Hardwood floors are attractive and sturdy, making them a perfect choice for your home in London. Hardwood floors can last long if you maintain them properly with regular refinishing and floor sanding.

But the most harmful thing to hardwood floors is moisture. Excess moisture can cause permanent damage to the floor and ruin its delicate finish. After your hardwood floors get affected by moisture, not even professional floor sanding in London can fix it.

We will discuss some useful tips to protect your valuable hardwood floors from moisture. So read the following article and get started now.

↳ Don’t Let Moisture Sit
The biggest mistake you can make as a homeowner with hardwood floors is to ignore the spills on the floor. The liquid from the spill may seep into the floor and cause eventual bloating and swelling.

You can avoid this possibility by immediately bloating the spill with an absorbent cloth. After that, use an appropriate cleaner to remove the stain from the floor. Don’t rub the spot harshly, as that can leave scratches.

↳ Control Indoor Humidity
London has a humid climate, and this humidity leads to excess moisture on the floor. Keeping the humidity inside your home in check is essential to prevent the hardwood floors from absorbing too much moisture.

For this, you will need to purchase a hygrometer and monitor the humidity in your home. Check the device regularly, especially in the summer. Keep the humidity between 30-55%. If it goes beyond that, lower the temperature of the entire house and ventilate the place.

↳ Regular Maintenance
Unmaintained hardwood floors can easily get affected by moisture. It is the reason why your hardwood floors need regular refinishing and professional floor sanding in London.

Additionally, you can detect early signs of damage to the floor when you regularly maintain it. So make a weekly cleaning schedule for the hardwood floors in your house and follow it religiously. It will help keep the moisture off the floor and also protect it from dirt and dust.

↳ Avoid Using Wet Mop
While traditional wisdom may say that it is okay to wet-mop hardwood floors, avoid doing that at all costs. Using a wet mop will leave behind big smudges of water on the floor, which will get absorbed into the floor. Also, you will only get subpar results with wet mopping.

If you still want to use this technique, wring out the mop completely before using it. A better alternative to wet mopping is using a dry mop. The dry mop is a mop with a microfiber cloth attached to it. Cleaning with this protects the floor from moisture and also prevents scratches.

↳ Place Area Rugs
An easy way to protect the hardwood floors is to buy some area rugs and place them over the high-traffic areas of your home. These area rugs will absorb the excess moisture if a spill occurs and not let it reach the hardwood floor.

You don’t have to buy very expensive rugs for this purpose. Some cheap ones from the second-hand market will also do the job. Spending some money on buying an area rug is still better than replacing the entire floor.

↳ Invest In Protective Pads
Talking about investments, another great product you can buy is protective pads for your furniture. Many times, moisture remains hidden below the furniture and causes slow damage to the hardwood floors.

Rubber furniture pads keep the furniture legs above the ground and let moisture drain easily from below. Also, they prevent the floor from getting scratched by the heavy furniture.

↳ Check & Address Leaks
Lastly, always be on the lookout for the signs of a leak in your home. Check taps and pipes regularly to avoid any surprises. Maintain your roofs and gutters to prevent leakage from there.

Vigilance and preparedness can protect your hardwood floors from big damage. If you feel that there is a leak in your home, close the water supply to that area until you call a plumber to fix it.