What does hardwood floor refinishing have to do with your oriental rugs?

Read on - you may be surprised at what may be "lurking" under those rugs on your floor - and you'll get some tips for fixing this hidden situation that you've probably never seen before.

Here is the main problem - wood floors are made of an organic substance and are in a constant state of change - ageing or "curing", you could say. And they age or cure quite differently in the areas where they constantly have a rug on top of them.

Why do they cure differently under the rug? Because under the rug they just are not getting light and air on the surface, like the rest of the floor does. So, why is this a problem?

Well, the place where the rug sits on the wood floor will, over time, turn DARKER than the rest of the floor, so you are stuck with this two-tone-looking floor unless you decide to keep a rug of the same size (or larger) on it to cover up the color difference.

This color difference happens a lot faster in a couple of instances:

1.When the rug is placed back on top of the floor too soon after the hardwood floor refinishing or recoating process. The finish needs a week to cure before putting the rug back down. So, this problem is easy to avoid - just wait a week after getting your hardwood floor refinished to put your rug back down.

2.When the edge of the rug is in direct sunlight a good bit of the day: this makes the contrast between rug and no-rug quite pronounced because part of the floor is getting a lot of light and part of it is not- this is a place on your floor to really watch out for and pay attention to.

3.The worst color differences are made when a RUBBER mat (or any plastic/petroleum-based sort of mat material) is used under the rug. These mats make it so the wood floor does not get to breathe at all. A wood floor needs to breathe. Those texturized, plasticized mats eventually stick to and even EAT INTO the floor to some extent, leaving their patterns in the wood finish, sometimes quite deeply. Quite often there is this waffle pattern embedded into the finish, and possibly into the hardwood floor itself. So, do not use the rubber pads - use felt pads. The rubber pads may be more nonskid, but you're going to have a problem if they stay down on top of your wood floor.

It is sad to see these problems on an otherwise-wonderful wood floor.

I created a hardwood floor refinishing restoration system that is dustless with no harsh sanding and it works great on lots of floors, but with this rug-induced-color-difference thing there is no way to fix it, short of sanding it all back down to bare wood and starting over again.

So, how do you have oriental rugs on your wood floors and not get the two-toned effect?

Here are some recommendations for you:

1. Consider taking up the oriental rugs for the summertime each year - the floors will be able to breathe underneath and the intense summer sun streaming in will not be as likely to make color differences at the edge of the rug that way ,too.

2. Get felt pads for your rugs.

3. "Migrate" your rugs a bit - move them a foot or two out of their usual position and leave them that way for a few months, then move them back - this should help lessen the color-lines effect on your floors. Another way to achieve this same effect would be to put a smaller or larger rug in the room for a while, then put the original rug back into place after a few months, and rotate rugs that way - hey, it will be fun - instant redecorating!

At the very least, I am hoping that by reading this article you will now be curious and motivated enough to pull your rugs back at the edges a bit to see what is going on with your floors, then take the steps outlined above to help get things on the right track for your wood floors.

Nobody wants to sand their wood floors down if it is at all avoidable, so pull back your rugs a bit today and get started on some strategies to get this problem minimized, reduced, or even keep it from happening to your hardwood floors.