The heating season is upon us! Heating your environment typically starts to dry things including your skin and your hardwood floors. Typically we use moisturizers to relieve dry skin and your hardwood floors need similar care in the form of humidity. When floors start to dry out you will see gaps develop between the boards, this can be minimized by running a whole house humidifier. Please make sure that you have a humidifier on your furnace and that it is functioning. So depending on the efficiency of your home it may be necessary, in severe cold snaps, to turn the blower on to cycle air and add humidity when the heat is not running.

Measuring Humidity

The best way to measure the humidity levels in your home is to get a digital hygrometer. This will tell you the interior temperature and relative humidity in your home. If you see the humidity drop into the low 30% range or below, you definitely need to add moisture to the environment to prevent permanent damage to your floor. Manufacturers typically recommend a range of 40-50% RH to minimize movement. Manufacturers do not warrant expansion and contraction as this is an environmental condition related to each individual home, so please take the proper precautions to protect your investment.

Contact the experts!