How To Handle The Floor Damage To The Wood Floor?

If you’ve been unlucky enough to have fallen victim to flood affecting your wood flooring, you’re probably wondering what to do to minimise the losses and repair the resulting flood damage to the wood floor. In such an unfortunate event, there are a few things to consider, but let’s start with what may the causes of flood be.

In general, the causes of water flooding can be divided into three major groups, including sanitary water, non-sanitary water and black water flooding. Sanitary water flooding is excessive water spillage originating from sources that are clean, for instance plumbing pipes. On the other hand, unsanitary water is that commonly referred to as dirty water. Usually the sources of such flooding in the home are floods caused by home equipment (such as a dishwashers or a washing machine) or toilet overflows. Probably, the worst is black water flooding – such as coastal flooding, river flooding or sewage flooding.

As we all know wood floors do not like excess water and in some cases flooding can have a very detrimental impact on your wood flooring, causing irreversible damage. Nevertheless, there are several things that will have an impact on how the wood flooring deals with flooding, regardless of its type.

Quality of installation

The primary aspect here which will boost the chances of your floor to survive the flood and come out in quite a good condition is the quality of installation. Flooring that has been installed properly, preferably by a professional with vast expertise will probably withstand the challenges of a flood as compared to a floor which has been poorly laid.

Act fast

The next crucial element that will have an impact on the survival of your wood flooring in the case of flooding is how fast you will remove water and dry the floor. Remember that after a flood or spill, it is of paramount importance to extract as much water from wood flooring as possible, acting as fast as you only can. The faster you take the necessary measures to get rid of the water, the higher the chances that the hardwood floor will be rescued.

Water is not always visible

Furthermore, bear in mind that in the case of flooding affecting wood flooring, water is not always visible, as it can penetrate deep into the floor, causing more serious damage than you may expect – so you may think you’ve dried the floor and solved the problem, while in fact the real problems may develop without your knowledge. The same applies to flooding under and around wood flooring. It can cause equally serious damage as flooding on the surface of the floor if you fail to notice and treat it for a longer period of time.

Probably the biggest risks related to flooding are the health hazards associated with black water flooding and the risk of mould spores developing in the sub floor. But, in the case of any serious flooding it’s best to engage flood professionals as soon as possible.