Q: What is the best way to remove watermarks from my wooden floor? My cat keeps splashing water on them.
Moisture Damage, Spills & Flooding
Q&A On dealing with moisture damage and wood floors, from flooding or less.
Dark shadowy spots appearing in wood floor
Q: I have engineered hardwood floors (Robbins) which are about 20 yrs old. We have dark spots on the floor. They kind of look like shadows. We were told it’s moisture coming through the cement slab. We were told that we could try refinishing them in a dark stain to hide them. But, I am wondering, will the floor be rotting and should I be concerned about mold?
Black discolorations in tongue and groove
Q: I professionally installed a engineered maple floor on cement slab, which was tested for moisture before laying. The floor showed no signs of green or dark wood in the tongue and groove. Six month later I pulled down from my attic, (no leaks) my 2 open left over planks and 2 new boxes of maple flooring wrapped in it’s original plastic to repair 15 spots throughout my home that have black discolorations. The old and new flooring was very black in the tongue and groove.
New floor installed after minor flooding is making cracking noises
Q: We experienced minor flooding in our home due to a bathroom faucet and incompetent plumber. We had to remove and replace the Bruce hardwood flooring on the first level. We used the same prefinished Bruce hardwood flooring as previously (different installer) and noticed that right after this installation, the wood makes cracking noises when walking across it in certain areas/rooms and not others. We had the subfloor screwed down throughout prior to wood placement so we know it’s not the subfloor. Now, we’re worried about whether or not it was properly installed.
Replacing the middle of a damaged floor
Q: I recently put down Acacia Pryzm Armstrong flooring for my neighbors. Their kitchen got flooded and all the flooring in the kitchen and part of the dining buckled up and now smells like mildew. My question is – without removing the whole entire flooring can just that area be replaced? It’s locked in together but I’m not sure how to put pieces back in without removing the whole floor. I really don’t want to do that so I’m hoping you might have a solution.
Spilled Clorox on laminate floor
Q: I had a 64oz bottle of Clorox with bleach burst and didn’t realize it. It seeped into the laminate floors and trim. I’m not sure how long it was sitting there but I pulled the trim off and some of the laminate floors pushed up a bit (buckled).
Mold can’t survive without a water source
Q: My condo had a leak and it affected my ceiling and walls. It was fixed months ago. Now, several hardwood floor panels smell musty along the wall.
Spilled a cup of water on wood floor
Q: Our toddler spilled a cup of water on the floor that we did not notice until the next day. It was probably there for 12-16 hours. When we saw it, there was a puddle over an area about a foot square. After wiping it up we’ve been running a fan and dehumidifier in the room for about 24 hours. There is a slight rise in the floor in the area and two or three boards are cupping.
Bathroom sink overflowed onto laminate floor
Q: This morning our toddler woke up earlier than us and played with the bathroom sink. The sink overflowed into our bathroom and then leaked down stairs through the ceiling to the kitchen. We had to used over 15 towels and a blanket to wipe it all up. I turned on the fan for both areas and it seems like it all dried outside, but now I am worried about mold under our laminate floor.
Should we replace it? The floors are only 3 yrs old.
A: If you think the water saturated
Do hardwood floors always buckle if there is a leak underneath?
Q: I have dark stains on my hardwood floor that I am noticing 3 years after a remodel. I suspect a leak, but the floor isn’t buckling. Do hardwood floors always buckle if there is a leak underneath?