How To Fix Wood Floor That Got Wet

Remove a few boards to let the others expand and dry the subfloor.

How to fix wood floor that got wet.

Homeowners should dry visible water immediately after. For flooring that you expect to get wet this perimeter must be filled with silicone caulk. If a liquid is spilled on top of the wood flooring do not panic. Remove the toilet for bathroom installations.

For these types of liquid spills we recommend wiping up the area as quickly as possible and ensuring that the water doesn t travel any further than it needs to. Unless the toilet leaked for a long time the joists are probably not completely rotten and sistering a piece of 2 by 8 inch lumber by screwing it to a rotted joist is usually enough to repair it. Scrub the floor mix a mild detergent and a compatible disinfectant such as mr. If you remove a few floorboards one every 5 10 feet 1 5 3 0 m should be fine will allow your floorboards to expand without buckling or cracking.

Continue to run the wet vacuum over the floor until there is no water seen in the vacuum canister. There will still be water lurking in the wood pores and plank seams. Instead remove the toilet first install the laminate and then re install the toilet. This if handled efficiently is an easy fix.

If it gets to a point where the wood buckles or you can t walk across the floor remove a board or two. Sometimes if you let it dry out it will return to its original shape said steve white owner of elegant floor services in silver spring. Use a wet vacuum to pull up larger water sources from out the flooring. When wood floorboards get wet they swell.

Don t stop using the wet vacuum even when you can no longer see the water on the surface of the wood. Scrub the entire floor and all related woodwork baseboards stairs and newel posts etc with a stiff brush rinsing the brush frequently in the bucket. This will relieve some stress and allow better ventilation for the sub floor. Do not install laminate around the toilet.

The wood may continue to swell as it absorbs more moisture and the moisture may continue to soak through via the plywood sub floor. Clean with clean water in a bucket.