One of the most difficult and complicated materials to dry out is definitely wood floors. To accomplish having your floors dried properly requires years of experience, and finesse. M.A. Restoration in the Worcester area has been trained and knows what to do when this does happen to your home or your property. Thus being able to save your beautiful wood floor and saving you money in the long run. Wood floors do not respond to moisture right away and it can be a long process before the floors begin to worn, cup, or become discolored. However, when you do start to see these signs on your floors, you should immediately to having a professional check out your floors.
The main concerns when having wet wood floors is mold growth, along with permanent structure damage to your home. Having 6%-12% moisture in your wood is typically normal to have in your flooring. However, when you have had a flooded home, this moisture percent can quadruple what the regular level should be! After having water damage in your home, mold can grow is as little as 48 hours. When it comes to restoration in your home, especially with mold, time is going to be your worse enemy. Leaving your floors wet and letting them dry naturally is not worth the risk.
Many wood floors will react differently to moisture and the best thing to do is to find out what type of wood floor that you have. If you have solid wood plank floors, then you are in good luck. These types of floors have the highest salvage potential because this type of flooring is 100% real wood. Solid wood floors do not have resins, composite materials, or veneers to deal with. If your wood floor happens to suffer damage from water, you can dry your wood floors, sand the floor, and refinish the surface many times in your floors lifetime. The harder the wood, the slower the wood will react to the moisture that hits the wood. Oak flooring may start to react to water within a couple of days. Unlike maple, it may not react for a week or more.
When it comes to drying your wood floor after water damage, be sure to look to see how badly your floor has buckled or cupped. If the cupping or buckle is not severe, then you can restore you floor. When your floors are severely cupped, the wood can pull the nails out or make the flooring loose. Once you have determined the severity of your floor, you may then begin to remove the moisture. If you do not quickly remove the water from the underneath side of the floor, you are going to have a challenging time drying out your wood floor. Wood can still absorb water even if there is a low moisture content.
When it comes to sanding and refinishing your beautiful wood floor, you should never sand a wet floor or a floor that is cupped. This could cause the floor to result in a crowned look. Keep in mind that hiring a professional to repair and restore your floors can save you time, money and stress.
