Secondary Damage to Hardwood Flooring

1/24/2017 (Permalink)

There are many ways water damage in your home or business can occur. Some of the most common examples are broken or leaking pipes, appliances malfunctioning, or flooding. The key to keeping the extent of water damage to a minimum is a quick response to start drying. Otherwise secondary damage to the property will be inevitable. Secondary damage can be many things from, delaminated carpeting, discoloring of building materials, musty odors, mold, or warped flooring. In this case we are talking about hardwood flooring in particular and what happens. Wood is semi porous material that absorbs water slowly between the wood joints. If wood has been affected by water damage, and is caught in a short amount of time, there are drying mats that can extract the water out of the wood and bring it back to its original state. If a wood floor has absorbed a significant amount of water and has dwelled for an extended period of time, then the wood floor will begin to cup and stain. If the floors are left in this condition it will get worse to the point of no return and must be removed. If wood floors are treated as soon as you see cupping, there is still a chance of them being saved. Water will get extracted, and then once dry, the wood can be sanded and refinished to get a smooth surface again.

If you or someone you know ever experiences water damage, the first thing you should do is call in a SERVPRO professional and start the drying process to prevent unnecessary damage from occurring! If a water damage occurs and has gone unnoticed, call us in and we will survey the damage. Our goal is to save as much as we can and assist in the replacement of materials if absolutely necessary.