Nothing looks better than a freshly polished timber floor in your home. However, you’ll need to maintain it to prevent damage to the hardwood floorboards, that unfortunately, is all too common, including discolouration and stains. But what are the most common aesthetic changes you need to watch out for?
The most common causes of discolouration of timber floors include pet urine, water stains, stains caused by rusted nails, carpeting, and general discolouration over time due to the sun. Regular maintenance can help reduce the effects of these causes, keeping your floors looking great and preserving that glorious gleam for many years to come.
In this article, we’ll cover the types of discolouration and stains you’ll likely face with your timber flooring. We’ll also briefly explain the proper maintenance to prevent these issues altogether or at least slow their progression. Read on for everything you need to know about aesthetic changes in your timber floors.
Discolouration Over Time
One significant factor that causes discolouration over time is sun exposure. Repeated sun exposure is enough to cause a slight colour change. You’ll notice the difference if one area is covered and one is exposed to the light.
Additionally, the different types of floor coatings used can affect the colour during the aging process. Darkening over time typically occurs with oils and solvent-based coatings, while water-based coatings often lead to lighter-coloured floors.
Some timber also changes colour on its own over time and cannot be prevented. This process occurs through photochemical exposure and oxidation. The wood can either lighten or darken depending on the species of timber.
Carpet-Induced Stains
If you have rugs down to protect your timber floors, they can, unfortunately, do the opposite of their intended purpose. Especially if the area you are concerned about is in direct sunlight, the longer you have a rug in one place, the more likely you are to experience discolouration of your timber floors from UV rays through your windows. To prevent this, you can periodically move your rugs around. You’ll want to do the same with any furniture to avoid large patches of discolouration.
When you’ve had carpet on your timber floors for years and remove it to have the floors sanded, you may be surprised to find the underlay has worn into the flooring. These marks can be severe and hard to remove. In fact, the only option to remove them may be to have the flooring sanded down to bare timber and recoated. When the coating is applied, the stains may become more apparent once again if the surface is not sanded enough. Rugs with rubber backings are very problematic for timber flooring and should never be used because of the complications they cause with the coating.
Pet Urine-Related Stains
Urine is a potent source of stains. It can penetrate and degrade the coating on your timber flooring, especially if it is a water-based coating. This can lead to permanent hardwood floor damage because after it passes the coating, it penetrates deeply into the flooring after reacting with its tannins. This reaction causes an intense dark stain with odour at times.
Sometimes these stains can be removed with oxalic acid. However, many times the use of this product has resulted in a bleaching effect, making the problem even worse. Other sources claim the use of cleaning vinegar to be a safer yet effective alternative, especially to remove odours, however, the solution needs to be diluted to protect the integrity of the protective coatings.
Water Stains
Water and other sources of moisture can be catastrophic for timber flooring if your protective coating is not intact. It can easily change the colour of the floor, leaving a stain behind that’s exceptionally hard, if not impossible, to remove even with a professional floor sander. Anything that’s a source of water or moisture can leave one of these stains behind, including stains from pot plants, mildew, fungus, and mould.
If you have a liquid spill, cleaning it quickly before the moisture has a chance to seep into the wood is essential. Being proactive about cleaning messes can help prevent stains.
Stains Caused by Nails
When timber flooring is secured, nails are often the fasteners. If the nails used when your flooring was installed were not galvanised, there is a chance that, over time, your nails would lead to black marks in the timber itself. The cause of this black mark is the chemical reaction between iron (in the nails) and the tannings (in the timber). This reaction is natural to occur, hence why galvanised nails should be used when working with wood; it is called an iron tannate stain. In addition, any floors subjected to a flood can also experience this type of staining.
How To Avoid Hardwood Floor Damage
You can use timber floor refinishing to restore the lustre of your hardwood floors after they’ve experienced discolouration. For the best results, you’ll want to get them resanded and polished every 5-10 years to keep them looking great and remove any accumulated stains. Between those refinishing years, you can follow these timber floor maintenance tips to ensure you keep your timber floors in their peak condition for as long as possible.
Final Thoughts
While some discolouration of timber floors is natural, there are steps you can take to avoid some types of stains or slow the progress of others. You’ll want to ensure you clean up spills as quickly as they happen and rotate your furniture and carpets. For the best-looking timber flooring, have it resanded and polished every 5-10 years while following maintenance tips in the interim.
