Sunlight, UV and Fading Hardwood Floors
Everyone with hardwood floors knows that direct sunlight can be a problem for your floors. Most of us have moved a rug or a piece of furniture and noticed the covered part of the floor is either lighter or darker than the surrounding wood.
The longer the wood has been covered up, the more noticeable the difference in color is. Why does this happen and what can be done about it?
Let’s start off discussing why it happens.
Why Hardwood Floors Fade and Change Color…
Fading, bleaching and darkening in hardwood floors because of sun exposure is a pretty complex subject. Ultimately, color deterioration in hardwood floors is the result of overexposure from 3 things: ultra violet (UV) light, visible light and the infrared (IR) light which causes solar heat.
UV light has the most impact on color change of the actual wood. Wood is extremely photosensitive – which means it reacts to sunlight. You only have to put a piece of unfinished wood out in direct sunlight for a short time with part of it covered to see how the sun’s ultra violet rays affect it.
How fast a timber reacts to UV light depends on the species.
For example many tropical, exotic woods used in flooring, like Brazilian Cherry or Tigerwood, react to UV exposure very fast and they turn a much darker shade. On the other hand domestic woods, like Red Oak, Maple and Hickory, generally bleach out and become lighter, and at a much slower rate.
And it’s not only the wood itself that is subject to discoloration – the type of finish on the floor can also play a big part in how the wood will react.
Infrared light, combined with UV light and visible light, reacts with the finish and slowly turns the finish darker or yellowish. That’s why over a long period of time certain types of hardwood floors with oil based polyurethane finish turn that orangey/yellow color that no-one likes.
Think of how the sun reacts with wood it in terms of our skin.
Direct exposure to sunlight affects different types of skin in different ways. Some of us get darker or tanned in the sun’s rays fast and others much slower, while others will burn very quickly. The type and quality of sunblock used can also play a part in those slowing down those outcomes, but not indefinitely as it will eventually wear off or start or break down. Ultimately, overexposure of harmful rays on all kinds of skin will cause damage.
It’s the same with the paint, rubbers and seat fabrics in your car, with your curtains and blinds, carpet and rugs, the tiles or shingles on your roof, as well as the fabric on your sofa… and yes, your hardwood floors.
So What Can Be Done to Stop Sunlight from Damaging my Hardwood Floor?
Unfortunately the issue of fading and color change from exposure to direct sunlight does not have a single fix-all solution. But there are a number of different steps you can take, that if done all together, will greatly minimize the amount of direct sunlight your hardwood floor receives and slow the process down.
Some are affordable and easy, others not so much.
Here’s the list starting with the easiest and most affordable…
1. Move rugs and furniture:
From time to time, rearrange your furniture and floor coverings to allow sunlight to hit the previously covered areas of your floors. This will equalize the UV and IR light exposure and even out the fading process so a consistent color will be achieved within the entire room.
If it’s not possible to move furniture, consider removing at least the area rugs during the sunnier months and replacing them in the darker winter months.
2. Window Coverings:
It makes sense that if you can keep sunlight off your floor it won’t fade as much. Drapes, curtains, shutters or blinds are some of the best defenses against fading hardwood floors. If you keep them closed on the side of your house when the sun is hitting the windows it will drastically cut down on any UV and infrared light reaching the floor.
If you have mini blinds or other types of horizontal louvers and you don’t want to shut them completely, position the slats so that they angle upwards allowing the sunlight to be directed towards the walls and ceiling instead of towards the floor.
Upgrade: There is also the option of motorized screens, shades and blinds that can be fitted to the inside or outside of windows. While these will be a bigger investment initially, they make up for it in convenience. You can set a timer so they will automatically extend during the hotter part of the day (when you’re most likely at work) and then retract afterwards to allow more light in when the UV and IR rays are not so strong.
3. Finishes with UV inhibitors:
Finish manufacturers are continually trying to find solutions to this problem of fading and color change. Unfortunately at the moment there isn’t a finish that can completely stop this process. That’s the case with prefinished as well as site finished.
There are finishes though that will slow the fading process down and it’s definitely worth looking into using one of these products.
The best finishes to slow down fading at the moment are high-end water-based systems. We use and suggest Pallmann finishes for this purpose because they help reduce ambering and fading, and at the same time are extremely durable.
Staining: If you’re going to have your floors stained then ask for a pigment based stain instead of a dye stain. Pigment stains are more colorfast than dyes. A floor with a pigment based stain and a high-end professional water-based finish will keep its color far longer than a dyed floor with an oil-based finish.
4. Window films:
The next step up is to apply a specialty film to your windows. These thin multi-layered films are designed to drastically cut down the UV and IR light while allowing different percentages of visible light to come in. There are endless brands and companies that manufacture and install these coverings so do your research well before committing. 3M is one of the biggest and most reputable, you can see some of the options they have available here.
5. Awnings:
One of the best ways of stopping the sun’s harmful rays from damaging your floors is by blocking them before they even get to your windows. Awnings work great in this regard. You can get them in retractable or stationary designs and there are many different types of materials and styles to suite all kinds of houses.
6. Low-E glass windows:
If you are doing an extensive renovation and are swapping out windows, or you’re building a new home, you should look into low-E (low-emissivity) glass windows. These windows have special coatings that do a great job limiting the amount of UV and IR light that passes through the panes. There are a few different types of low-e glass windows and you need to talk to a glass professional to see which ones are suited to your home.
Instead of going into a big discussion about them here I’ll let you watch a video that explains the basics of how they work…
If you follow the 6 suggestions above you should be able to greatly reduce the fading of your floors and furnishings. The added bonus of most of those suggestions is that they also offer great energy savings during our hot summers and cold winters, which over time will help defray the initial cost.
What if my floors are already faded?
If you’ve tried moving and/or removing the rugs and furniture and it isn’t helping blend the areas together as quickly as you like, or if the color difference is very dramatic, then the only option you have is sanding and refinishing the floors. This is the fastest and best solution to the problem.
We definitely suggest putting into practice some of the suggestions above first before having them refinished so it doesn’t happen again so quickly.
In Conclusion…
Fading is an inevitable part of having hardwood floors.
Unless you install hardwood flooring in a room with no windows, or you completely board over your windows, there is no way to completely avoid Ultra Violet and Infrared light exposure. All you can do is delay the process.
What you can do though is 1) minimize the amount of damaging light your hardwood floors are subjected to and 2) balance the amount of light each part of your floor gets so all areas blend well together as the whole floor changes slowly over time.
–
Updated Jan 2023
You may also like...
Your photo of the rug lifted off the floor with that line is OUR problem now. We had area rugs down for 6 years and it left lines exactly like your photo. The flooring underneath is ok, it’s just those lines. We have high gloss pre-finished red oak flooring and are extremely sorry that we put down these area rugs on our main floor in our condo. Can anything help remove just the lines? Please help, we are senior citizens and hard work is hard for us. If you have any suggestions, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
I would just put the rugs back.
Hi Marge,
Unfortunately the only “affordable” way I know how to make them somewhat blend with the rest of the floor is to remove the rugs and let the sun do its thing to darken the lighter areas. Its not a good fix and it will take a while. Its a lot cheaper than refinishing the floors again though.
If someone out there has a better solution I’m all ears…
Tadas
Tadas: We are looking at a home with the same hardwood/floor rug fade issues. I was wondering if using construction paper and painters tape on the darker colored flooring, leaving the lighter areas exposed to the sunlight for a summer would help cause the floor to fade to the same color? Any ideas? Another older couple with bad knees and a tight budget.
Thank you!
That’s an interesting idea. Theoretically it should work. It would be annoying to live with for the length of time it would need to stay there though. I would imagine however long it took to get the way it is is how long it would need to blend it back. The tape used to hold it in place could prove to be problematic to the finish as well.
I wish I could be of more help. If you go ahead and it works, please come back and let us know.
Tadas
How about exposing the unfaded area to a UV lamp? This would speed up the process.
Jon
Sounds like it should work in theory at least. We haven’t tried it ourselves but if anyone has and have had a good result we’d love to hear.
Tadas
I have the exact same question…. would a UV lamp speed up the yellowing of hardwood section. (We’re selling our house and after moving a piano the floor doesn’t match)
Hi I have wood floors by my entrance and three years later added wood floors in the hallway while they were laying the floor they notice the color difference needless to say I have two different color floors I’m wondering would light fixtures and lamps help speed up the colors to change
Hi Connie,
Sorry you are having this issue. Unfortunately I don’t think this will work.
Tadas
Did any of these solutions work? Very interested if a light worked, but then how would you hold it evenly seems difficult? How long do you thing fading can happen in?
We have site finished tigerwood floors…and after less than 9 months,our floors look as bad as the one in your photo. This is a new home and the original floor finish was Pall X-96 with a top coat of Pall X-98. When the floors were sanded down to bare wood due to a horrific original finish job, installer substitued Omni Gold for the finish. This is only a 1 component finish and not as hard as the Pall X-98. Consequently the floors scratched like crazy so installer agreed to buff the floors and put down one coat of Pall X-98. But when we removed the area rugs that weren’t put down until 6 weeks after the 1st refinishing, the discoloration was unbelievable…especially after less than 9 months. In addition, marks from the rug pads were imbeded in the floor. Installer told us to just put our area rugs down in the same spots and leave them. Or to wait a year before putting them down. Great choices, huh? But that’s not going to fix the pad marks embeded in the floor will it? Any suggestions?
Hi Edward,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Unfortunately Tigerwood floors are very photosensitive and there’s nothing other than what is written above that can be done.
As for the pad marks, it sounds like the finish hadn’t fully cured yet. The only way to repair that is to sand and refinish the area again.
Sorry I couldn’t provide an easier solution :(
Tadas
Getting hardwood floors refinished after a poor finish job with the initial installation of Maple floors in Kitchen, eat in area, DR and foyer.
My current refinishing guy says there is no way to to remove the UV damage/color change on my floors that are outlined by my rugs. He took extra time in sanding and still one can see where they rugs were!! Am I supposed to be satisfied with that??? Is it really impossible to sand off the darkened area outside of the rug area? I thought that was part of why I was having the floors refinished? Not happy- slh
Hi Sharon,
Sorry to hear of your trouble with your floors. Yes, sometimes the UV damage can be that bad that normal sanding will not remove it. That’s why we strongly recommend the steps in the article.
I hope you can find a solution you can live with. Have you thought about staining them?
Tadas
Just put rugs of the same size back in the same places.
Then rest easy at night.
There is no perfection in this life.
Stop trying to find it.
Sometimes a hardwood polish, with a little Old English blends the two areas together a little better. Experiment carefully, using the Old English sparingly. Use the Blonde Wood Old English, not the Dark Old English.
Hi Fatimah,
Just be aware with doing this that you will most likely have issues if you need to recoat your floors down the road.
Tadas
I just picked up a corner on my 2 y.o maple floors and just about died. I have a 12 x15 rug. It is the converted attic and we have a ten foot skylight. Which I’ve covered with blinds (don’t ask me how it’s nuts) and just saw that they are SO stained. I think I’m going to throw up. I can’t even handle this. If I sand the floors and stain them darker ( if we were to sell ) would that work? I’m seriously sick over this.
Sorry I missed your question Marissa.
It would depend on how deep the fading is, but yes, it most likely would help quite a bit.
Tadas
If we choose a very dark stain (Jacobean, Ebony, Dark Walnut) will the “darkening effect of the UV light” be less noticeable?
Or will a dark stain lead to a more noticeable change over time?
Thank you, love your explanations!
Hi Tom,
A lot of it comes down to the type of wood you have and whether the finish is resistant to UV exposure or not. From my observations though I would imagine that a dark stain on an oak floor would make the UV fading process more obscure for a longer period of time. Eventually though all wood will fade if exposed to UV light for significant periods of time.
Tadas
Hi. Thank you for answering questions.
Any difference in sand and finish and engineered white oak in this case? Also, would lighter colored floors be less noticeable, or more noticeable quicker?
Thanks again!
Lori
Hi Lori,
Whether it is site finished or engineered, wood is wood and will react the same. It’s the finish on it that will slow the process down somewhat if it has UV inhibitors. Both light and dark floors will react to UV at the same rate but darker floors tend to be more noticeable quicker.
Tadas
I have a log home with pine flooring and have had the issue of moving a rug only to see the lighter area under the rug. We removed the rug and in less than a year the lighter colored wood was completely blended. This same thing happened to our walls where pictures had been hanging for about six years. We rearranged the pictures and in less than a year(6-8 months)the lighter spots had blended in. I’m going to try the UV light next to see if it will speed up the process.
Thanks for the feedback Ben, much appreciated.
Tadas
We are buying a home with the same faded floor issue…The faded area is a perfect square shape: Couldn’t a person tape off one or more square shaped areas, within the faded area, and re stain those areas different shades of brown and come up with a custom designed wood floor in different shades of brown?
If show what type/Brand stain might work best for this and would the faded areas need to be sanded, resealed, etc.?
Thanks for your thoughts on this,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Yes this could be an option if you find someone willing to do it. You could also install a walnut or other dark colored wood border between the two areas if you wanted to go all out.
Yes, you will need to sand the floors back to bare wood to do this. We use Duraseal stains.
Hope you can make this work for you.
Tadas
i have new jarrah and have used Osmo oil on it with timber mate jarrah filler
Over time will my floor go lighter or darker i have alot of natural light coming in the lounge/dinning etc..
cheers
Hi Angie,
We don’t have a lot of Jarrah here in Chicago so I had to look this up myself. According to the Wood Database website it darkens over time with sun exposure:
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/jarrah/
Tadas
Hello Tadas!
We built our first home in 2006 and had a formal dining room installed with Brazilian Tigerwood. No clue what products were used to finish or seal the wood. In an attempt to keep it from getting scratched we covered the floor with a large rug and non-slip pad underneath, with 18″ of exposed wood all around the border. Now, 10 years later we are retiring and downsizing from a home into an apartment and in preparation to put the house on the market we found that the wood under the rug is much lighter. Is our only solution to have it sanded and refinished? The house will go on the market in less than two weeks. HELP!
Hi Queen Bee,
Sorry to hear about your floor. Yes that’s very common with that type of wood. Unfortunately even if you sand the floor the faded area may not come out completely :(
Not being funny but could you include the rug in the sale of the house maybe?
Tadas
Hi;
My issue is more of a shine/gloss issue rather than color. The wood floor (Oak I think) that was covered with a rug for several years is oddly less glossy than the surrounding floor, but thankfully, the colors look ok.
Any advice on how to shine up the dull section?
Thank you very much.
sara
Hi Sara,
That is a relatively easy fix. You’ll need to get your floor recoated so the sheen level is the same over the floor. It will need a very thorough clean (multiple steps) and light abrasion first otherwise the new layer of finish may not adhere properly. Get someone with lots of experience doing this if you hire it out.
Hope that helps.
Tadas
I have walnut flooring. When I use non-slip, rubber backed rugs the flooring becomes slick underneath. My flooring does fade around the rug, as you said would happen, but that is not a major concern of mine. My main concern is needing rugs in front of incoming doors to prevent slipping when your shoes are wet. Do you have any suggestions for alternative non-slip rugs?
Hi Nancy,
Something like this may work for what you want:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Premium-8-ft-x-10-ft-Non-Slip-Safety-Rug-to-Floor-Gripper-Pad-RGP80/100648260
Just make sure to clean under them regularly as they will attract and hold a lot of dust and dirt that could wear down the finish.
Tadas
Hello Tadas – You have a lot of excellent feedback and I’m hoping you can assist with my question. I installed engineered brushed walnut floors. In three weeks the sun faded the wood to yellow – it is a dramatic change in color. I understand that floors can fade over time and leave ‘outlines’ where furniture and carpets are located – but three weeks to yellow has me very worried about the future of my floors. Is this degree of fading seem excessive? Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Hi R,
Walnut is one of the most photosensitive types of hardwood floors. In direct sunlight they will fade extremely fast, so no, it isn’t excessive unfortunately.
Tadas
Thank you for your post. Drapes, curtains, shutters or blinds are some of the best defenses against fading hardwood floors. If you keep them closed on the side of your house when the sun is hitting the windows it will drastically cut down on any UV and infrared light reaching the floor. This is excellent information.
Happy to be of help :)
does man made, engineered hardwood, walnut fade if covered with a rug. Will it discolor as does real wood floors?
Hi Carey,
If you’re talking about engineered wood where the top is real hardwood and the bottom layers are ply, then yes, it will fade exactly like real hardwood because it is.
If you’re talking about laminate flooring, then yes it too will fade over time but not as aggressively.
Tadas
What do you consider the best stain and finish to prevent a UV fading imprint, from pictures, rugs, etc…?
Hi Alan,
To be completely honest we haven’t tested every finish out there to say one way or another. But most high-end 2 component water based finishes do pretty well on slowing it down. But that’s all it is doing, slowing down the inevitable. From our experience hardwax oils (not all colors) seem to hold up better to fading than surface finishes. But again, that’s not tested.
The best thing to do is get your windows tinted or covered with awnings etc. We just had a client that had hers tinted and before she did the candles in her living room were melting. Afterwards, no melting candles at all. It’s definitely the best prevention.
Tadas
We have cherry kitchen cabinets that were installed 32 years ago. The knobs have backplates. I removed the backplates and the wood under the backplate is dark. So the cabinet has faded to a lighter color.
We do not want the backplates.
Is there any way to “fade” the area of the backplate to match the lighter, faded rest of the cabinet?
Thank you.
Hello. I had the same problem with the house I purchased last year. I have solid Hickory cabinets and wanted to update the old faded brass hardware with back plates. I cleaned and lightly sanded where the back plates were, some came off but there was still some shadow marks on some of the cabinets. I restained the cabinets and I found backplates in nickel. They look beautiful now.
Now the Brazilian Cherry floors. Much to my surprise upon moving in the floors have shadow marks from the previous owners rugs. It seems the only option is to have the floors sanded and restained.
Hi Ed,
Not that I’m aware of sorry.
Tadas
Question!
I have a new house being constructed with red oak hardwood floors. My paint and cabinets are white and grey and I wanted to stain with a gray minwax stain. Is it true that I MUST have them coat with a water based poly to prevent the gray from changing color? What will happen with the oil based poly that they want to use?
Hi Teri,
Yes water based finish dries clear and won’t change the color too much. Oil based poly will amber and darken the color, initially and more over time.
Tadas
Thanks for the all the wonderful information, Tadas! I don’t ever want to see another piece of yellow/orangey wood in my house again! Can you help me? I am installing new hardwood in a 1974 house. I was thinking natural white oak, but it looks like that WILL yellow. Hickory perhaps? I have red oak (probably) floors in one room that will be refinished a darker walnut color. Short of having dark floors throughout, is there anything else I can do to prevent yellowing? I wish we lived near you, but alas we are in MD. -Angie
Angela,
We are going to put in white oak flooring as well. Did you end up using the Loba product to keep your floors natural and prevent it from yellowing? I too am concerned with yellowing/amber results. If so, how long has it been since refinishing?
Thanks, Gal
Hi Angelina,
This finish won’t change the color of the white oak if you keep them natural:
http://www.loba.de/en/products/waterborne-finishes/2-component-waterborne-finishes/product/2k-invisible-protect-at.html
It doesn’t have much sheen though if that’s an issue.
Tadas
Wow Tadas, thank you so much for following up with all of the comments! I’m learning a lot. We bought a house with a 20 year old pre- finished ash floor and the colour difference is unbelievable! I am going to have it sanded down and refinished. I now realize that yellowing is inevitable but with the new products will we still be able to see the darker streaks in the grain over time? I would love to post a photo (not sure how?) of how the dark grain lines just turn into indistinguishable yellow, exactly the same colour as the lighter parts of the wood. So my question is will we still be able to see the beautiful dark grain lines over time as it yellows if we use a good finishing product?
Hi Dana,
Hard to say without seeing the floor in person. But to make the color as clear as possible, I would suggest using a water-based finish. A high-quality professional product will have built-in UV protection to help slow the fade.
Hope it turns out how you want.
Tadas
I have white oak cabinets, natural, and they look great with unfaded walnut but not so good with faded walnut. I want walnut floors but don’t want them to lighten to that orange caramel color. Is there a stain I can put on them so that any fading to caramel would be masked by the stain? Possibly asphaltam?
Hi Debbie,
Yes it is possible to stain them darker. Use a professional finish too and it will help delay the fade. Walnut floors are one of the more difficult ones to stop changing color.
Tadas
I’ve had my floors sanded and coated with Bona fide sealer 6 months ago. There is distinct sides of fading in areas not affected by direct sunlight (under rugs and furniture. Can you tell me if this amount of time for fading to occur is acceptable please.
Hi Liam,
This is difficult to answer without knowing what type of wood you have and without seeing the setting it’s in. But yes, floors can change color that quickly.
Tadas
My daughter bought a small old house with all wood floors. Her first home. we are redoing it ourselves. The kitchen and the living room are one continuous 32’x12′ room. The kitchen had old linoleum tile glued to the wood and the living area carpet over the wood. We removed both the floor coverings and spent a day sanding starting with 20 grit. After numerous passes and changing the paper several times the floor started smoothing out and leveling. The glue came up and the wood floor underneath looks great. same with the area where the carpet was. However even after numerous passes with the sander the floor is still two different colors. The kitchen area lighter than the living area. There is a noticeable color difference between the two areas where the old floor coverings met. I thought eventually we would get down to a consistent tone after numerous passes but no luck. What would case this. We would like to go back with all urethane and get one consistent color. Is there a solution? Any recommendations? Thanks.
Hi Jim,
The difference is caused by the glue. Unfortunately there’s probably not much that can be done other than replacing the wood (if you want a light colored floor) or staining it dark enough that they both match.
Tadas
Wonderful answers, but I haven’t seen you mention yellow birch yet. Does this wood change color or fade in sunlight, and if so, to what color. I am trying to choose between Yellow Birch and Hard Maple. It will have an Aluminum Oxide “satin” finish on it.
Hi MaryLou,
Yes, all wood will change color if exposed to too much sunlight. Not too sure about what color/shade yellow birch turns though sorry. If you have a sample, leave it outside in direct sinlight for a week and you’ll soon have your answer though :)
Tadas
The area under a heavy buffet has faded, Tadas, but the area under a 10 x 8 area rug has not faded; the flooring is 3/4 inch maple installed on plywood in a condo.
Suggestions?
Thanks,
james
Hi James,
Other than trying to sand it out or staining it darker, there is not much that can be done unfortunately :(
Tadas
Hi Tadas,
This is a way out question more for a writing project than a problem. Is there a technical term you guys use for the faded and unfaded patches as the process of the sun does its thing? I think it might begin with ‘photo’ something.
Hi Kevin,
I think the word you’re looking for is photosensitive.
Tadas
This thread has been super informative! We are in the process of replacing our hardwood floors, and I was wondering if Brazilian Teak Was as photosensitive as Brazilian Cherry and Tigerwood? Also, what are your overall impressions of B Teak? Thank you so much for your input!
Hi Laura,
We haven’t worked with Brazilian Teak (Cumaru) to date. But yes it is photosensitive. It will darken with exposure to UV rays.
Happy to be of help :)
Tadas
Something we found helped to even out the color in areas of our wood floors that were lighter where the rugs had been, is colored wax. We’ve used Mylands and Johnsons and I’m sure there other brands. These waxes also work well on wood furniture. They hide scratches and give the wood a nice sheen. If the results aren’t satisfactory the wax can be removed with mineral spirits.
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for your suggestion. Just a word of warning though. Waxes can mean you may have trouble re-coating your floors down the road. Just something to be aware of.
Tadas
I am interesting in getting Tigerwood. I am aware that it darkens rapidly. I am planning on getting w?ndow film 99% blocking UV but less so on IR and direct sunlight. do you have any experience in how effective this solution may be?
Hi Don,
Not personally, but anything like these type of products work better than nothing. Unfortunately there isn’t anything that is 100% effective… but if it can be slowed down then it’s worth investing into these solutions.
Tadas
We are considering a hard maple engineered wood floor pre-finished with a brown/dark khaki stain finish. Two concerns I have: 1. photosensitivity and how much this particular product will fade,and 2. the tendency of maple to turn yellow. In particular to the yellowing issue, will the darker brown stain help hide that, or should I still be aware that the yellowing is going to show through? I wasn’t sure if that’s only an issue with a more “natural” or lighter finish?
Hi Matt,
Yes the brown stain will definitely help with the yellowing but you will want a good UV protective finish applied still as the stain will fade too.
Tadas
Information regarding Jarrah floors: Hi, I need some professional knowledge regarding Jarrah floors. I put down Jarrah floors over 12 months ago. I would like to put a rug down. After 12 months of the floors curing, would a rug eventually leave a different colour floor patch if I decided to remove the rug from the area in the future. The room is protected from direct Sun throughout the day. I’m concerned if I decided to change my mind about having a rug, I will be left with an outline of the rug on the floorboards. What is the professional opinion or observation on this? Thank you
Hi Francesca,
Yes any rug will leave a color difference after a period of time unfortunately. If you move it around regularly this will minimise the effect, but this isn’t always practical.
Tadas
We are installing Hickory stained with a Walnut finish. The flooring is beautiful and I’m excited to have it. I also am concerned about potential discoloring. I was planning to put down area carpets in certain rooms and in front of my kitchen sink area. Any advice for the type of carpet and padding I should be looking in to buying? Would there be a different type of padding for the kitchen area given the high chance that water will most likely be dripping on it…
(And also for under a dining room table…)
Thank you so much for your time in answering these questions!
Hi Nancy,
I don’t have any specific recommendations sorry. Try to find one that has as natural a product for the underlay as possible. Something man-made from an oil or chemical based product (like a lot of sticky non-slip under padding) will react with the finish and floor much faster than a natural felt type product.
Tadas
Will the floors stop darkening over time?
Hi Richard,
Eventually, yes it seems they reach a point where they stay the same color, or at least any more darkening is not noticeable.
Tadas
Good information
We had engineered flooring installed and very quickly put a rug down due to a dog being in the house with family that were staying over summer months. We are putting blinds on our bifolds now we know about the issue but it seems a summer with the light hitting the previously covered area may somewhat lesson the difference?
Hi Arron,
You could try but it most likely won’t look the same. Problem comes from when the polyurethane finish is damaged from the UV light. That’s one of the big benefits to hardwax oils that can be refreshed.
Tadas
Hello,
I need to repair about 2 sqft of maple engineered hardwood floor that has been exposed to sun for the last 12 years and has become fairly dark. At the moment I can’t sand down all the floors to match the new wood. Exposing new wood to extreme UV might help or not but still would take some time.
Do you know if there are companies specialized in selling hardwood floor for repairs that have been exposed to sunlight? I couldn’t find anything online.
I also thought about getting used floor that wasn’t glued down (ours unfortunately is) after renovation but again didn’t find any place where I could purchase this.
Any idea?
Thank you very much for your help, it’s much appreciated!
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
I don’t sorry.
Tadas
Our hardwood floors have faded where they are receiving more sunlight. The floor away from the windows have however maintained a nice, rich darker color.
How do I darken the floor areas closer to the windows to try and match them better with the rest of the floor?
Let’s consider sanding the floor to be “off the table.”
I’m looking for a MUCH simpler solution such as a cleaner and/or localized stain work. I’m not a perfectionist…just a realist. Please give me your best simple practical suggestion. Heavy emphasis on simple.
Beeswax worked simply and perfectly on my wood door but I’m hesitant to try it on a wood floor.
Hi Ken,
You’re right not to use beeswax on your floor. If you do, you won’t be able to re-coat them down the road.
Unfortunately there really is no easy or simple way to fix this.
Probably the most direct way, although it may not look the best unless you can match the sheen and color exactly, is to tint some finish with a dye and apply it over top in multiple thin coats until it matches. You would need to clean and prep the areas extremely well. I’d use a bonding agent like Loab WS 2K Contact or Basic Coatings TYKOTE.
But realistically, without sanding, you won’t be able to remove it 100%. Even with sanding you can’t at times either.
Tadas
I am so glad I found this thread! I purchased a 15 year old home which I thought had beautiful wood floors in the entry, hall, kitchen and sun room. Upon move in, to my dismay, I found the wood floors had bleached around the area rugs in all of these areas and left distinct marks. The flooring is pre finished red oak. I am having the floors refinished. I have been warned that the refinishing may not take out the full discoloration and we are going to deal with that after they have been sanded and determine if they need to be stained to lesson the color difference. My question is – what type of rug can I use in my entry way to protect the floors but also keep it from leaving marks where the sun hits the floor? Also any suggestions on moving the fridge back into place? The company I am using moves the fridge and stove but does not put them back due to liability. Moving them back scares me – I don’t want to ruin the finish!
Hi Jeanette,
As far as rugs, unfortunately there are none that will stop fading if it’s placed in a spot with direct sunlight. Best bet is to do one of the suggestions to minimize the UV rays.
For your fridge, we use a tools called an AirSled. It lifts the appliance up on a cushion of air and it can then be easily slid across the floor and into place, without any damage. See if you can find someone local that has one of these. If not, you will need to carefully place plywood on the floor, preferably over a rug or blanket, and slide it very carefully on that to where you need it. The plywood will disperse the weight and stop the wheels from leaving marks.
Hope that helps.
Tadas
We have large windows that face west and the sunlight is brutal in the afternoon. My white oak floors that were sealed with Bona Nordic Seal have turned so yellow in a few months time. We have had Automatic blinds installed now. They are set to lower just as the direct afternoon sun is shining in. My question is, are the floors actually getting UV Rays all day or only when direct sun is hitting them. Wondering if we need tinted windows as well as the blinds for protection. We have a lovely view out the back, and I don’t want my blinds down all day!
Hi Jill,
I would definitely recommend window film, especially with a light stain/finish. Although sounds like the damage has already happened. But it will prevent further UV damage.
Tadas
We have the opposite problem with our engineered hardwood floors. The previous owners did not take care of the flooring and several boards are severely gouged. There are a few unused pieces of board that were left behind but they are darker than the rest of the flooring. If we use the darker pieces of boards to replace the ones that are gouged will they fade and blend in with the rest of the floor? The pieces that need to be replaced are in an area that receives quite a bit of light. Unfortunately, though they are in the middle of an area behind a breakfast bar where people walk through and are quite noticeable. We have no idea who the manufacturer of the flooring is and have been I unable to locate anything that matches the existing floor.
Hi Cathy,
They will eventually fade, but it will most likely take quite some time. And they may never fully blend in with the others that have been there in the UV light for much longer. A sand and refinish is most likely the only way you’ll be able to get them to all blend in properly unfortunately.
Tadas
Question, when I removed the area rugs to clean the hardwood flooring, I noticed the areas under the rugs are lighter than the exposed wood, how does this happen?
Hi, I’m wondering if you were able to fix the fading area as we have the same issue. I have just moved a rug & under it is a lot lighter then the rest of the floors. I’m devastated as the house is only 18 months old and we are so carful with the floors. I had no idea this could happen. Thanks for any help at all
Hi Sandra,
Yes depending on the wood, some will lighten instead of darken.
Tadas
I put in an engineered natural maple floor in January 2019. I have a north facing unit that gets very little light. Because I am a ground floor unit and there is zero sub floor or insulation between my unit and the concrete garage below, the floor can be uncomfortably cold and I have 2 plastic straw indoor/outdoor mats at the patio door. The floor underneath the mat is now lighter that the rest but as I say the unit gets really no direct light at all. Would the cooler temperature in front of the patio door be the cause? Other than that, only indirect indoor lighting is used. Really hard to believe the chandelier 18 feet away would have caused the floor to change color.
Hi Kitkit,
Indirect UV light can still fade surfaces, although at a much slower rate than direct light. That’s the most likely cause. Another possibility may be a chemical reaction from the plastic mats.
Tadas
Will bleaching the raw wood helptge rug lines after sanding or no?? Red oak.
Hi Tracy,
Most likely not. It would be very hard to get the bleach blended right so it would look good. Especially if the faded lines go across the grain. It’s not something we would attempt for a client.
Tadas
Excellent post. Thanks for writing and sharing this post with us.
My pleasure Natalie.
Tadas
Really interesting post!
Thank you :)
So thankful to have found this blog! We have 20 year old pre-finished Bruce Floors, red oak, that were a med brown Fawn color originally. Have faded, turned more golden in areas which seems expected. However, we have random areas where some boards or areas of a board start to turn whitish/ grayish like it’s bleached. Realize sun is a factor..we have window film, blinds on already. Is it normal sunlight fading, aging for some boards in same area to have drastic “bleached out” look while other boards look more golden or mellowed? The bleached out areas really stand out. Does this sound like fading that is “normal’ for age of floors or is this an issue with those boards/ finish? Wondering if this could be a warranty issue that manufacturer may help cover part of the expense to repair or sand/ finish. Appreciate your thoughts and thanks again for the great information.
Hi John,
This is a tough one to answer without seeing the floor in person. Is the bleaching/grey coloring across areas of boards, with some parts grey and some not, or on separate individual boards?
Sounds like those areas may not have any finish left on them. Are they in main traffic areas? Wood floors turn grey once the finish has worn off and dirt gets ground into the raw wood. Do a test with a small amount of water. If it stays pooled on top, you still have finish. If it sinks into the board, the finish is gone. Try this first.
As far as warranty, I think it will be a tough go after 20 years.
Tadas
This has been fascinating and so helpful. Amazing that you respond to everything Tadas. I have a comment about the changing colour of wood. 15 years ago we did a major renovation. Changed all the floor in the house to Tigerwood. Interestingly enough I fell in love with the tigerwood because of the variations. Additionally most of my house does not get a lot of light which has always bothered me. After all these comments I am deeply appreciative of this. The floor doesn’t have as much variability but it still has the qualities that I love. Also one last comment. I have a lot of allergies so only have one rug in the kitchen, which, yes is also wood. Thank you all so much for the gift you have given me.
Hi Mary Rose,
Glad to be of help :)
Tadas