Tips for Water Damaged Wood Floors
Perhaps a water main broke in your building; or maybe your “little helper” got a little crazy one day doing the dishes. In either case, you face water-damaged wood floors, and you need a solution ASAP.
Wood floors and hardwood floors can last decades, if properly treated. But repairing a hardwood floor that’s been damaged by water saturation requires timeliness, care, and a methodical approach.
1. First off, sop up the water and moisture immediately. You can use a mop, a cloth, a towel, etc. The longer the water sits on the wood and soaks it, the more damage it can cause.
2. Dry the floor out completely, not only to prevent the boards from buckling or warping but also to stop the growth of bacteria and mildew. Depending on the size of the spill, you may need to use big fans and/or dehumidifiers or call a professional hardwood floor cleaning and repair service.
3. Be mindful about what solutions you use to clean the floor. Some detergents and cleaning chemicals can etch into the wood, discolor it, or cause other costly problems.
4. Once the damage has been done, locate the source of the water spill/leak and fix the root problem. You want to install systems to prevent damage from recurring. [Many homeowners neglect this step!] If a pipe burst in the walls, ensure that that pipe gets fixed, and then figure out what caused it to burst in the first place and fix THAT problem. If your child “did the dishes” when you were folding laundry, and he saturated the floors, teach your toddler better rules of water management and safety.
5. Lastly, know your limits. Sure, you can rent powerful dehumidifiers and try to sand, buff and refinish your floors by yourself. But doing all that work can be expensive and dangerous, not to mention time-consuming.
Contact the Palo Alto Hardwood Floor Professionals Today
Respect the value of your own time and sanity. For help doing the repair job the right way — to minimize damage and maximize the long-term beauty/utility of your floors — call the Elegant Floors team at today for a free estimate at (650) 961-1339 or (408) 773-8624. We specialize in hardwood flooring installation and repairs, so you can quickly move on from the mess with even better looking floors than you had before the water damage!
