HOW TO PREVENT SUN FADING HARDWOOD FLOORS AND FURNITURE

The moment the morning sun’s rays creep through your windows, the process has already begun: your floors, furnishings, and upholstery have begun to fade and discolor. This happens each and every time they are exposed to sunlight, and while the process can be slow and subtle day-to-day, over the course of time the damage will be glaring and permanent. Short of blocking all light by sealing the shutters and lowering the blinds, the only way to protect your flooring and furnishings is to control the type and amount of light that gets through your windows. And the only way to reliably take that control is with window film. Even modern “low E” (or low emissivity) glass windows fail to offer as much protection as high quality window tint, so beware that even a recently built or renovated property might not be as well-protected as you think. Window film represents a small, one-time investment that can help protect all the cherished and valuable things within your home.

Most people’s main solar-related concern is sun damage to hardwood floors. Different types of wood react to sunlight in different ways — Brazilian Cherry will darken, while American oak will lighten and fade, for example — but all woods are photo-reactive to some degree; no wood is safe from the effects of sunlight, and neither are laminates or other artificial substitutes. This is true even when your floors have been treated with a coating such as polyurethane, which will itself discolor with protracted exposure. The fact is that some hardwood floors might remain attractive even faded, darkened, or otherwise altered by the sun, but this is only true if they receive uniform exposure. The carpets and furniture in the room and the uneven way light spills through windows guarantees uneven coloration that can badly damage the aesthetics of a room..

Home Window Tinting blocks 99.9% UV rays and up to 98% Infrared Heat. Protect your wood floors from sun damage and fading.

Of course sun damage is equal opportunity regarding wood floors as well as carpets and rugs, upholstery, documents, photos, artwork, and more. Even a person’s skin can be damaged by extended exposure to sunlight in a home’s interior. The primary culprit for interior fading, discoloration, and damage in general is the ultraviolet (or UV) spectrum of sunlight. UV light has the shortest wavelengths of the solar spectrum at between 310 to 390 nanometers in measurement. It is invisible to the naked eye but its effects can certainly be seen over time. High quality window films can block out up to 99.99% of ultraviolet light, rejecting it back out into the atmosphere before it penetrates glass windows or doors. (Low E windows seldom block more than 85% of UV light.)

The other invisible part of sunlight's spectrum, infrared (or IR) light, can also play a hand in damaging your floors and furniture, mainly in that IR light is by far the most warming type of sunshine. Unchecked, IR sunlight will heat up your interior, which can lead to accelerated damage and decay of flooring, furniture, and decor. Window films can block out as much as 85% or more of this warming, potentially damaging light. (Infrared light is also the main reason your home heats up to the point of requiring climate control systems, so blocking it out is a great way to reduce your energy costs.)

Even the visible light that makes your home a bright and beautiful place to live has some effect on your flooring and furnishings, but fortunately window film reduces enough visual light transfer (or VLT) to mitigate this damage. Most window films allow for 70% or more VLT, which means your home will still be filled with natural light, but will be free from the unpleasant glare sunlight causes when it streams through glass unchecked. And with window tint's mild reduction of this most mild light and with a dramatic reduction of IR and UV light, your home's interior will be protected and your view out through the windows will remain crisp and clear.