Water Damaged Wooden Floors

When water damage happens in your Charlottesville home, the water can soak into your wooden floors, causing significant damage to occur.

Water Damage Cleanup Charlottesville

Wood is porous so it absorbs moisture easily which makes it very susceptible to water, especially if the water gets to the untreated underside of the wood boards. When this happens, the wood will begin to show signs of damage and, depending on severity, may end up needing to be replaced. If you act fast and begin water damage cleanup right away, your wooden floors may be saved from irreparable damage. Water damage cleanup for wooden floors looks like this:

Step 1

Stop the source of the water. Now, this may not always be in your control, such as is the case with water damage from flooding or heavy rainfall. Anytime you can stop the source of the water or stop the water from entering the home you need to do so as quickly as possible. For a burst pipe, broken appliance, or even an overflowing toilet, you can shut off the main water supply line to your home to prevent any more water from entering. The more water that is present, the worse the damage will be to your wooden floors. 

Step 2

Remove and dry the water. Any standing water needs to be removed quickly and thoroughly. The best way to accomplish this is with commercial-grade extractors, pumps, and wet/dry vacuums. Then, it is time to start drying out the damaged floors. This step of water damage cleanup requires patience because wooden floors need time to release the water that they absorbed. Attempting to dry them too quickly or with the aid of heat will actually lead to more damage like cracking and splintering. A slow and controlled drying phase will allow the moisture to be removed from the wood and prevent as much cupping as possible. Floorboards that have already started to rise on the edges and show signs of cupping may even flatten out again if drying is monitored by a trained technician utilizing commercial air movers and dehumidifiers. Moisture detection will help to ensure that adequate drying is achieved at a steady rate for your floors. 

Step 3

Refinish floors and make any necessary repairs or replacements. Your wooden floors might merely need to be refinished to return them to their pre-loss state, but, depending on the extent of the water damage, patching may be necessary to replace damaged floorboards. The worst case scenario for water damage cleanup of hardwood floors calls for removing and replacing the entire floor. 

While this may seem overwhelming, for trained and experienced water damage cleanup experts here in Restoration 1 of Charlottesville, it is just a normal routine. We know how to assess water-damaged wooden floors and come up with a cleanup strategy that will produce the best results possible. If your wooden floors, or any other part of your home for that matter, need water damage cleanup, give us a call right away.