Wood flooring 'reacts to the environment'

Homeowners with wood flooring have been issued advice regarding how changes in temperature will affect the material.

US retailer SCS Hardwood Floors recently noted that it has been bombarded with questions about how fitted wood floors will react to changes in humidity and climate.

"Wood flooring reacts to the environment it is in. Wood gains or loses moisture and correspondingly gets bigger or smaller based on the moisture content and temperature of its surroundings," it said.

The company went on to state that acceptable indoor conditions for wood floors range from 30 to 50 per cent relative humidity.

It added that air can only hold so much moisture but observed that warmer air has a greater capacity for water than that of cold air.

Similarly, SCS claimed that heating or cooling the temperature in a home will not alter the amount of moisture in the air - only its capacity to contain water.

This comes after the LA Times recommended the use of a humidifier in controlling the humidity of a property.

By Alan Wicks
 

Date : 17/01/2011
Category: Flooring home improvement news