Save Your Wood Floor After Water Damage – The First 24 Hours Is Crucial
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The first 24 hours is crucial with any water damage. Here are vital tips to save you money and your insanity when dealing with a flood.
If your wooden floors have incurred water damage, then you must react within the first 24 hours so as to save your beautiful wooden flooring. Damage by water can be caused by pipe leaks, dripping roofing, rainfall, natural floods or even by sewage problems. The good news is that if you react fast within the first 24 hours after the damage has occurred, then you can probably save most of your wood floor after water damage. Here are the things you should do:
1. The first step to saving your wooden flooring is to determine the cause of the water damage. Damage can be easily seen and some of the easiest telltale signs to pinpoint include water puddles on the floor, discolored tile grouts or walls, wet carpets or soggy wooden floor boards. It is important to know the cause so that prompt repair can be applied (for leaky pipes, for instance).
2. The next crucial step to do is to mop up any standing water caused by the leak or the floods. Wood floor can be salvaged if the level of damage is not that serious. That is why it is important to react in the first 24 hours. Use a mop or a rag to wipe up water that has puddled up on the floor. Never let water sit on your wood floor for long as doing so can inflict irreparable damage that can lead you to more expenses. If your flooring is covered by a carpet, make sure to remove the carpet and carpet padding and clean or dispose them accordingly.
3. After you have mopped up the water puddles, you can then start the process of thorough drying. Keep in mind that mopping up water damaged wood floors is not enough; you would need to expose your wood floor to allow air circulation. Open the room windows and doors to promote natural air circulation. The idea is to let the wood dry as naturally as possible and to remove moisture even from within.
4. Aside from letting natural air from the outside circulate, you must also use fans and dehumidifiers to make the drying process faster. Dehumidifiers can lessen the room’s moisture so wood can be dried at a faster rate.
5. It would also help if you lessen foot traffic in the particular areas where wood floor water damage has occurred so drying can be faster. After the wood floors have dried up thoroughly, you can then apply cleaning oils evenly.
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Source by Frank Catamon
