Swelling floors due to faucet washer going bad

Q: I had a faucet washer go bad in my kitchen and there was a moderate drip (close to 2 gallons a day) dripping behind my cabinet, which eventually worked its way under my hardwood floor. This must have been going on for 3 days as I did not notice the swelling until the edges of my hardwood started lifting.

We have solid Red oak floors applied directly to the subflooring. Am I going to have to replace the damaged area, or can I let it dry and hope to sand down or refinish it?

A: It may flatten out. Depends partly how much water got into and under the floor. If the sub floor also got soaked, it might take quite some time for it to dry out. I think if it were me, I would be more inclined to just replace it after removing the damaged area and letting the sub floor dry thoroughly.