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How to Deal With Hard Wood Floor Water Damage?

 

Water-Damage-Clearwater-What-to-do-with-Warped-Hardwood-Floors-201431 imageHardwood floors give a home a warm, comforting feel. It enhances the beauty of a design and makes a house a home. Over time, a hardwood floor becomes worn down. Stains, scuffs, and fading paint or stain diminish the classic beauty. The hardwood floor can also be damaged by, water, humidity and a damp environment. Most damages can be repaired and restored and brought back to an almost new finish. The hardwood flooring used in homes is contemporary hardwood floors and they are usually varnished.

 

Drying the hardwood floor quickly is important to prevent fungus spores from forming; spores spread through the air and are in soil, wood and most building materials. They thrive in damp or wet area bloom into molds and causes mildew. If a home has sustained water damage to the hardwood flooring there are specific things that must be done in order to dry the flooring and prepare it for repair. Opening all windows and doors will help dry the floor. However, due to weather conditions this may not be possible.

 

If windows and doors cannot be opened turning the heat or in the summer the air conditioner will work. The use of fans to draw moisture out of the air and the room is also very helpful. If there is insulation between the joists under the wet floor boards it should be removed and using fans or dehumidifiers may add the drying process. Pulling away or removing the baseboard around the room may be necessary if the water damage is near the edge of the room. The hardwood floor needs to dry completely before it can be repaired.

 

In order to successfully repair water damaged hardwood flooring the surface must be prepared. Having the proper supplies is a must. Not all hardwood floors are the same, and different species of wood require different materials be used. A homeowner can re-finish and repair the hardwood flooring with the right tools, time and research. If this type of floor repairs is beyond the scope or time of the homeowner a great alternative would be handyman services.

 

The steps in floor repair are not complex, and whether a homeowner is doing the job themselves or using handyman services to complete the project it is import to follow the proper steps. The first step is to clean hardwood floor, especially the damaged area. The tools needed are: hot water, and an abrasive wood floor cleaner, a good stiff brush, and a durable sponge. The abrasive cleaner should be made explicitly for the type of hardwood flooring being repaired. The work normally begins in one corner of the floor and entails cleaning small areas of the hardwood floor and moving on to another small area until the entire floor is clean. The brush is used to clean the hardwood flooring along the grain, not against it using the abrasive cleaner. The floor must be dried completely before the next step.

 

If the hardwood floor was not varnished the floor boards will be rough. Water raises grain in wood and after cleaning the floor the grain maybe raised sufficiently to cause splinters, it is not recommended to walk on the floor without protection on the feet. Most handymen wear protective shoes or boots to do this work. After this the floor is sanded by hand. It takes knowledge and experience in order not to take too much wood off or cause the hardwood floor to be uneven. If the hardwood flooring has too much water damage, it is likely the hardwood floor boards will need to be completely replaced and this is a difficult project to undertake. New hardwood needs to be aged before replacing the damaged floor boards, the new boards must be stained with an oil based stain that matches the color of the hardwood floor, then sanded and finished. This is a very time consuming process and matching an existing hardwood floor with new can almost be a science.

 

Many homeowners are intimidated by this process and may not feel comfortable taken on this size and complexity of a home repair project. A handyman services company has skilled individuals that have knowledge and experience with doing hardwood floor water damage repair, and other types of hardwood flooring damage.

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