The Dangers of Direct Sunlight

While the sun may brighten your mood and make you feel energized, it doesn’t have the same positive effect on your home’s interior. Regular sun exposure eventually causes damage to furniture, flooring, and artwork. The main reasons for this costly damage are UV rays and solar heat produced by the sun and the sun in Arizona can be damaging to patio among other things.

How Sunlight Causes Fading

The color dyes used in your favorite sofa, rug and draperies are all vulnerable to UV rays. As light is absorbed, the chemical bonds in the fabric pigments begin to deteriorate. When this happens, faded colors are the result. Some colors, such as red, have a tendency to absorb more light and experience a greater amount of color fading. Shades of blue are more likely to reflect light so that the amount of damage is minimized.

Instead of limiting your color scheme, one simple option is to have rolling shutters or window shades installed. This allows you to enjoy the interior design you desire because you’re able to control the amount of sunlight that enters a room. These window treatments also make a home more energy efficient by reducing heat.

Sun Bleaching of Photographs and Paintings

Whether you fill your walls with family photographs or expensive paintings, you’ll want to protect them from sun damage. Over time, direct exposure to light leads to sun bleaching. It’s not uncommon for photographs to turn yellow or become brittle from damaging rays. Watercolor paintings are also extremely susceptible to fading due to the thin texture of the paint.

Damage to Wood Furniture and Flooring

Nothing adds warmth and beauty to a home, like hardwood flooring or traditional wood furniture. Unfortunately, regular sun exposure alters the color of the wood. Depending on the type of wood, you could experience darkened or faded colors. Using area rugs on unprotected wood floors causes lighter patches of wood where the rug was placed. Once this occurs, you’re either stuck with leaving the rug in the same spot or having the floor sanded and refinished.

Besides altering the color, direct sun combined with high heat is capable of drying out and weakening wood floors and furniture. Although this is a long-term process, it can be very costly and time-consuming to fix when it happens. Preventing this occurrence with solar screens is your best bet. Quality screens will reduce over 90 percent of solar heat, leaving your home cooler while protecting floors and furniture.

Don’t Forget Your Patio Space

Many people select metal furniture for their patios because of its durability. However, even metal isn’t immune to the effects of sun damage. If metal becomes oxidized, you may be able to clean off the white residue by hand. Damage from sun bleaching, however, requires the furniture to be sanded and repainted. If you want to eliminate the hassle of cleaning and repair, patio solar screens provide protection from extreme heat and annoying insects.