Water On Wood Floor Warping

Typically moisture is the culprit that causes wooden floors to warp.

Water on wood floor warping. Before the floors totally dry take a non abrasive but stiff brush plenty of water and a non sudsing detergent and thoroughly clean your floors. It can manifest in various forms of plank disfigurement and should be taken very seriously. Most often a warped wood floor is caused by standing water or heavy moisture below the floor due to an unidentified leak or other hidden water source. This doesn t usually happen to properly finished hardwood flooring because the boards are protected against moisture.

If your house has flooded there will likely be mud and silt trapped in the crevices and corners of your floor. So if you have a flood or water damage or even just a spill on your hardwood flooring you ll want to remove the water and dry your floors as quickly as possible. You re looking for a constant source of moisture creeping into the wood over a long period of time. 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 best way to fix warping on wood floors is by replacing the water damaged plank. If you ve been following the aftermath of hurricane harvey or hurricane irma this should come as no surprise. Mix a mild detergent and a compatible disinfectant such as mr. Or you can remove all the warped boards check the moisture content in the spot and repair with new wood right away.

Once the floor has dried out and settled back after at least a month or even two repair the boards that have really warped beyond recovery and sand the rest flat. You ll then need to refinish the entire floor after replacing the buckled plank to maintain a uniform look. When water sits on top of hardwood floors it can permanently ruin the hardwood as the wood will absorb the water through its pores causing warping and discoloration. Scrub woodwork with a brush and detergent before floors are dry.

Sometimes even a nearby water source like flooding underneath the house can cause enough of a moisture imbalance to result in warping. Continue reading below our video of the day. Clean with clean water in a bucket. That can come in the form of water or humidity and can get especially bad during the transition in seasons when temperature changes bring about the moisture in the air.

Hardwood floors don t start warping because of a few spills here and there. Depending on where the damage is located you should be able to pinpoint likely suspects.