How to Save a Water Damaged Hardwood Flooring
As in all water-related property damage, time is vital. Floors are at a higher risk for permanent water damage and mold growth in case you don’t take care of moisture instantly. Hardwood flooring will absorb moisture quickly because of its porosity. Besides response time, successful hardwood flooring water damage repair is dependent upon the sort of flooring, wood, and complete, method of installation, amount of moisture, and replacement value.
For hardwood flooring water damage restoration, think about hiring a professional disaster restoration company. They have the essential knowledge and expertise and utilize specialized equipment for drying. However, if you want to fix hardwood flooring water damage yourself, check out the tips below.
How to repair hardwood floor water damage:
- Halt the stream of water when the flood occurred because of a burst pipe, washing machine collapse, or water heater failure.
- Turn off the power to the affected area until the water was removed.
- Assess the damages before beginning the recovery to find out whether to wash up or replace the ground. Take photos, list damaged things, and reveal them to your insurance carrier.
- Remove any items (carpeting, furniture, etc.) in the ground and take them to a sterile location.
- Open windows and doors to permit moisture to evaporate faster.
- Start removing the excess water using a wet/dry vacuum cleaner with mops and old cloth. If the water level is deep, use a pump to drain water. Request someone to help so it is possible to complete the task quicker and prevent further harm.
- Use dehumidifiers, heaters, and fans to accelerate the drying process. Set them on top of an elevated surface at the flooded area and shut the windows. Direct the lovers towards the floor’s surface. Rinse the floor with clean water and continue to wash the ground.
When dealing with a flooded hardwood floor, act fast to save your flooring from permanent harm and mold growth. Speak to a professional flooding remediation firm, for example, PuroClean, that can quickly mitigate the harm and implement the most appropriate course of action. Also, learn how to avoid hardwood flooring water damage in the future.
How Professionals Restore Hardwood Flooring Water Damage
Determining the type of flooring and setup
Inspection is obviously crucial when starting to fix hardwood floor water damage. Hardwood flooring comes in a variety of species, including walnut, cherry, pine, maple, and cherry. More and more exotic species are being used in flooring. Every kind poses different challenges in the drying process due to the varying degrees of moisture absorption.
Additionally, there are varieties of floors which look like wood but are not. These floors will occasionally have a laminate onto the surface along with a particle board substructure. When moisture seeps under these flooring, drying is extremely hard. For more help, call a PuroClean water damage restoration professional to help you evaluate your flooring’s kind and condition. Click this link to know more.
Professionals will also assess the first installation method of their hardwood flooring. Original installation may be nailed, glued, or installed at a floating method.
- When nailed floors have suffered from water damage, the nails can lift.
- If the floor has been glued on the substrate, the moisture may release the glue.
- In the case of a floating kind floor, it may not be authentic wood and might be a laminated product. Tongue and groove hardwood floors may “cup” after absorbing moisture.
After the technicians decide the timber flooring type and installation process, drying can start. Utilizing surface and/or subsurface drying methods and proper dehumidification, technicians can induce heat beneath the surface of the floor (positively or negatively) to eliminate this moisture. It could also be necessary to access the ground from below for faster drying.
Powerful drying of hardwood flooring is a slow procedure. It is going to occasionally take seven to 10 days for the floor to release enough water to stop the forced drying process. Removing all the absorbed water on the floor is expensive and temperament has to be allowed to help in the process.
At this point, nature will get rid of the rest of the water, although slowly — anywhere from three to six months. Education in this method is essential for a successful job. Allow the restorations professionals of PuroClean to allow you to dry your hardwood floors correctly.
Repairing the end
Once the hardwood floor is dry, there might nevertheless be damage to the floor finish. Finishes, such as waxes and polyurethane, may inhibit the flow of the absorbed moisture. They will sometimes have to be eliminated in the drying process to allow for moisture removal.
If the hardwood floor cups slightly, the finish may crack and check due to the movement of the timber product. This is a normal part of the drying procedure. Once the floor is completely dry, the flooring can be refinished.
Hardwood floor drying is a specialty. PuroClean restoration professionals possess the knowledge to properly evaluate the various kinds of flooring and also have specialized equipment to fix hardwood floor water damage. Learn more about PuroClean right here.
To summarize, here is how to repair hardwood floor water damage:
- Drain the excess water.
- Assess and document the damage.
- Clear the inland region.
- Clean the dirt and wash the ground utilizing air blowing off equipment and dehumidifiers.
- At the end of this procedure, if the floor reveals signs of self-indulgence and crowning, consult a hardwood flooring installer to get the floor back in shape.
- Instead, call a professional restoration company to perform all this hard work.