Dehumidifier Ruin Wood Floors

What happens if cupping doesn t get fixed.

Dehumidifier ruin wood floors.

How high and low humidity can ruin your wood floors wood is one of the most beautiful materials you can use for flooring and it s also one of the most durable. A dehumidifier is great for humidity in the air but wet warped floors need a more direct and aggressive approach to avoid lasting damage. I recently had a call asking whether a dehumidifier installed in a crawl space can over dry the crawl space and cause problems with a hardwood floor. If the indoor relative humidity is above 60 you should use an air conditioner to dry out the air.

But before you get overly concerned about dehumidifying crawl spaces let me explain the realities. While most hvac humidifiers do not saturate the air with enough water to damage your hardwood floors there is such a thing as too much moisture. Splits checks when the wood is faced with extreme conditions it can be stressed beyond its limitations. In the summer you should be using a dehumidifier regularly.

The humidity levels in your home are extremely important for maintaining your wood floors because moisture loss causes wood to shrink and moisture absorption causes wood to swell. One of those special considerations is your home s relative humidity level. 50 may be a terrible number for your university test grades but it s the perfect humidity level for your floors. Besides the visible warping of your hardwood floorboards the floor could fail.

That said a hickory wood floor will expand and shrink more than a red oak floor with humidity swings. But that s not to say that wood floors don t need periodic maintenance and a few special considerations. Once humidity levels rise again the hardwood floor will expand and most gaps will close up again. Hardwood floors are a classic design choice with several practical benefits but despite the aesthetic appeal wood flooring is incredibly vulnerable to water damage leaky roofs busted pipes overflowed toilets and other sources of sudden floods can turn gorgeous wood planking into a warped mold prone mess in just days.

If you see an area with minor buckling and or other slight signs of water damage it won t hurt to take the easy way out first and try this quick and simple repair. Depending on how much moisture and how long the hardwood floor is exposed to it it can do irreparable damage. A buckled floor with only minor damage can sometimes be repaired simply by removing the excess moisture but serious buckling will necessitate replacing the hardwood boards. My answer was yes technically you could over dry a crawl space.

Many homeowners worry about having too much moisture for their new hardwood floors and will install a dehumidifier thinking this is the best way to protect their floors from excess moisture for years to come.