This is likely a silly question, I know the answer, but am surprised at the rate of it occurring.

We got our Hardwood floors sanded down to the wood in June of 2013, and three coats of Dura Seal Satin Polyurethane put down. Approx 3 months later we added an area rug. In lifting the carpet to clean, we noticed that there is already a difference between the uncovered and covered floor. We have large windows in the living room, so I guess it is just the sunlight affecting the floors, but am surprised it happened so quickly - should fading have occurred this fast?

Depending on the species some can change color in a matter of days; namely exotic hardwoods and American Cherry and Walnut. It is normal.

I had a carpet contractor friend who hired me to do his floors. I put down Varathane diamond-elite water-based, which my distributor sold at that time.
It changed color under the rug. My friend insisted that the finish in the other part of the house didn't do that, and that something was wrong with the Varathane. He insisted on suing Varathane in small claims.

I told him not to pursue that, as it was a normal occurrence. He went ahead, and I ended up having to go to court to defend Varathane. I showed pictures of normal fading on a dozen jobs, read quotes from tech support at several companies, and the judge immediately ruled for Varathane. That was a painful experience. We eventually got back on speaking terms.

If there was a finish that didn't fade under rugs, I don't know what it would be. He saw something that led him to believe that this was the case. What is confusing is that I believe I've seen examples of this where the finish faded under the rug, and the surrounding floor remained darker. This would not fit UV exposure as a reason for the fading.



It happens within months. If you take the rug away, though, Bona tech support told me that it would "catch up" within months, too. This was important to one customer who wanted to sell their house. If the color was consistent, I could recoat the floor rather than sand it.

Thanks for all of the feedback. Years ago when I redid my floors in the old house it didn't do this, but I also didn't have large windows. I was just curious if the speed of the fading was an indication that the brand of poly was subpar, but, as it is winter and the sun hits direct on the floors it is just the situation.

Dura seal dont have UV blockers for starters.

heavy sun exposure will turn anything including siding/roofing etc.

if you get discoloring under the carpet, that is usually a sign that the finish was not thoroughly cured before the carpet were placed..it should be 2 weeks as recommended.

thats a wacky story Alloy...some people will sue for anything

i have same problem my floors fading then my daughter use Hand woven rugs It changed color under the rug. My friend insisted that the finish in the other part of the house didn't do that, and that something was wrong with the Varathane. He insisted on suing Varathane in small claims.

The color of the floor under the rug is not changing! It's the floor exposed to UV thats changing. Unless you can change the laws of physics thats just the way it works.

That's interesting, Stephen. That makes sense--when you remove the rug, and the floor color underneath "catches up" to the same color as the rest of the floor, it makes more sense that it's the wood that's doing the changing.
The chemicals on top of the wood would not be so flexible.

If anyone ever told me this in all those conversations with Varathane and Bona, I'd forgotten it.