If you have hardwood floors in your house, sooner or later, one way or another, then you’re going to have them damaged as a result of water. Out of management humidity issues, spills floods because of broken pipes or appliances, monitored in snow, water, or ice, and even injuries by pets can be extremely detrimental to hardwood floors. You can prevent a lot of these problems if you bear in mind some basic steps that you may take to limit hardwood floor damage. 

First Step: Limiting Hardwood Floor Damage – Take Action Immediately

Water damage to hardwood floors is progressive. The longer the flooring is exposed to excessive water or humidity, the greater the damage becomes. As wood floorboards absorb moisture, they enlarge, both vertically and horizontally. The vertical expansion results from water being absorbed by the borders of each board and create cupping, the edges getting thicker compared to the board’s center. The horizontal expansion results in the boards to “grow” in diameter. As each plank expands horizontally the gap on each side of the area’s walls becoming smaller and smaller. There’ll come a point where the ground’s side-by-side expansion entirely fills the gap between the floor and the wall. The floor will continue to expand but will have nowhere to enlarge to. With no more space, the boards will buckle, or go upwards, to release the pressure. The damage from buckling is permanent and will require costly board replacement. The entire floor will subsequently demand sanding and sanding.

Second Step: Preventing Hardwood Floor Damage – Immediate Cleaning

Small spills can be cleaned up with soft, absorbent towels since the water will have not penetrated past the top layer of the ground. After drying up as much of the spill as you can, you should place a fan beside the affected area to help increase the rate of evaporation. In the event of a large spill or flood, such as the ones by a broken water line, a water heater, or a refrigerator ice-maker line, for instance, you’re going to require expert assistance. The proper expert restorer will have the specialized equipment required to remove the extra water quickly and to promote rapid drying. The longer a hardwood floor remains moist, the greater the harm to it. A bigger water loss will allow the water to penetrate under the ground and affect the sub-floor, which will make drying the floor near impossible for a homeowner. If relied upon within the first 24-36 hours, most hardwood flooring can be dried successfully using little or no further repairs required.

Third Step: Restoration – After Water Damage Occurs

If your hardwood floor is currently showing signs of warping or cupping, call an expert restoration firm whenever the damage is detected. A hardwood floor installer won’t be able to help you at this point. The floor has to be dried back to NWFA/NOFMA (National Wood Flooring Association / National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association) standards. These criteria will be different based on the region of the country in which you live. A qualified restoration professional will know this standard. If your floor is sanded or re-finished prior to being brought back to the appropriate dryness standard, it may be damaged beyond repair.

Hardwood floor damage is something you’ll be able to prepare for and limit, based on the origin of the damage. Small spills are easily taken care of by homeowners, big spills and flooding, or leaks over time will require professional aid. The sooner the problem is addressed, the better your odds of saving your flooring.

When dealing with flooded hardwood flooring, act quickly to save your flooring from permanent harm and mold expansion. Speak to a professional flood cleanup firm, such as PuroClean, which will quickly mitigate the damage and implement the best course of action. Additionally, learn how to avoid hardwood flooring water damage later on.

Hardwood floor drying is a specialization. PuroClean restoration professionals have the knowledge to correctly evaluate the many kinds of floors and also have specialized equipment to repair hardwood floor water damage. Click here to learn more.