Ideas please! Floor register hurting wood floor?

[Billbill]

Hi everyone. May I start by saying this isn't a "why wood floors are bad in kitchens" thread I already know I'm just trying to preserve what I've got, repair some damage done by previous water splashing owner.
As you probably guessed, the worst part of the flooring is in front of sink and stove aka cooking area for obvious reasons.
My question is, lately I've noticed the wood planks directly in front of the sink/cabinet toe kick register have bigger gaps now due to dryness and it seems that a couple of the boards are warping or bowing longitudinally far ends down, center up! And creaking/popping louder than before. Ive had a rubber backed rug laying directly in front of that register but figured it would be ok due to the beveled edges allowing air under the rug but not so sure about that now. I pulled that rug out to have a look and heard loud static when I pulled it from the floor and I know static is a tell tale sign of over dryness. Am I over-drying the wood in this area with a rug in front of the toe kick register or something?!?! Should note that when I removed the faceplate from the register there's no ducting it's just the metal hole that blows into the cavity behind the toe kick board and the air comes out the vent, the planks under there have massive gaps upwards of 1/4"! Somehow I think this toe kick register and how it's setup is hurting the floors combining that with a rug is compounding the problem? I know there's a lot of people with wood floors and toe kick registers that don't have issues with dryness right there. If anything it's a moist area haha

 

[Billbill]

Anyone?

 

[Dan]

Rubber backed rug is a no-no. Non backed rugs do seem to slip, to there are products made to cut-to-fit cloth backed rugs. They are rubber, so they are non slip, but are more holes than rubber, if that makes sense.

Another likely situation, in front of the sink, that register is likely fed by a trunk line that is placed between the joists. It may not be insulated, or possibly not insulated quite enough.

 

[Billbill]

Rubber backed rug is a no-no. Non backed rugs do seem to slip, to there are products made to cut-to-fit cloth backed rugs. They are rubber, so they are non slip, but are more holes than rubber, if that makes sense.

Another likely situation, in front of the sink, that register is likely fed by a trunk line that is placed between the joists. It may not be insulated, or possibly not insulated quite enough.

None of the ducts in my house are insulated. Even worse, look at the pic here. Prob doesn't matter or contribute to this issue very much but behind that register there's just an open duct hole! No small duct leading to the register itself. I removed the rubber backed rug for now to see if it closes them gaps any better. Originally I thought the beveled edges would allow enough air flow under the rug to not trap anything but seeing as I had static between the rug and hardwood I'm thinking I was inadvertently over heating/drying the wood floor right in front of the register.