You’ve had a flood or sewage spill and it has affected your wood floors. You hope you won’t lose them. Should you replace or can you keep flooded wood floors? Clean Earth Restorations (we take care of all kinds of flood restoration in San Diego) gives you an overview.
Unfortunately there is no cut and dry answer to this problem. Whether or not you can salvage or must replace your wood floors after a flood depends on a variety of factors.
Is your floor solid hard wood or engineered? (Solid hard woods are more likely to survive — they are more likely to withstand resanding and refinishing.)
How long was the floor standing in water? The more water it has absorbed the more likely you are to have buckling or “cupping”. During the expansion of the wood, the edges may crush against each other and then, when they dry out, leave gaps (which is unsightly, makes for squeaky floors, and leave the floor vulnerable for future spills).
If it is solid hardwood — what kind it is? Harder woods absorb water more slowly. (The less humid the better, obviously.)
Was the flood contained to a small area? It may be possible to cut out and replace a limited area as opposed to replacing an entire section.
One of the biggest questions will be the prospect of mold. If any moisture is trapped between planks, under the floor, or along baseboards you will be looking at an entirely new problem which can potentially be expensive and much more complicated. All possibility of mold must be ruled out.
If your flood gives you any pause for concern, if there is obvious staining or warping, and especially if you suspect the water has infiltrated beneath the floor, we suggest requesting a professional inspection.
At Clean Earth Restorations we are uniquely poised to help you with any step in the flood restoration process. We can respond 24/7 to emergency calls during a flood; we provide services for flood clean up, sewage spills, and mold remediation; and we restore or replace wood flooring (we are fully licensed general contractors).
We offer free estimates for all of these services. Contact us today with any questions you may have about saving your flooded wood floors and for your San Diego area flood restoration projects.
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