Wood is an aesthetic and durable choice for doors but has certain structural disadvantages. The chief among these is its porous nature, which can lead to expansion and contraction. Whether your wooden materials have swollen in the past or you’ve noticed a neighbor’s wooden doors change sizes due to the weather, you may want to know how to avoid this in the future.
To prevent a wooden door from swelling, you must note the water sources that the door might be exposed to. Use a waterproof sealer to keep water from reaching into its pores and have a dehumidifier in your home to minimize wood-swelling. You should also keep a blow dryer at hand to dry soaked wood.
In this article, you will learn in detail the steps you must take to minimize wood-swelling, including how to:
- Determine the source of swelling
- Keep water from getting into the wooden pores
- Minimize humidity in your home
- Fix a wooden door if it swells
Understand the Cause of Wood Swelling
The first step in preventing swelling is to ensure the leading cause of wood-swelling is addressed: humidity. Wood is porous, and moisture in the air can get absorbed into its structure. Consequently, wooden doors may expand when there is excess humidity in the air. Aside from moisture, rainfall can impact your door’s size as well. That is truer for your exterior doors than the ones in your home. Either way, porous wood coming in contact with water is bad news.
Apply a Sealer to Cover the Exposed Wood
At this point, humidity might seem like the obvious culprit, but one must take care of the pores first. Aside from your door, consider all your wooden furniture, including future purchases. Make sure that the wood is appropriately finished and accurately sealed. Even if the wooden door comes pre-finished, it is advisable to use a sealer from time to time and cover the most exposed regions.
Modern wooden doors are likely to be pre-finished, and you have not faced major wood-swelling issues before a recent instance, chances are the protective layer has corroded. In that case, you can apply one of the top wood protection shields recommended in this section.
Tough Timber Premium Wood Sealer
This wood sealer is ideal for your door. It is tough enough for exterior environments while having a minimal visual impact. Your door is likely to have a little bit of a glossy finish after you’ve covered it with a coat of this sealer. Only a single coat of this sealer is enough to protect the door against water.
- TOUGH TIMBER PREMIUM WOOD SEALER - High End/Industrial Grade Wood, Roof, and Deck Sealer proving protection for years to come! Making your Deck, Wood, Cedar Roof, Cedar Shingles, and Wood Fences water repellent. ToughTimber penetrates deep within the wood for BEST protection.
- PROTECTION - Silane/Siloxane penetrates deep into the wood reducing wood water up-take by 95% protecting it against the elements and preserves the wood for longer periods of time.
- COVERS UP TO 1,000 SQFT (MAKES 5 GALLONS) - Same day, one coat application. Goes on cloudy and dries clear with a slight gloss sheen.
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SealOnce Marine Wood Sealer
This sealer is used to protect piers and ship wood exposed to much more water than a door. Therefore, it is sufficiently protective and can keep humidity from getting absorbed into the wood and expanding the door.
- MARINE SEALANT: Our liquid formula creates a UV-stable coating for protection against the elements, saltwater spray, and water damage. Marine is a great protector for outdoor furniture, thermally modified wood, and boat docks. Marine is safe for use over open water and is non-hazardous to aquatic life.
- DECK STAIN: It's water-based, ultra-low VOC, great for enhancing the extended life of your flooring, siding, and porch. The paint forms a water-resistant shield around wood fibers at the cellular level to help preserve the natural color.
- WATERPROOF WOOD SEALER: The wood used on boat docks, decks, and retaining walls near rivers, lakes, oceans, and ponds is subjected to constant moisture. We crafted a sealer, remove stain, and finish all in one, specifically for these installations.
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With over 300 reviews, the product is rated at 4.6 stars out of 5. It is worth noting that this product comes in various shades and can change your door’s look. That’s why you should make sure you’re ordering a “clear” variety so you can retain your door’s previous color.
Rain Guard Water Sealer
This clear waterproof sealer can help keep humidity out of your door’s interior. Backed by the Rainguard brand’s trust, which dates back to 1969, this product has significant research and development behind it.
- PREMIUM WOOD SEALER: Protect, restore, and extend the life of your home with Rainguard Water Sealers Wood Sealer! Formulated to penetrate deep into the surface, Wood Sealer is a water-based silane/siloxane water repellent that helps inhibit moisture damage. This premium-grade water sealer for wood is safe to use indoors or outdoors. It dries to an invisible stain resistant finish that won't yellow or alter surface texture or appearance.
- LONG LASTING PROTECTION: Engineered with Micro-Lok! This proprietary ingredient ensures sealer absorption and creates a long-lasting filmless hydrophobic barrier against weathering, salt, dirt, freezing temperatures, UV light, wind-driven rain, and other damaging elements. Rainguard Wood Sealer is the ideal weatherproof sealant for all non-treated and unpainted wood surfaces including, wooden floors, decks, walkways, outdoor furniture, and fences.
- CONCENTRATED FORMULATION: Cost-effective, concentrated sealing solutions! Rainguard Water Sealers Wood Sealer Concentrate offers the best value and simple mixing. Pour the quart of concentrate into a 5-gallon pail and add clean water to the 2-gallon mark. Mix lightly to disperse the material. Two gallons of this impregnating wood waterproofer coats, seals, and protects up to 400 square feet. Try Rainguard Water Sealers' ready-to-use formulations for ease and convenience.
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You may prefer this over other options because of Rainguard’s commitment to creating non-toxic products. The sealer is safe to use if you have pets and children, as you don’t have to worry about them being at risk when exposed to the coat before it dries.
Get a Dehumidifier
The previous step is the most effective when you’re protecting your front door. However, if you notice the doors inside your house beginning to shrink and expand based on the seasons, you have humidity mismanagement issues. In such a case, you should buy a dehumidifier and place them in the largest room of your house that connects to most other areas. Below is our recommendation for a dehumidifier.
Homelabs Dehumidifier for Extra-Large Rooms
This is one of the most reviewed and rated products in its category and serves 4,500 square feet rooms and basements. Getting rid of humidity with this means you no longer have to worry about your wooden furniture and won’t have other problems caused by moisture. Bacteria, mold, and viruses all thrive in high humidity, and having a unit dedicated to adjusting your living space’s humidity is a great choice.
- 4,500 sq ft Large Dehumidifier: Our 15.4 x 11 x 24.3 inches dehumidifier with 1.6 gallon water tank capacity removes up to 50 pints (70 Pint 2012 DOE Standard) from the air per day depending on moisture condition and the size of your room. This is our largest, most capable model ideal for large rooms up to 4,500 square feet and/or very wet spaces.
- Designed For Modern Home: That most dehumidifiers are clunky eyesores is news to nobody. We designed with the modern consumer in mind: a sleek clean look, convenient built-in wheels and handles, and a quiet fan that won’t drown out your current binge-watching obsession.
- Super Easy To Use: Dehumidifiers don’t need to be complicated, so ours isn’t. Adjust to your ideal moisture setting, then let it run its continuous 24-hour cycle until the tank is full, at which point it will automatically shut-off. There’s also a drain hose outlet for continuous draining. The hose is not included; we recommend a ⅝” diameter garden hose with an internal threaded end, and optionally Teflon tape for extra security.
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Even if you do not have the need or the capacity to house a unit meant for 4,500 square feet of space, the product comes in different weight classes. There are 1,500 square feet and 3000 square feet options available as well. If you’re unsure how large the unit will be, the reviews on amazon include pictures uploaded by customers.
Just make sure to note the weight mentioned in each review as all 13,300+ reviews do not relate to only one weight-class. The average rating across its different sized units is 4.7 stars out of 5 with 4.6 stars specifically for the quality of material and 4.3 out of 5 stars for noise level.
How to Fix a Swollen Wooden Door
Now that we have addressed prevention, let’s explore what you can do when your door swells. The first thing you must do is to note how much it has swollen. If it has swollen just enough for you to feel the difference but not notice it, you may not need to do anything. Wood expands and contracts by itself depending on the conditions of the environment around it.
If you want to be cautious anyway, you can bring your dehumidifier closer to the door and leave it running. This accelerates the dehumidification process and ensures that the door returns to its previous form. Remember, the greatest enemy of your door’s form is time. If the door remains swollen long enough, it becomes permanently swollen. That is why whenever you feel like the humidity levels (or presence of rain) won’t change soon; you should take matters into your own hands.
In other words, the wood might as well go back to its initial size after some time. However, if you begin to see the swelling, you must act fast. A visibly swollen wooden door may permanently deform and never return to its initial size if not immediately addressed.
The first step is to get a hair drier and aim it at the swollen region. By shooting a stream of hot air, you’re encouraging spontaneous evaporation of the water that your door has absorbed. Ideally, you would do this when the door has gotten exposed to rain.
If the door has swollen to the degree that a hairdryer or heat gun won’t fix, you at least know that weather changes will not shrink the door anymore. This means you can take the door off its hinges and work on returning it to the normal size the traditional way: evenly sanding the edges till the door is back to its desired size. Once you do this, make sure you also apply a coat of waterproof sealer so the wood doesn’t get affected in the future.
Final Thoughts
Wooden doors may look beautiful and be quieter than clanky metal ones, but they are also more prone to structural damage from exposure to water. Here’s a recap of the post covering what you should do to prevent your door from swelling.
- Note down different ways in which your door is exposed to water
- Apply a waterproof sealer to cover exposed wood
- Install a dehumidifier to minimize humidity
- Keep a blow dryer handy to dry soaked wood quickly