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Water Damaged Hardwood Repair

Hardwood has always been one of the most popular flooring options, and will most likely continue to be for a few simple reasons – hardwood has a beautiful and traditional look that fits easily with numerous types of interior designs, and it’s very durable. However, hardwood does have one weakness – water.

Hardwood flooring can be easily affected by water, which is why it’s always recommended that you don’t use too much water when mopping your hardwood floors. Sweeping is usually a better option. Water can cause the wood to warp and buckle, thereby ruining your floors. Fortunately, if your hardwood flooring has been affected by water damage, you may still be able to save it.

Repairing Water Damaged Hardwood Flooring

The following are the steps that will need to be taken in order to repair your hardwood floor if it has been damaged by water:

The first thing you will need to do is remove the water or liquid that damaged your hardwood right away. In addition to removing standing water, you’re going to need to remove the moisture that’s penetrated the wood. You can do this by renting large fans or dehumidifiers.
If the hardwood was simply stained, and hasn’t been affected by further water damage, then you can sand down the affected boards and use oxalic acid crystals to remove water stains. Once you’re done, reapply the stain and then coat it using a polyurethane sealer.
If you notice the hardwood beginning to swell as you remove moisture, remove some of the floor boards if possible so that the subfloor gets additional air.

Replacing Damaged Hardwood Sections

If you have removed all the moisture in the air and your hardwood flooring has dried, but it still exhibits damage caused by the water (such as buckling or warping), then you may need to remove individual planks. One of the benefits of hardwood flooring is that if it’s damaged, you don’t have to replace the entire floor. You can just have the damaged sections removed and replaced. The following are the steps involved in this process:

Removing damaged boards – This may be more difficult than it seems depending on how the wood floor was installed.
Install new boards – You will want to get the exact kind of wood that you had before so that it will match. A professional flooring contractor will be able to help you identify your hardwood if you don’t know what type it is. You’ll want to make sure that it’s installed properly as well.
Sand the wood – Once the new boards are installed, the entire floor will need to be sanded down. This is so that once you re-stain it, it will have a uniform look all the way through.
Staining and finishing the floor – The entire floor will need to be re-stained. Afterwards, it should be finished with two coats of polyurethane.