Scottsdale, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/20/2012 -- As anyone who lives in a desert climate knows quite well, it can be a challenge to maintain certain types of hardwood flooring. Across the desert Southwest in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as in certain areas of California, people have to take extra care of these types of floors.
Generally speaking, these challenges are due to the low humidity that these regions of the country have during the vast majority of the year.
The staff at Carpet-Rite, a wood flooring Scottsdale Arizona based company, understands how important it is to keep hardwood floors well-maintained. That is why the hardwood flooring Scottsdale company recently released an article filled with tips and tricks that will help people who live in dry climates keep their hardwood flooring looking gorgeous all year long.
First, when hardwood flooring is delivered to a home, the cartons should include a brief instruction manual that details the proper environment for the product. Carpet-Rite advises reading through the information, which typically addresses household humidity levels.
For example, in order to prevent cracking or “checking” in the hardwood floors, humidity in the home should be above 30 percent. This cracking/checking is not considered a product defect and it is not covered by hardwood flooring product warranties.
Second, homeowners should have their home at its usual temperature during installation.
“In other words, don’t install the house when the inside temperature is 90 degrees if you plan to keep the house in the 75-80 degree range,” a spokesperson from the flooring Scottsdale AZ Carpet-Rite store noted, adding that hardwood floors expand and contract based on the ambient temperature and humidity levels.
“Don’t run the risk of causing too much expansion and contraction by changing the temperature of your house drastically after installation.”
In addition, there are certain species of wood that do not do well in dry climates if the hardwood flooring style is a smooth surface rather than a handscraped or textured surface. Smooth surface hickory, pecan and maple can have checking problems if the humidity in the house is not above the ideal 30 percent level.
Finally, in regard to the hickory, pecan and maple smooth surface products, Carpet-Rite reminds its clients that “they get what they pay for.” As the company spokesperson noted, the inexpensive hardwood products in these types of species are less resistant to dry climates than higher quality products.
“American or European manufactured smooth surface products in these species tend to be superior to budget hardwoods from China. We’re not trying to wave the flag. It’s just important in this case to know where your products are manufactured.”
By keeping these points in mind, the chances of the smooth surface hardwood product “checking” will be greatly reduced.
About Carpet-Rite
Carpet-Rite’s product line is extremely broad. Our product offering ranges from base grade and low end product used for rentals or renovating inexpensive properties to high end designer oriented carpets and hardwoods. With over 400 carpet and hardwood flooring products in our Scottsdale Airpark showroom, you’ll be able to see a broad range of colors and styles quickly and efficiently. For more information, please visit http://www.carpetritescottsdale.com