5 Health Benefits of Owning Hardwood Floors

For centuries, hardwood floorings stayed as one of the most sought-after flooring options worldwide. Despite its minor setbacks in the past decade and current challenges, the hardwood flooring industry is thriving. Besides providing higher home value and its timeless appearance, there are other numerous benefits of installing hardwood floors. Its durability, longevity, and low maintenance are not the only perks homeowners can get with hardwood. In this story, get to know the five health perks of owning these elegant wooden floorings.

1.   They Don’t Trap Dust and Allergens

On average, the impact of air-borne allergy-related illness in healthcare costs up to $17.5 billion per year. It also affects worker productivity due to absences and low job performance. Allergens sources are present anywhere at any point, including your home.

Owning hardwood flooring helps minimize and prevent allergy triggers at home. Carpets trap a precise kind of fine, particulate matter that intensifies allergy. In addition, homeowners become more exposed to pollen, animal dander, and dust particles that don’t dissipate for a long time. These dust and dirt matters cling to other flooring options despite your routine cleaning.

Hardwood floors have a hard, smooth surface that deters dust, pollen, pet dander, and other particles that can worsen your allergies. They also prevent you from having respiratory illnesses. The properties of hardwood floors allow you to get rid of dirt and other allergens from your home with a maintenance cleaning. 

2.   Carpets Hide Dust Mites

Inside your home, floors are the widest area where you can control numerous indoor allergens. Some types of flooring, like carpets, can become a gathering place for these substances and particles. A great example is the small microorganisms like dust mites and mold that accumulate fast in carpet fibers. Because of carpet floorings’ textile properties, allergens can hide and pile up despite using vacuums, mops, and dusters.

Hardwood flooring installations tend to lessen dust mites’ accumulation because they do not have fibers that can trap these particles. But if you plan on using carpets and rugs to cover sections of your wooden flooring, deep cleaning them every month and doing routine cleaning is essential.

3.   They’re Easy to Clean and Disinfect

A study in previous years stated that many US households think that flooring cleanliness can have a direct impact on their health. One of the most notable benefits of hardwood floors is that they’re easier to maintain and clean. While it makes them a convenient addition to homeowners, easy-to-clean hardwood flooring is also a worthwhile investment, health-wise.

Hardwood floors are easy to maintain because they don’t trap dust, allergens, and other pollutants. Routine cleaning becomes more effective in reducing contaminants in your home, which makes indoor air quality better. Disinfecting them is also more convenient as particles, substances, and bacteria can’t hold onto the hardwood for long.

By cleaning your hardwood flooring often, environmental hazards won’t accumulate faster. Homeowners can also find floor disinfection better because they can polish their hardwood floors with special finishes and stains.

4.   They Provide Better Indoor Air Quality

In a previous study by the Environmental Protection Agency, many wooden floors, hardwood included, are the best option for improving indoor air quality. The EPA reported that all hardwood floors have hypoallergenic properties because wood cannot keep microorganisms and pesticides. Any of these particles, whether they come from indoors or outdoors, are unable to promulgate for long.

Carpets and their fabrics often harbor dust mites that can worsen the air quality inside your home. While other floorings, like tile and laminate, don’t have these materials, they can still negatively impact the air in houses. These two flooring options have grout lines and embossing. Grout lines and embossing are excellent places for dust and other pollutants to settle.

In addition, hardwood floors improve air quality because they’re a carbon-neutral product. When trees grow, it takes carbon dioxide from its surrounding to produce oxygen. Most people forget that hardwood planks hold carbon during their lifespan, even after cutting and manufacturing them. 

5.   Hardwood Floors are a Natural Product

Most flooring options, like carpets and tiles, were manufactured using synthetic fabrics and chemicals. These factory-made floors are toxic and harmful to the environment. Producing these products also includes chemical processes that leave harsh residues. In addition, solvents, polymers, and sealers can leach into your home for a long time.

Unlike other floors, producing hardwood floors use few chemicals. This is due to the wood flooring industry’s strict guidelines, along with the EPA and OSHA rules. Besides the regulations, limitations for chemical emissions like formaldehyde are also set for different flooring projects. Due to the lack of chemical products on hardwood floors, homeowners can enjoy their homes without exposure to pollutants and allergens.

The Best Hardwood Flooring Service in Austin, TX

Hardwood floors have numerous benefits to offer homeowners. While higher ROIs and low maintenance flooring are great perks, the health-related advantages of these wooden floorings are the best investment. From improved indoor air quality to faster disinfection, these five incentives make hardwood planks make them more desirable to consumers in 2023.

Get in touch with Kelly Hardwood Floors today to get the best hardwood flooring service in Austin!