As we explained, along with the cold winter weather comes dry air. To stay toasty warm in our homes, we sometimes crank up the heater, which adds to the problem. While moisture causes hardwood floors to expand and cup, overly dry wood can cause it to shrink, gap, and crack.

Not only is dry air hard on our wood floors, it has many other damaging effects on our healthy… dry noses, cracked, itchy skin, and sore throats. It can also aggravate allergy, asthma, and cold symptoms. Sound familiar? A whole house humidifier can add just the right amount of moisture to your home to help protect your health and floors.

So how does a whole house humidifier work? It is installed directly to your central new or existing heating and cooling system. While continually monitoring relative humidity levels in your home, moisture is introduced into the air in the form of water vapor and is usually distributed via your heating and cooling system ductwork throughout your home.

Here are a few reviews of different whole house humidifier brands (just click on the picture for more information or to purchase from Amazon.com)…
 
 
Honeywell HE360A Whole House Powered Humidifier
This humidifier provides fan-powered flow-thru and whole house humidification with low maintenance. It has low water usage and is compact to allow mounting in more applications. This humidifier has easy installation and is considered to be the best choice for variable speed and multi-stage systems. It humidifies up to 4200 square feet and uses Vista model No. 714 filter pad.
 
 
Aprilaire Model 700 Automatic Whole-House Powered Humidifier with Digital Control
This newly designed model features a flow-thru fan powered technology allowing it be mounted in areas where space is tight. This Humidifier has a built in fan so a bypass duct is unnecessary. It has an evaporative capacity of 0.75 gallons per hour with a water flow through rate of 6 GPH and is capable of humidifying a tightly-constructed home up to 4,200 square feet in size.

Many people don’t know that cherry trees belong to the rose family. Also, Cherry wood used for flooring and furniture  does not come from the same type of tree that produces the fruit – it just belongs to the same genus of plants. With it’s unique grain pattern, Cherry wood is becoming increasingly popular to use for floors. While it doesn’t always take stains well, it is found to have colors that range from cherry in its natural state, to nearly black. The only downside of Cherry hardwoods is that it is a very soft wood that can dent or scratch easily.

This beautiful type of hardwood causes a lush, rich feel that is certain to dramatically transform any living space. Give us a call anytime for more information on American Cherry or adding any other type of hardwood floor to your home.

The first thing to keep in mind when moving heavy furniture over your hardwoods is to prevent injury. Always have a friend to help. Scratches in the floor may be easily fixed, but a hurt back may cause problems for years. Secondly, keep in mind that lifting the furniture is the sure way to prevent scraps. While many pieces of furniture can be easily lifted by one or two people, other pieces are two heavy and pushing them across the floor is the only way to go.

When tackling the heavier furniture, follow these helpful tips…

1. Find a sturdy old blanket or scrap carpet leftover from before the install (clean with the soft side down). A piece of cardboard on top of the blanket may add extra protection.

2. Clear a path for the object to slide through. Move all carpets or other objects in the way.

3. While lifting one corner at a time, slip the blanket or carpet completely under the piece of furniture only under areas touching the floor. If moving a bed or table, 4 separate pieces of cardboard or scrap carpet work well.

4. With a friend’s help, pull the blanket across the floor, with one person behind to push and spot. Keep the blanket as taught as possible.

Warnings: When moving heavy furniture, do not lift the item too high, as this may result in tipping or loss of balance (especially with top heavy furniture). Also, remove all loose items from the furniture’s surfaces and interior.

The finish on your floor is very similar to sunscreen for your skin. It’s important to re-apply it before it wears off to prevent damage. If the top coat of your hardwood floor is starting to look dull and a little scratched up, it might be time to add a maintenance layer. This process is also known as “screen and recoat” or “buff and coat”. We recommend this low cost maintenance coat every 3-5 years to remove mild scuffs and rebuild a solid top coat finish.

The first step in this process is to buff the hardwoods. In order to get a new coat to adhere to the old one, we must lightly sand or ‘screen’ it. A screen is just a round mesh encrusted with abrasive particles. This special mesh is generally less aggressive than sandpaper because there are fewer abrasive particles per square inch. Under the screen are thick soft pads which further reduce the cutting action. This is important because the buffing process should only mar the surface of the floor enough for a new coat of finish to bond. Screening should remove only a tiny fraction of the existing finish, not all of it. Once the buffing process is complete, we add a top coat of finish.

So, every few years, long before the protective coat has grown too thin, you need to maintain your hardwoods with another coat on top. The key word in that sentence is the word “before.” You have to recoat a floor before you see damage. Unfortunately, some homeowners wait too long and are frustrated that a sand and refinish is required.

To test your floor to see if it needs a full refinish or just a recoat, take our easy at home test.

**IMPORTANT: The only way a recoat is possible is if the floor has never come in contact with oil based soaps or cleaners. See our article on Hardwood Floor Cleaner Reviews for more information on safe cleaners.

You may not know this, but hardwood floors are known to be very ecologically sound. They come from trees, a sustainable and natural resources. Unfortunately, trees haven’t always been considered a sustainable resource. In the past, wood was cut down without any thought as to what could happen in the long run to the forest.

Today, the timber used to engineer hardwood floors is cut from forests that are managed in a way to ensure resources for future use. According to statistics from the U.S. Forest Service, just about twice the amount of hardwood timber is put back each year when new growth is harvested.

Furthermore, from time to time a forest can become overly dense. The result can sometimes be trees that are diseased and susceptible to fires. Small trees in the forest’s understory are the casualties of the unavoidable thinning-out process. But there’s good news… they make excellent hardwood floors!

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a nonprofit group that promotes environmentally responsible forestry practices. Wood that is certified by the FSC meet strict criteria related to forest management and ecological concerns. There are a wide range of flooring woods that come with the FSC stamp, including cherry, maple, birch, ash, Douglas fir, oak and more.

Bamboo is another earth conscious choice. Ironically, bamboo hardwood floors are not made out of wood at all… bamboo is a plant (essentially a grass), not a tree. The benefit is that it is fast growing, taking only 5-7 years to reach full growth. Using bamboo as flooring can gradually decrease the rate of deforestation in forests and timberlands.

One eco-friendly alternative to new hardwood flooring is reusing another old hardwood floor. One main benefit to a reclaimed or salvaged wood floor is that it is one of the only green ways to get old-growth wood, particularly rare or extinct species such as American chestnut.

To take it even farther… after the install process, you can continue your efforts to lessen your home’s impact on the Earth by choosing water-based products. They are less energy-intensive to manufacture, less polluting when disposed of, and less threatening to indoor air quality.