How To Keep A Wet Wood Floor From Warping

If your carpets and rugs have been soaked and they are not immediately cleaned they will usually need to be discarded due to mildew concerns.

How to keep a wet wood floor from warping.

Wood can warp when it gets wet and swells then dries out and contracts. This doesn t usually happen to properly finished hardwood flooring because the boards are protected against moisture. Water is the enemy of hardwood flooring. M ajor storms like sandy can cause extensive water damage to hardwood floors but panicked homeowners should not rush to replace what appears to be beyond repair.

Warping causes much more damage to your floors than cupping does. When wood gets wet it swells. Sunlight will help the wood absorb moisture from your towel in an. When wood dries out after being sawn from the tree after being pressure treated and after rain showers it shrinks.

Warped wood is a common issue for lumber manufacturers flooring installers woodworkers pretty much any professional who makes wood products wood warping can ruin both its aesthetic and practical value. Keep in mind that depending on the degree of the warping you have you ll need let the wood stay out in the sun for 2 4 days. Uneven drying creates stresses in wood which results in warping e g bowing cupping or twisting or cracking. That means that about a quarter of thickness could be given up in this process which is something to consider.

For flooring wood warping that takes place after the installation can ruin the wood and make the flooring uneven leading to callbacks which waste time labor and materials for flooring. Whether your hardwood floor is made of solid or engineered wood it is bound to react to moisture so ensure you take the precautionary measures to prevent cupping. Spray more water on the wrapped wood if needed. Due to the porous nature of wood moisture can be easily absorbed into the material.

Make sure that during this period you continue to spray water on the wet towel to keep it damp. Sometimes if you let it dry out. You can fix a small warp issue quite easily. Sand down the bump in your flooring until it is level with the rest of the floor.

Keep in mind that this will require an aggressive amount of sanding in most instances. Most often a warped wood floor is caused by standing water or heavy moisture below the floor due to an unidentified leak or other hidden water source. So your flooring may show signs of staining from small spills the wet floor may also begin to buckle and cup when large amounts of water are absorbed as the planks swell. Sometimes even a nearby.

Fixing a small warp. Let s face it even though hardwood floors have a long shelf life it doesn t save them from problems that occur due to climatic conditions humidity and excessive wear and tear.