Hardwood Floor Damage

Hardwood floors are considerable investments in your home. While they are generally very durable, hardwood floors can be quickly damaged by water or moisture. That is why it is so important to act fast to save your hardwood floor should you experience water damage or flooding in your home. With fast, affordable services from friendly experts, 24 Hour Westminster Water Damage, CA 92683 is ready to save your hardwood floor.

Our Hardwood Floor Drying Services Include:

• Injectidry floor drying
• Mold remediation services
• Air drying and dehumidification
• Moisture level monitoring
• Oak floor drying
• Maple floor drying
• Pine floor drying
• Cherry floor drying
• Bamboo floor drying
• 24/7 emergency water damage services
• Fair rates, no hidden costs
• Direct billing to insurance companies

*Note that laminate floors are not considered wood floors. Water is particularly destructive to these floors and flooding or leaking is almost certain to cause cupping, peeling, or other damage. In some cases, we may be able to save your laminate floor. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on factors like the amount of water saturation and whether mold growth has begun.

How We Save Hardwood Floors form Water Damage

24 Hour Westminster Water Damage specializes in saving property from water damage. This means having the expertise and the right tools to extract water from all surfaces and materials, as well as biocides and cleaning solutions to prevent mold, fungus, and bacteria growth from causing damage.

Drying a hardwood floor might seem like a simple job, but there is actually more to it than mopping up water and setting up fans. With water damage to hardwood floors, it isn’t just important to get the floor dried, but it needs to be dried evenly. If, for example, fans aren’t properly set up, one area of the wood might dry faster than another, causing problems like buckling and cracking.

When we are called in right away, our teams can generally save all hardwood floors. Our experts will take a moisture reading to determine the best method for drying the hardwood floor. In most cases, injectidry drying is the best solution.

What is Injectidry Drying?

Injectidry is a system which was specifically designed for drying surfaces like hardwood floors and walls. These surfaces are particularly difficult to dry because water is often trapped deep within crevices or underneath finishes.

To use injectidry drying systems on hardwood floors, special mats are placed on the floor. Small tubes are hooked up to the mats, and these small tubes are connected to a larger trunk line which is connected to a high-pressure vacuum. Taking advantage of the small gaps in the wood grain, the vacuum is able to suction out moisture even from deep within the wood floor planks. Injectidry systems can also reverse the air floor so dry air is forced into the gaps, thus pushing out moisture.

Setting up injectidry systems is very quick. With positive and negative air flow of over 100 CFM and 60 inches of moisture lift, the system can get wood floors dry quickly and save them from damage.

Time is Of the Essence with Hardwood Floor Drying

The longer you wait to call us, the less likely we will be able to save your entire floor. Ideally, you will call us right away for emergency hardwood flooring drying services 24/7. Or, if not possible, then we advise you to call us within 36 hours. After 36 hours, there is a 90% chance that the entire floor can be saved and cupped boards can be flattened out. After several days, permanent cupping is almost inevitable.

Remember, hardwood is naturally moist (usually around 8% moisture). Because moisture is natural to wood, you might not see changes to your wood floor immediately after it gets wet. But just a slight change to the wood’s natural moisture levels can result in changes over time. Some wet floors are capable of drying on their own. Others will retain the moisture (such as certain types of wood or wood floors which were recently refinished) and you can experience cupping and warping months after the leaking or flooding first occurred.

Mold is often a more eminent threat than cupping or warping of hardwood floors. In as little as 48 hours, mold can begin to grow on hardwood floors which have moisture levels of 16% or more.

The Risk of Mold Growth

When their hardwood floors get wet, many homeowners try to tackle the problem themselves with mops and fans. The problem with this DIY approach is that pockets of moisture are left within the wood floor. This is the perfect place for mold to start growing.

Mold not only stains your hardwood floor, but causes health risks. It is not worth the risk of mold growth to air dry your hardwood floor! The professionals at 24 Hour Westminster Water Damage will use moisture meters to determine the risk of mold growth and warping when determining which method to use to dry your hardwood floor. To prevent mold growth or kill mold which has already begun to grow on your wet hardwood floor, we can apply biocides and use special cleaners formulated for hardwood floors.

First Response to Water Damage on Your Hardwood Floor

If your hardwood floor gets saturated by water, it is imperative that you take action right away to prevent permanent damage to the floor.

1. Safety First: Always put safety first. Make sure the premises are structurally sound and there are no electrical risks such as wires in open water. Turn off the electricity at the main breaker or call in an electrician. Never touch electric switches which are wet or while standing in water.

2. Remove Furniture from Area: Furniture legs can scratch wet hardwood floors or cause staining. Remove them from the area or place cardboard under the legs.

3. Immediately Call for Professional Hardwood Floor Drying Services: Time is of the essence with hardwood floor drying, so it is better to play it safe and call a professional immediately rather than trying to dry the floor yourself with fans.

4. Remove Moisture: While waiting for the water damage professionals to arrive, use mops and clothes to remove as much of the water from the floor as possible. As water can damage hardwood floors very quickly, this can help prevent cupping.

5. Call Insurance Company: In severe cases of water damage, you will want to call your insurance company to see what they cover and what steps to take, such as documenting the damage. 24 Hour Westminster Water Damage can help you with water damage claims and we bill directly to insurance companies.

Don’t let your hardwood floor get ruined by water damage and mold growth. Call the professionals at 24 Hour Westminster Water Damage for professional hardwood floor drying services.