You worked hard and paid substantial money to maintain beautiful hardwood floors in your Bay Area home or business. Unfortunately, wood can be slowly, painfully destroyed by even minuscule chronic water damage. Here are three red flags that suggest that seemingly innocuous H2O molecules might be deep-sixing your beautiful floors.

1. Buckling

Water can cause wood floorboards to buckle or warp. After the wood absorbs moisture, osmotic pressure and other forces induce fissures in the material. Floors hidden underneath carpeting can buckle without detection. Places at high risk for buckling include floors underneath dishwashers, windows, skylights, refrigerators and bath/toilets.

2. Staining

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist – or a materials expert – to recognize water stains. But identifying the root cause of a stain can be surprisingly difficult. A stain could signal a roof leak or indicate condensation damage. Or perhaps water is pooling in some other room and then flowing across the floor to the stained area.

3. Infestation/air quality problems

The cocktail of wetness, warmth, and wood creates a perfect habitat for bacteria, fungi and pests. Cavities and micro-fissures in wood can harbor nests for unwanted insects. Moreover, cracks can render weatherproofing and other treatments useless.

Whether you just noticed multiple stains in your guest bathroom; or a faulty sprinkler system or roof leak soaked your office’s conference room, get in touch with the team here at Elegant Floors for a free consultation. We can help you resolve your floor problems in the simplest, most cost-effective manner possible. We’d be happy to provide a free, detailed estimate.

3 Signs That Water Is Destroying Your Bay Area Wood Floor