Warped Wood Floor Due To Water
That can come in the form of water or humidity and can get especially bad during the transition in seasons when temperature changes bring about the moisture in the air.
Warped wood floor due to water. What causes warped wooden floors. The towels you use should ideally be large enough to cover the entire wood piece. If water has seeped into the boards they may swell against one another which can cause the bow. If the wood has been sitting on water for long periods it may have rotted and warped and need to be replaced.
Choose towels or rags that can withstand the heat of an iron. Sometimes even a nearby water source like flooding underneath the house can cause enough of a moisture imbalance to result in warping. Even if you believe your wood floors are so well finished that water cannot penetrate to the raw wood think again. Or you can remove all the warped boards check the moisture content in the spot and repair with new wood right away.
Hardwood is resilient and the question does water damage hardwood floors depends on the extent of water damage. When moistening the towels drench them thoroughly and wring out the excess water. Water causes the wood to expand and shrink. Once the floor has dried out and settled back after at least a month or even two repair the boards that have really warped beyond recovery and sand the rest flat.
Most often a warped wood floor is caused by standing water or heavy moisture below the floor due to an unidentified leak or other hidden water source. How to fix bowed floors. Wooden floors that have warped however due to extensive water damage to wood floors buckling may need to be replaced. Warping manifests as gaps between the boards curling at the edges a problem.
Therefore you should start pulling off the water with your shop vacuum as soon as possible. Depending on the amount of water and how long it s been on the wood the damage could be as slight as a small stain or so bad you will actually need to replace some boards. Wood responds to changes in temperature or humidity by warping and that can be bad news for your hardwood floor. Bowing or warping of floor boards can occur for several reasons.
Many floor boards that are warped will need to be removed and replaced. Over the course of time this will lead to warping. Moisten one or two large towels and wrap them around the wood making sure that the entire warped area is covered. Wood floors usually become warped because of water damage although too much sunlight can also cause boards to warp.