristine condition. Still, some additional efforts are well-welcomed if you want to prepare your beautiful wooden floor for the upcoming warmer and longer days. Here is our comprehensive list of the best summer tips and tricks for wood floors.

So while you are planning your next holiday, don’t forget about your beautiful wooden flooring and make sure to follow these top summer tips for keeping your floor in perfect condition:

Use blinds and curtains

Natural light makes wonders with wooden floors. The way it falls on the surface of the glossy floor, the finish reflecting the light, how much it brightens the room and makes it feel cleaner and more spacious, the way the sun rays follow the simple lines of the wooden floorboards… it is all that amazing, but don’t forget that real wood floors should not be exposed to direct sunlight all the time.

This is why we recommend you use your curtains or blinds during the hours of the day with the most fun activity or shut the curtains down completely while you are on holiday. Wood is pretty sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, the more active the sun is, the quicker you can expect it to affect the finish of the floor, make the colour of the floor more yellow, fade, or get dull, and the floorboards to get dryer quickly. Keeping your blinds and curtains shut down for a couple of hours of the day will help you protect your floor from all the negative impacts.

Choose a floor finish with a UV filter

Similarly, if you want to protect real wood from the impact of active sun and direct sunlight, maybe you should consider a floor finish with an added UV filter the next time you are planning a wood flooring refinishing, sanding, and restoration. Just like with the SPF creams, you apply on your body while on the beach, the UV filter added to the floor finish reflects the sunlight and this way it prevents the wood from getting dry, damaged, and discoloured. It is extra care every real wood floor will be thankful for!

Don't forget the doormats

Make sure to place a few doormats strategically to catch all dirt, dust, and moisture, and prevent them from entering your home. This is a tip you are recommended to follow all year round and summertime is not an exception. By placing mats on both sides of your front door, you are not only keeping your house cleaner and healthier, protected from indoor allergens, bacteria, and germs entering your house and spreading around, but you are also protecting your floor. The fine dust and dirt particles work as a fine but destructive abrasive that leaves scratches and fine marks on the surface of the floor and leads to quicker wear and tear of the finish. Furthermore, the more dust and dirt enter the home, the more build-ups you will have to deal with and the harder the cleaning of the floor will be. And we are sure that you are not particularly excited about scrubbing and hoovering all day long, right?!

Vacuum your floor with the bare floor attachment

Cleaning your floor and keeping it in good condition is important, but over-cleaning your floor is not recommended. You should also be smart about the methods and ways you choose for cleaning the wooden surface. Real wood can be prone to damage even if you clean it inappropriately, this is why you should have a tried and tested cleaning routine on hand. One of the most important tips when it comes to wood flooring cleaning and maintenance is always hovering with the bare flooring attachment and never with the beater bar. The beater bar can easily scratch the surface of the floor and leave dents and marks. The bare wood attachment, on another hand, is created to be less aggressive to the smooth and uniform surface of your floor, but still strong enough to get rid of the dust and dirt.

Check the felt tips under the legs of furniture pieces

You have just purchased some new furniture pieces so you can refresh the interior of your home. However, you have noticed that there or no help or rubber tips attached to the legs of the furniture pieces. When it comes to the furniture you have had for a long time, the felt or rubber tips may have already fallen or just worn out.

Now make sure to buy a set of new ones next time you go to the store and attach them to the legs of your furniture pieces. It is very essential for keeping your floor free of scratches, dents, and marks from moving the furniture around and dragging it across the room. The felt tips work as little pillows that soften the weight of the heavy furniture pieces and make a barrier between sharper edges and the surface of the floor.

Keep the indoor humidity levels between 35 and 55%

As we have already mentioned, real wood can be very sensitive to moisture, humidity, and temperature fluctuations. If constantly exposed to the extreme environment and not the proper indoor conditions, you can pretty much ruin your floor pretty quickly. The range recommended by flooring manufacturers and professionals as the ideal humidity for wooden floors is between 35 and 55% during the more humid summer months.

The damaging effect of too much or too little humidity can be very noticeable in a short period and your flooring may quickly start struggling with cupping and warping. To prevent that and keep the humidity levels in your home within the recommended range, consider purchasing a de-humidifier for maintaining proper indoor humidity levels this summer. Just keep in mind that using the de-humidifier in the wintertime is not recommended, as usual during the winter months the level of indoor humidity is lower and the wooden floorboards will dry out very quickly.

This is it! As you can see, preparing your beloved and beautiful wooden floor for summertime is not that hard and time-consuming at all! Once you are done with the checklist below, now you can finally enjoy your holiday and stop worrying about your floor.