When the temperature changes outside our office, we automatically change it on the inside, turning our heating up or down or our air conditioning on or off to make ourselves comfortable; however, have you ever thought about the effect your working conditions are having on your hardwood flooring?
Although solid wood flooring is made of ‘dead’ trees, this wood still reacts to the humidity and temperature changes of your home. Our skin is affected by high temperatures and high humidity and the same is true of your wooden floors, regardless of whether they are laminate, engineered wood or solid wood.
It does not matter how the flooring has been installed, as all wood floors will lose or absorb moisture if the conditions change rapidly or slowly within your office.
A maintained environment
All manufacturers and retailers of wood flooring, store their products in a stable and maintained environment; therefore, the humidity and temperature conditions inside your home should be kept within a particular range for the designed flooring to perform as it should.
The range will depend on the manufacturer of the floor, but the temperature is normally between 60 and 80 degrees and the humidity range is between 35 per cent and 55 per cent. Wood floors do not like sudden changes in these conditions.
An unstable environment
When a wooden floor is installed in an office with large fluctuations in humidity and temperature, it is going to react. this could be due to computer terminals heating up, body heat or sun light through the windows. The floor will expand and swell when the humidity rises, which is why gaps are left between the floor and the wall. When this humidity jumps too quickly, the floor may expand beyond these gaps; when this happens, there is only one way for the wood floor to go and this is up! This leaves you with a buckled floor and although the floor may start to shrink back once the humidity reduces, the edges of the flooring are now crushed and damaged beyond repair. You may also see gaps between the boards.
What you may want to consider is hiring a office cleaning Cheltenham company found at sites including intocleaning.co.uk/ to come in and regularly clean the floors with the right equipment and correct chemicals to keep them to a high standard. This should reduce the humidity and also solve any other dirt issues that are building up. You could even ask them about their window cleaning services and washroom services when they come in.
On the other hand, if the humidity levels drop too low, you may see gaps appearing around the edge of the room and between the boards. They may also split or crack, causing permanent damage and an unsightly floor.
