Pine floor fading color

[jeffc]

We have a pine floor (not recommended, too soft.) It's finished with a typical polyurethane (I assume). The problem is the color is changing under a rug. We had one in the kitchen, and it was lighter under the rug. I owuld have thought it would be lighter where the sun was bleaching the floor, but the opposite was true. It's not a case of the floor being dirty, it's cleaned regularly. Now I have to look under the living room rug. I haven't been able to get it all the way back but I haven' been able to tell if it's been discolored yet too. Any ideas on what's going on and if there's anything to do other than take away the rugs? Is the kitchen area permanently damaged if it comes time to sell the house? It's not horrible, but I think many people would notice if they glanced toward the floor.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Some woods lighten, but most darken from the sun. The UV rays make a big difference. Try cherry and you will see a big difference in a day or so.

Three solutions. Sand the dark area to remove the top portion that is dark Remove the carpet and let the rest darken Astroturf

[tbasc]

Pine darkens with exposure to sunlight. TB

[PipeDown]

It may not be the wood (but it could be). It might be the polyeurethane yellowing (very common and expected). Over a long time the rest of the floor might catch up and even out but no guarantees.

Ultimately all you can do is refinish using a more stable coating. I like water based Varathane because it goes on easy, dries fast, is very hard and dosen't yellow, its just a but thinner than poly and a lot more expensive (3x to 4x more).

[m Ransley]

Pine darkens. oil polyurethane darkens more than water base. Direct sun from windows with a poor UV rating make it happen quicker. So close your windows and carpet the floor-just kidding.

[No]

Yea, like Edwin and tbasc said. Many woods darken with exposure to suns UV rays. Not much you can do about it. Refinishing the floor will even out the color. A varnish with UV inhibitors would minimize the effect. You could also look into putting a UV window tint on that side of the house. it may lower your colling bill a little too and slow down the process. If you take up the rug for a year or so things may even out and become less noticeable.

If it doesn't bother you, and you plan on keeping the rug in place, I wouldn't worry about it. When you go to sell the house its not something you need to disclose. Keep the rug in place when showing the house. Its likely the new owners would also have a rug. my 2c.