Ever Notice That Your Floors Creak More During Winter? Here's Why It Happens

It happens every year, seemingly overnight. Perhaps you've mapped out the perfect path to sneak out of the nursery without making a single sound, relieved that your little bundle of joy will stay asleep (for now, at least). Then, as soon as the temperature starts to drop outside, that well-worn trail is plagued with creaks and squeaks that startle your sweet baby awake and leave you to find a new route. You're not imagining it — it's a common household woe that arrives every winter. In many homes, floor creaking is just as much a telltale sign that winter is on its way as the morning frost and barren branches outside. 

It turns out the reason has every bit to do with the season. As winter approaches, air conditions become drier and colder. This causes the wood components of your floor to contract, which creates friction between them. The result? You guessed it — creaks and squeaks. While wooden floorboards can contribute to your noisy steps, it's not just hardwoods that creak. The subfloor and floor joists are also subject to contraction, so any floor can experience wintertime squeaks. While seasonal creaks aren't reasons for concern, it is worth keeping an ear out for ongoing floor noises that could indicate a bigger problem.

If your floor is virtually silent during the summer months but turns into an orchestra of squeaks every winter, weather is the most likely culprit. But there are lots of reasons why your floor might be getting noisier. Before you head straight to DIY solutions to silence your squeaky floors, you'll need to figure out what the true cause is.

If your home is older, it's likely that the contracting and expanding your floor has endured year after year has led to permanent separation in the flooring system, which means creaky floors year-round. Gaps commonly form between the subfloor and floorboards in hardwoods, and can also occur between the subfloor and floor joists in carpeted floors. These gaps might shrink in the warmer months, relieving some of the noise pollution, but if you've noticed more and more creaky spots around your home, it may be time to take action.

Squeaky floors can also be caused by suboptimal flooring installation. If the subfloor was improperly installed, it's only a matter of time before it separates from the joists. Nails in the subfloor are a common cause of creaky floors, as they inevitably loosen over time due to both temperature fluctuations and movement from daily foot traffic. Nails can also be behind squeaky wooden floorboards if they aren't nailed properly to the joists. Loosened floorboards can be a constant source of noise that will only improve by taking steps to secure them.

You might not be able to do much about the weather, but you can take steps to stop your floor's whining right in its tracks. If you are primarily noticing rickety floors in the winter, a humidifier might be the answer to your squeaky floors to combat the drier air, so try running one near a particularly creaky area and see if that silences the creaks. If you have hardwood floors, sprinkle a dry lubricant or lubricating oil on those troublesome spots throughout the season, letting it sink and settle between the floorboards, which allows them to move smoothly and noise-free. Some people substitute cornstarch for this squeaky floor hack and it actually works!

If it's time to call in more permanent solutions to your irksome floors, we've got several DIY approaches you can take. There are kits that come with everything you need to do this on your own, like the GBW Squeeeeek No More Kit, which has a joist locator to easily screw the subfloor to the joist through carpet or hardwood floors without damaging either. It's a quick and affordable way to fix squeaks for good. If you have access to the underside of your flooring, you can also secure the subfloor or floorboards to the joists by cleating. This is a tip pros use to tackle noisy floors, and you can do it yourself by connecting the subfloor or floorboards to the joists using a small piece of wood (called a cleat). Similarly, if you notice gaps between the subfloor and joist, gently tap a wooden shim in to fill the gap and quiet your flooring.