Water damaged hardwood floors can be an absolute nightmare! You took the time to find flooring that perfectly accentuates your home’s furnishings, so why would you allow anything bad to happen to it? Unfortunately, one of the worst things your floors can come into contact with is water, which happens to be something it encounters with surprising regularity. Whether the exposure comes from excess moisture or a pipe leak, your hardwood floors can suffer considerable damage. Luckily, refurbishing of your flooring is still possible if you act quickly.
Limit Water Exposure to Improve Your Hardwood Floor’s Chances
If a leak or bad spill occurs, you can take immediate steps to reduce the damage. The sooner you dry off the telltale signs of moisture, the less of an impact that spill will have on the floor. Allowing water to pool on the flooring is perhaps the worst thing you can do, as it can lead to warping, rising and board separation.
Sometimes the situation won’t be quite as obvious as a puddle, however. Symptoms of mold growth in darker areas can be a sign of excessive moisture levels, and if you notice a higher elevation in certain sections of flooring, it could be due to hidden water damage.
Water Damaged Flooring Must Be Completely Dry
If you believe refinishing your water damaged flooring will always restore it to optimal condition, you’re not the only one. Also, you’re incorrect — refinishing has its merits, but it’s important to avoid rushing the process. Refinishing the floor when you believe it’s dry enough can lead to even more damage! This is because it can take much longer than you realize for the wood floor to get fully dry. The process can take weeks or even months, since any moisture that seeped down to the subfloor will also need time to dry.
Only once the hardwood is completely dry will it be ready for refinishing — when in doubt, get in touch with a professional instead of risking your floors.
Nobody Gives Your Hardwood a Better Chance for Refurbishment than the Experts
Sometimes people notice their floor continues buckling, even after putting a lot of time and effort into drying everything out. When this happens, it could indicate water still present under the surface. In some cases, this also means your wood has separated from the subfloor.
Resolving this issue requires professional help, and only the experts will be able to assess your damages and determine the best course of action. Although refurbishment is usually an option, there will be cases where there’s too much damage, and a replacement is necessary.
To learn more about handling water damaged hardwood floors or to get a free estimate, call our team at Atlanta Floors today at (404) 915-5054.
