If you have wood floors, you don’t want any liquid to sit on that surface for too long – it may warp the wood. If it’s a major flood sitting on your wood floors, you ideally want that taken care of within 24 hours.
Any water on your wood floors should be cleaned up right away.
How Do I Know If My Hardwood Floor Is Water Damaged?
When water sits on a wood floor for a length of time, it’s absorbed by the wood which then makes the wood expand and warp. If you notice that the sides of the wooden planks on your floor are higher than the center of the plank, then you know that it’s warped and the cause is most certainly water damage.
Other signs to look out for include:
- Discoloration of the wood planks
- Nails lifting up from the floor
- Mold growth
- Floorboards that are lifting off the floor
The effects of water damage are slow and steady; you might not notice something’s amiss on your wood floors for a while so be preventive and wipe up any amount of water right away.
How To Fix Water Damaged Swollen Wood Floors
Hardwood floors have been a proud symbol of home ownership for generations. For homeowners who see their beautiful hardwood floor start bending and warping from water damage – this is not good news at all…but don’t worry because there are things that can be done when faced with such unfortunate situations so they’ll still look great once again.
If the buckling that you notice is only minor you can take these following steps:
- Soak up all the water on the floor with towels
- Clean the area with a disinfectant cleaner that’s safe to use on hardwood floors
- Vacuum the area
- Place an electric fan on the area and let it run for several hours
- Place a humidifier in the area for 24 hours
These steps should help the wood planks to return to normal.
But if the buckling is severe – the planks will have to be replaced. This also means that they will have to be stained to try to match your existing floor. If that is not possible, you may have to have the entire floor stripped and re-stained.
If you have any questions about water damage or are having some problems with it, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-505-8570. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.