Any water left standing on your home’s hardwood floors can cause damage. Here are some tips to cleaning up the water the right way!
Summers are full of vacations and road trips. But after all of your planning, accidents happen when you least expect them. While you are away, your home could flood from a sudden rain storm, a burst pipe, or the neighbor watching your house could have left a faucet running. So how do you clean your hardwood floors after one of these accidents?
Causes
If you find water on your hardwood floors, look for the causes. Some causes will be obvious like a leaky basement or a burst pipe. But some will be less obvious like a humidifier overflowing, kitchen appliances, or leaks from windows and doors. Slow leaks can also damage your floors over time. There are several signs of water damage to look out for. If you notice white stains or haze on the floor finish, you might have minimal water damage.
The Clean Up
The first thing to do when you notice a spill or stain is to remove the water. Dry the area evenly. This will ensure that the floors do not buckle. Use a mop to absorb the water and let some air into the area. You can open the windows and doors while using a fan to help increase the evaporation. If you find your floors saturated with water, purchase a dehumidifier to help with the drying process. If you need to towel dry the area, use a circular motion. This process must the done slowly to prevent further damage. Using head could cause splitting, cupping, and other problems to deal with.
The Potential Damages
Any amount of water can cause damage to your home’s flooring. If water is allowed to stand on your hardwood floor, it can seep into the wood causing buckling, swelling, stains, and mold. To help mitigate damages, use finishes such as wax and polyurethane to help the evaporation process. Other problems from water can occur if the floors are not properly dried such as bowing floors, which causes the center of the board to rise up. If your floors dip in the center, this could mean there is more moisture in the bottom of the board than the top and needs to be dried out. If your floors buckle, the floors are totally pulled away from the subflooring and new flooring will need to be installed.
The biggest tip to cleaning up water on your hardwood floors is to do it as soon as possible. The sooner the water is removed from the flooring, the less damage there will be to them. If you need your floors refinished or replaced after flooding, call John K. Eareckson & Co. to restore your floors back to their former glory!
John K Eareckson & Co.
If your floors are in need of a lot more than tender love and care, call John K. Eareckson & Co. We can restore your floors and make them shine like new. At John K. Eareckson & Co., we pride ourselves on providing the best quality and craftsmanship in the Baltimore-Washington area, from custom hardwood installation and repairs to refinishing. So if you’re in the market for new hardwood flooring, pick up the phone and give us a call today! If you have any questions about New Hardwood Floors, please contact John K. Eareckson & Co. by calling 410-788-4200 or visit JKEHardwoodFlooring.com today for a free quote regarding any of your hardwood flooring needs. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter!