Water damage to hardwood floor (engineered, vinyl, dishwasher, laminate)
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My dishwasher was overflowing with suds yesterday for about 20 minutes before I noticed the issue. A few square feet of hardwood floor was under water, and I quickly wiped the floor dry with a towel. However, 12 hours after the incident, I noticed the strips of wood where the water had overflown on became "wrinkled" (initially only at the ends and now has spread to the mid-section as well). I can feel the roughness of the surface when I run my fingers on it. My question is, what should I do next? Should I be running a fan near the area to further dry out the moisture? And what's the prospect of having these wrinkles disappear when the moisture underneath is completely gone? Any advice is appreciated.
Is it a solid hardwood floor (2 inch thick boards) or is it engineered (hardwood laminated onto MDF)?
If it's true hardwood, the finish maybe damaged a bit, but a little sandpaper to smooth it over, and a thin spit coat of poly to regloss should fix it up right as rain.
If it's engineered -- you're screwed and that flooring part needs to be replaced. Dig uo the old boards and replace them with new -- and replace the barrier fabric if you have to....
But from your description -- it sounds like an engineered product....
Tally is very correct. I was just wondering though. With all the people telling me particle board is junked if it gets wet then what the hell is going on that some one is telling me real solid wood is junked when it got wet? Hmmm. Interesting. Guess I was right all along............again!!
Anyway as Tally said, Engineered wood you are screwed unless you can find the matching planking to replace the section. Solid hardwood is 3/4" thick and can stand some real good belt sanding followed by a palm sander. Then whatever color stain if any applied then the clear whatever finish over that.
Call your homeowners insurance. They will tell you what they want you to do. It's not about what you want. They call the shots and hopefully your deductible is not so large.
No way would I file a claim on homeowner's for less than $1,000 damage. So many companies will cheerfully drop you for an excess number of claims, regardless of dollar amount, and you don't want to get a strike against you in the national claims database for something that can likely get taken care of by a handyman for a few hundred bucks.
No way would I file a claim on homeowner's for less than $1,000 damage. So many companies will cheerfully drop you for an excess number of claims, regardless of dollar amount, and you don't want to get a strike against you in the national claims database for something that can likely get taken care of by a handyman for a few hundred bucks.
Ditto. Even a phone call to the insurance company to inquire about the situation will count against you, no need to file a claim.
2" thick hardwood floors? I've never seen any that thick. Most I have seen are around 3/4 - 1" thick.
If you do have "real" hardwood (the thick stuff), you might be able to sand it smooth and re-finish the area. You really should find out what the original finish was before you put something new on it.
Give it a few days to dry out and see what it looks like then.
Tally is very correct. I was just wondering though. With all the people telling me particle board is junked if it gets wet then what the hell is going on that some one is telling me real solid wood is junked when it got wet? Hmmm. Interesting. Guess I was right all along............again!!
Anyway as Tally said, Engineered wood you are screwed unless you can find the matching planking to replace the section. Solid hardwood is 3/4" thick and can stand some real good belt sanding followed by a palm sander. Then whatever color stain if any applied then the clear whatever finish over that.
Call your homeowners insurance. They will tell you what they want you to do. It's not about what you want. They call the shots and hopefully your deductible is not so large.
The thing with hardwood getting ruined by water -- if the water sits, it will lift the finish and get into the wood. The wood will swell.... and then dry again, leaving gaps in the floor where the boards used to meet. This can be or might not be an issue. I have a 85 year old house and my oak floors are far from perfect (and they are 2 inch thick! A perk of living in an old house) and small gaps are part of it's history. But if the floor is relatively new -- a totally trashed section would be an eyesore and require replacement. Not an easy task for the DIYer.... although I'd do it. (My definition of a DIYer -- someone too stupid to know she shouldn't tackle the project she's going to tackle -- and I fit that definition BIG TIME!
But water can also stain the wood. the Hubs or me did it to an oak desk -- left a water glass on it, and the resulting water ring turned the wood black. After failing with bleach to removed the ring, I would have had to sand the daylights out of it to get it out losing about 1/4 inch of material leaving a divot or reworking the whole desk top. I chose to look at the water ring as "patina"... part of living life.
I'm simply a homeowner, and I question the wisdom of putting hardwoods in kitchens. Kitchens are wet places, and flooring has to withstand it. At some point practicality has to come before fashion. That's why we went with vinyl planking floor. Looks like wood, and can withstand my messy cooking and washing up. I get water EVERYWHERE.
My sister was looking at redoing her kitchen floor and she saw cork, which she liked. When she asked about it in regards to water (not good) the guy was stunned that she actually used the kitchen..... his exact words -- You... COOK?
I'd like to see a photo of 2" thick hardwood floors. I have never seen any that think even in homes over 100 years old. Maybe it was a regional thing, but certainly not the norm.
I have seen many hoes that had 2" thick sub flooring, but never the finished hardwood flooring that was 2".
What's funny is a lot of boat decks are hardwood (usually teak) and have little problem with water, plain or salt. Wood, properly finished can withstand a fair amount of water for short periods of time.
I'd like to see a photo of 2" thick hardwood floors. I have never seen any that think even in homes over 100 years old. Maybe it was a regional thing, but certainly not the norm.
I have seen many hoes that had 2" thick sub flooring, but never the finished hardwood flooring that was 2".
What's funny is a lot of boat decks are hardwood (usually teak) and have little problem with water, plain or salt. Wood, properly finished can withstand a fair amount of water for short periods of time.
Maybe I'm thinking width? All I know is everyone refers to them as 2 inch hardwoods.
And boats are usually finished with many coats of thick marine type varnishes that withstand water. This isn't what they put on floors.
Real hardwood floors when exposed to a lot of water (more water than the OP's story suggested) can cup and warp, as opposed to wrinkling which I agree with the others as being either a finish issue or an engineered product that is toast. Flooring finish and the relative dryness after mopping up the topside of real hardwood keeps the exposed floor side relatively dimensionally stable while the back, still wet or damp and not drying at the same rate, expands. The grooving found on the backside of the hardwood pieces helps it to withstand some moisture before deforming but in the case of a lot of water, nature will likely overwhelm science and a superior flooring product.
I agree with the others. Get the area good and dry (pull out the dishwasher and run fans even if you don's see water) and wait for a few days to see what you have.
Also ditto on the homeowner's insurance thing. Unless you absolutely cannot afford the repair, don't get your insurance company involved in any way especially with water damage (you may want to read the fine print of your policy before any call, good hands/good neighbor my arse) as your policy may specifically exclude that and you may be put on the watch list for mold.
Good luck.
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