Wood is a hygroscopic substance, meaning it's the ability to attract and hold water molecules out of the atmosphere surrounding it. When exposed to the atmosphere, wood will attract or release moisture before it's at the exact same level as the surrounding air. If there's excess moisture from the atmosphere, your hardwood floor will draw in some of the moisture, causing it to expand. If there's less moisture from the air, hardwood floors will release some of the moisture stored inside it back in the air, causing it to contract and shrink.
When wood goes through this change, it may not enlarge or contract equally in all directions. This contraction and expansion is completely natural, and provided that the movement is not too extreme, you should have no need to be worried. There are a number of steps you can take to attempt to restrict the movement of your hardwood floors , yet.
Through the cold winter months, your home will be heated, causing the air to become dry and humidity levels to drop. This can result in your hardwood flooring to discharge contract and moisture, causing little gaps to appear. To restrict this, try to maintain the humidity levels in your home between 50-65percent using a humidifier, or by putting damp tea-towels on your radiators.
Over summer, when the temperature is greater, humidity levels can grow considerably. This, then, can make your wooden flooring to absorb the excess moisture in the atmosphere and extend, pressing on the boards from each other. To prevent this from happening, leave your windows open for a brief period each day to allow the humidity to leave your room, being replaced with new air circulating instead.
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