Water Damage to Hard Wood Floors

3/23/2022 (Permalink)

When your home experiences water damage, besides the structural concerns, one of the biggest can definitely be your hardwood floors. Hardwood floors are expensive and add both cosmetic and monetary value to your home so, if possible, you obviously want to try and avoid ripping them out and replacing them.

With the correct equipment and training it is possible to save your floors from having to be removed, so it is imperative that you call a professional restoration company like us here at SERVPRO of Greenwood.

There are multiple factors that can play a part in our ability to restore your floors to preloss conditions:

Moisture Levels – Hardwood floors have a very low moisture content. When water pools on them for long periods of time the moisture gets soaked into the wood and can take weeks to dry out on its own. This can cause the wood to buckle, have raised edges or have the panels separate from each other.

Time – The type of wood in question plays a role in how quickly water is absorbed and then dried out. Wood rot happens when microbial growth in water is left without treatment in wood and begins to break down the wood. The faster that the water damage to your hardwood floors is addressed the more likely we are able to restore your floors and not have to replace them.

Drying Methods – Both the kinds of woods used as well as the installation methods play a part in the decision of which drying method should be used to dry out your floors. Specialized equipment like drying mats can be used to dry large portions of your flooring at a time helping to speed up the process and ensure moisture readings are at the correct levels. Using the installation methods, wood density, and other factors, our trained technicians will determine just how long the mats should be left in place.

As you can see, there are quite a few factors that decide whether or not you will have to replace your expensive hardwood floors or not, and that it’s best left to the professionals to handle to help increase your odds of restoration. So, if you find yourself in need of water damage restoration, don’t delay and give us a call asap. Our team is waiting to see how we can help you today.

864-229-6610