Do Hardwood Floors Expand?

Humidity Influences

• The amount of moisture present in your home through the air can increase the size of your hardwood planks. High humidity will seep into the floorboards and result in swelling. Areas such as the bathroom or kitchen are especially prone to high levels of humidity, so it's best to keep hardwood flooring out of them. Summer humidity in areas near large bodies of water can cause fluctuations in the wood between the seasons as well.

Foot Traffic

• Older floors will be thinner and wider than new floors because of foot traffic. While wood does retain its shape under foot traffic at first, prolonged exposure to weight causes the grain in the wood to separate and spread. This doesn't indicate a defective wood floor, though. The spreading of the wood is a natural part of the process for the floor. It means that you will need to replace the floor after a while.

Spills on Wood

• Exposing the hardwood floors to spills can create swelling in a centralized area, causing damage to planks of wood in one section of flooring. Liquid spills are the worst for hardwood floors, but food spills can also cause trouble if the food is excessively moist. For example, spaghetti sauce can result in a swelled floor with mild staining if you don't clean it up quickly. Sealing the floor with clear-coat sealant can help minimize damage to the floor, though.

Dangers of Swelling

• Swelling causes considerable damage to a floor as well as other parts of your house if it doesn't have room to expand properly. The planks will start bending and loosening as they expand, leaving warped boards even after the wood contracts. The expanding board can also damage the Sheetrock on your walls if it sits directly against the walls. A swelling floor can also crack as it expands around the finishing nails that hold it to the floor.