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.

"jeffc" wrote in message
...
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.


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

jeffc wrote:
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.

Pine darkens with exposure to sunlight.
TB

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).


"jeffc" wrote in message
...
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.

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.

jeffc wrote:
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.


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.