Summer is here, and while many people would cheer in celebration, those people probably aren’t thinking about how to protect their hardwood floors. If you want to protect your hardwood floors from the damages of the summer Sun and heat, then these are the tips and tricks for you!

What is the Harm?

Before getting into how to protect your hardwood floors, you should know what the summer can do to them. Prolonged exposure to the Sun can cause discoloration in a lot of types of hardwood floors, and the additional heat and moisture can ruin them just as easily.

With these easy tricks, however, you can rest assured that your floors will be good as new when fall comes around.

Run the AC

While many people hesitate to turn on the AC during summer, it can have a big impact on the longevity of your hardwood floors. This will not only keep your home from overheating, it will also drain the moisture from the air. As you might imagine, moisture and hardwood floors do not exactly get along!

The obvious downside is that it can be expensive to run an air conditioner for an extended period of time. While this is true, consider how much it will cost to replace your floors. Once you’ve done that, crank up the AC and enjoy your 68 degree home in the middle of July!

Install Awnings

Imagine that your hardwood floors are a red-haired, light-skinned and freckled little boy. If you don’t keep him out of the Sun, you can be sure that he is going to burn like crazy! How would you protect the boy when he goes outside? Probably with an umbrella. The same concept proves effective here!

No, you don’t want to build a giant umbrella over your house (at least not for this reason). Instead, install awnings over the windows of your home, especially those that look into your hardwood floors. Not only will this keep your home cool in the summer, but it will make sure that you don’t have to worry about sun damage on your floors.

Change it Up

Another great tactic to protect hardwood floors is to periodically move the furniture around the room. The Sun cannot reach your floor if the couch is sitting over it, so move that around to protect a wider area.

If you do no other step on this list, this is the one that you should be doing. That way if your hardwood floors do experience discoloration or damage, you at least won’t have stains in the shape of your furniture!

Stop Cleaning

Before anyone gets too excited at the idea of having three months without the need to clean, let’s clarify. You should still be cleaning your floors, but you can back off with a couple of things. Polishing and waxing your floors won’t do much good in the summer months, as this will just draw the sunlight to them even more.

That said, you’re not off the hook entirely. You’ll still need to vacuum them from time to time…unless you want your mother-in-law to give you that look when she comes to visit.

Be Smart

Most of all, just be smart. Don’t leave your bay window open on the hottest day of the summer. Try to give your floors as much shade and cool air as you can, but don’t obsess. Just follow these simple tips and you won’t need to worry about your hardwood floors discoloration this summer. It’s the summer, so don’t drive yourself crazy worrying about your hardwood floors. Enjoy the warm weather, do your best with your floors and have a little fun!