Did you know certain states experience more flooding than others? Flooding can cause significant water damage to wood floors. If you need some tips on how to fix flood damage, keep reading.
This guide will teach you how to repair hardwood flooring after a significant flood. There are different things you can do after hardwood floor water damage.
Ready to learn more? Check out the tips below.
You’ll Need to Remove Any Lingering Water
Use a shop vacuum and remove the surface water on the wood flooring. Use a wide flooring attachment on the vacuum hose. You could also use a squeegee to get the water.
Clean the Floor
Next, you will mix a disinfectant with a mild detergent and water.
Scrub the flooded area and related woodwork like baseboards or stairs. Use a stiff brush, and make sure to rinse the brush often. Don’t pour any water on the floor.
Scrub the flooring thoroughly to remove mud, organic material, or dirt. All these things can actually cause mold to grow.
Did You Spot Mold?
You should take care to clean areas that have mold on them. Use trisodium phosphate mixed with water, and scrub the areas until the mold is gone.
After, you should rinse these areas with clean water and dry the surface.
How to Dry the Floor
You can dry the flooded floors with fans and airflow. Open up windows and doors, and run some fans to help circulate the air.
You could place a fan in a large door or window opening, so the opposite doors and windows will bring fresh air. Cross-ventilation can drive out moisture.
Dry the floors slowly. If you rush it, the wood flooring could end up cracking. Don’t apply any heat to hardwood floors.
You Might Need to Sand the Floors
After you dry a wood floor, you might have some convex or concave floorboards, called cupping. Heavy sanding with an orbital sander or drum will lower any high areas.
Heavily cupped wood won’t get easily sanded down. Some floorboards might lift at the ends. You’ll need to face-nail the floorboards down.
You should ensure the wood is dry before beginning sanding. Cupping signifies that the wood hasn’t dried on the opposite side. If the other sides are wet or damp, more expansion will occur.
Mold on Wood Below the Paint
Mold growth below the paint on a floor is a tricky problem.
Your primary recourse is to begin removing the finish. Paint will create a seal over the floor that traps water in the wood. After scraping off paint, you should scrub the wood with an abrasive cleaner.
You Might Need to Replace Laminate
Laminate flooring will look like engineering hardwood or solid hardwood.
Yet, it’s a different material. Most laminate flooring plants are made from wood pulp. This material is vulnerable to water damage and will swell once soaked.
Most of the time, homeowners will need to completely replace laminate flooring.
You Might Need to Stain or Refurnish the Floor
Mold growth will appear below the paint on the wood floor. This causes a major problem. The option is to get rid of the furnish. The paint will create a seal that traps water between the wood.
You will need to scrape away the paint. Dry the floor as mentioned above before refurbishing the flooring.
Prevention Tips
Complete some prevention steps if your region experiences a lot of flooding.
Your wood’s floor polyurethane coating will keep dirt and water from touching wood. It isn’t waterproof. But you can keep the protective layer in good shape to protect against water damage.
Wood floor care should also include regular cleaning with proper wood cleaners. This will protect the polyurethane finish.
Signs of Water Damage
The damage from water on wood will build up over time. If you notice any change in your wood floor, the water has already affected the flooring. One sign that water damages the floor is the cupping of individual plants.
Another sign of water damage is dark staining along the edges of a plank. The staining’s caused by a combo of tannins in the wood and mold growing. You might also see broad stains across many planks.
Will You Replace the Floors or Hire Someone?
How bad the water damage was will determine if you need a professional. If you’d prefer to complete the job yourself, consider if this is reasonable. Do you have the time to complete this water damage restoration job?
If you have a full-time job or care for children, you might need to hire someone.
Also, how much you use the particular area might determine if you hire a professional. You want to hire someone who can get the job done fast if it’s a high-traffic area.
You want to remove mold right away and fix the floor as soon as possible.
Dealing With Hardwood Floor Water Damage
Did you find this guide helpful on hardwood floor water damage?
You should look at removing any surface water and scrubbing the floor. This will prevent any mold issues from worsening. You should also set up a few fans and create cross-ventilation to remove moisture.
To prevent water damage, look at protecting your hardwood floor’s polyurethane coating. Keep up with regular cleanings.
Need more homeowner tips? Check out our home improvement resources on the blog and keep your house in shape.
