Wet Wood Floor

M ajor storms like sandy can cause extensive water damage to hardwood floors but panicked homeowners should not rush to replace what appears to be beyond repair.

Wet wood floor.

Condensation from high humidity air can create wet wood all over the house. So your flooring may show signs of staining from small spills. But of course if the flooding is caused by continuing rain set the items in a dry area with durable flooring such as a garage. Clean with clean water in a bucket.

If water seeps underneath the floor covering and infiltrates the subfloor the resulting rot can create sponginess. The best wood floor for the bathroom is reclaimed or engineered white oak. Sometimes if you let it dry out. Scrub the floor mix a mild detergent and a compatible disinfectant such as mr.

Wood can get wet or moist in a number of ways a flood from outside from the rain leaky pipes or frozen pipes ice damming a toilet overflow a leaky roof a hurricane or storm an appliance breaks or leaks e g. The wet floor may also begin to buckle and cup when large amounts of water are absorbed as the planks swell. Leaving wet floors naturally air dry is not worth the potential risk. The first thing to mention is that your wood floor s polyurethane coating is specifically intended to keep water and dirt from ever touching the wood.

It can make passage and cabinet doors swell and it can warp door and window casement molding. Due to the porous nature of wood moisture can be easily absorbed into the material. If they are wet too set them outside in the sun to dry. Scrub the entire floor and all related woodwork baseboards stairs and newel posts etc with a stiff brush rinsing the brush frequently in the bucket.

The only way to effectively tackle a wet wood floor is clear it completely of furniture and rugs. If your carpets and rugs have been soaked and they are not immediately cleaned they will usually need to be discarded due to mildew concerns. The moisture temperature and dust layer beneath a wet wood floor provides a pretty good environment for mold. Dishwasher or washing machine a fire with water used to extinguish the fire water spills accidents pet accidents a high water table in the ground that then forces water into your sub floor from the ground.

Mold is capable of growing on most materials with a relative moisture level of 16 or higher. This species is more likely to handle the increased moisture of the space with minimal damage particularly as it ages. Although even the most durable polyurethane coatings are not fully water proof keeping the protective layer in good shape is the best defense against water damaging your wood floor. The area underneath your wood floor won t dry while the wood is still wet.

A water damaged wood floor can remain above 18 mc for over a month.