Hardwood Floors October/November 2017

S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T

By Joseph Hillenmeyer

WOOD FLOOR PRESERVATION MADE EASY with Education and Technology from HVAC Leaders New smart-home technology allows wood flooring professionals to not only educate customers about the importance of relative humidity but also recommend a whole-home solution that is as effective as it is convenient.

solutions are the best way to manage indoor RH because they are e cient and have the capacity needed to add or remove moisture from the whole home. Installed by an HVAC professional, whole- house solutions for humidity control provide customers the most complete way to preserve their wood oors – as well as other possessions in their home – from dangerous humidity levels. SMART HOMES PROTECT WOOD FLOORS While wood oors are as old as home ownership itself, they can still bene t from the many advantages a connected home provides. Controlling health, comfort, safety, and ambience via a smart device is quickly becoming the rule, not the exception. With voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa, the future appears to have arrived. Wood ooring customers who understand the importance of humidity to the life of their wood oors will expect a helping hand in managing it. Because even the best solution available is rendered useless if it’s not controlled, Aprilaire humidi ers work with a full line of Aprilaire Wi-Fi ermostats. In addition to providing simple and convenient

Within the industry, indoor relative humidity’s (RH) impact on an installed hardwood oor is well understood. Too li le humidity and oors crack; too much and they swell. With seasonal changes in weather and thus, the conditions inside the home, many oors are subjected to both spikes and dips in RH that land outside of NWFA guidelines. Bre Miller, NWFA’s VP of Education and Certi cation estimates that 90 percent of hardwood failures are related to moisture problems and relative humidity in the home is the most signi cant factor. For this reason, wood ooring retailers are educating their customers on the relationship between water and wood. ey explain to their customers that warranties may be void if recommended RH levels are not maintained and the installed oor will not look or perform as they hope. Educating customers about RH is essential for wood ooring professionals who want to reduce call backs, and protect their reputations and the oors they install. THE RIGHT SOLUTION AND CONTROL Of course, wood ooring professionals don’t live in their customer’s homes. Even if the proper education takes place on the sales oor and the installation process follows all guidelines for acclimation, RHmust be maintained long a er the professionals have le . Among the best ways to ensure the oor’s longevity and the customer’s satisfaction is to provide that customer with recommendations for RH control. Aprilaire has a full line of whole-home humidi cation solutions that can ba le dry air and excess humidity. Whole-home

their wood oor. With a thermostat and app that provides accurate information on humidity levels, homeowners can stay on top of their humidity situation. RH ALERTS AND MAINTENANCE REMINDERS Wood ooring customers can also program humidity alerts into the thermostat or app. ey will receive push noti cations and emails when humidity levels in the home spike or drop. An easy step for a wood ooring customer to ensure the longevity of their oors is to set their humidity alerts to the indoor RH speci cations provided by the ooring manufacturer. When informing customers about the need for humidity control with their wood oor, make sure they know to ask their HVAC contractor about smart home technology fromAprilaire. Aprilaire has been a leader in whole-home climate control for more than 60 years. Learn more about humidity solutions for wood floor professionals at aprilaire.com/woodflooring.

control, Aprilaire Wi-Fi thermostats provide other bene ts to wood ooring customers, as well. Customers can forget about the importance of humidity and the threat it poses to

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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