Repairing Hardwood Floors After Water Damage
by Rosa Pascual
Hardwood floors are gorgeous, but they're also particularly susceptible to water damage. Hardwood flooring warps, swells and stains when exposed to too much water. Thankfully, water-damaged hardwood floors are able to be repaired in most cases.
Dry The Boards Out
Your first step in order to save your hardwood flooring is to dry the floor out. If your boards have gotten drenched, with every minute that goes by the boards swell and warp a little more. In order to dry out your floors you'll want to open up your windows and doors. If the weather is preventing you from opening up your house, you can turn on the heat or air conditioning to dry them out.
Next, you'll want to set up large fans to wick the moisture away from the floor's surface. The goal during the drying process is to get the floors as dry as other floors in the home. An electronic moisture meter can be used to measure the moisture in each flooring area.
Remove The Damaged Boards
If the water was thoroughly absorbed into your floor, you'll probably have a few boards that warped. The boards that twisted when they warped will have to be removed. If some of the boards twisted upward, you may be able to remove the portion that twisted upward with a crowbar and a saw. After you've removed these boards, you'll want to cut new boards of the same type and grade to repair the floor.
Sand And Refinish
After several weeks, your floors should be thoroughly dry and ready to sand and refinish. If your floorboards were stained from the water damage, now is the time to use oxalic acid crystals to remove the stains. The black stains that occur on hardwood floors when they're water damaged are a result of the tannic acid in the wood reacting with iron in the water. Oxalic acid crystals are available at most hardware stores and should be mixed with water and mopped onto the floor.
Next, after you've removed any stains and allowed the floor to dry, you'll want to sand the floors. You should use a sander and remove the layer of finish from the boards. During this time, if you had to cut any boards that warped upward, you'll want to carefully sand around those seams.
When the floor has been thoroughly sanded, you should apply a coat of varnish in the shade you desire. After the varnish has been applied you'll want to finish the floor with a polyurethane sealer.
If you don't feel comfortable tackling the restoration of your hardwood floors yourself, you should contact a reputable water damage restoration company. They will be able to carefully assess and treat any water damaged areas in your home.
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About Me
Although I was out of town during a hurricane storm, my friends told me that my house didn't look good good. Upon my return, I found a flooded basement and an upstairs that was absolutely torn apart. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to damage contractors to put things back together. I can't tell you how happy I am that I made that choice. They carefully evaluated my home and quickly resolved the issues that I had. It was amazing to see the difference they were able to make in a short period of time. This blog will explain why damage contractors are the right people to call.