Water Damage and Your Floors

5/17/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of East Central Austin Professionals are available 24 hours/7 days a week and will respond quickly to a restoration emergency.

As a homeowner, having to deal with water damage to your floors is something you hope you’ll never have to experience. Unfortunately, this type of damage is more common than you may think. 

According to the Insurance Information Institute, about one in 50 insured homes has a property damage claim caused by water damage or freezing each year. Austin TX is particularly at risk, because of the amount of flooding that occurs here. Before the damage gets worse, consider having professional water damage restoration to your Austin home.

Water damage can happen suddenly or it can occur slowly, over a period of time. In many cases, the signs of potential damage to flooring are obvious. You’ll see puddling of water or several inches of standing water in an area due to burst pipes, overflowing toilets or bathtubs, or hurricanes and other weather events.

Other times, you may be alerted to a problem when you notice black or dark staining on your wood floors, loose tiles, or warping in an area of your laminate flooring. This type of damage may be the result of a leaking appliance such as a dishwasher, water heater or refrigerator (from the supply line to an ice maker). By the time you notice there’s a problem, your floor may have already sustained significant damage.

How Water Damage Can Affect Your Floors

Depending on the type of flooring in your home, water can damage it differently. Here’s how water damage can affect certain types of flooring.

Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are highly susceptible to water damage. Depending on the amount of water and how long it's had contact with the wood, the damage can range from minor staining and discoloration, to rotting and black mold infestation of the wood planks.

Too much water may also cause cupping (when the edges of a board are higher than its center) or buckling of the wood (this is when the floor separates from the subfloor, up to several inches high). The quicker the excess water is removed, and the floors are properly dried, the better the chances the wood (or most of it) can be salvaged. Wood flooring that’s salvageable will need to be sanded and refinished.

Laminate floors

Laminate flooring is a popular alternative to traditional hardwood flooring; it’s regarded for its durability, affordability and water resistance. Water resistance, however, is not the same as waterproof.

While laminate can withstand minor spills — thanks to its water-resistant top layer — it will not tolerate standing pools of water or heavy moisture. This type of flooring is made of several layers that are fused together using high heat and intense pressure.

Once the flooring starts to absorb the excess moisture, the composition of the laminate material and layers begin to break down, leading to warping, swelling, buckling, cracking, splitting or cupping of the floor.

Ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles are known for their exceptional resistance to water, and are installed in high-moisture areas, including kitchens, bathrooms, basements and mudrooms. In cities like Austin, you'll often find them installed throughout the home, not only for their water resistance capabilities, but also because they help keep floors cool during hot summer months.

Although excess water doesn’t damage the actual ceramic tiles, it can damage the grout between the tiles and the adhesive used to secure the tiles to the subfloor. When enough water is left standing on the tiles, it can seep into the grout and saturate the subfloor (the supportive layer beneath the tiles, typically made from plywood). The wood soaks up the water and expands, causing the floor to buckle or tiles to become loose. 

Carpeting

As you may have already guessed, carpet that’s been damaged by water can turn into a wet, soggy mess. However, carpet can be properly cleaned, sanitized, disinfected and dried after water damage if the carpet’s exposure to water has been limited and the water comes from a relatively non-contaminated source — broken water pipes, water heaters or overflow and leakage from bathroom, kitchen and utility sinks.

Carpets that have been damaged by floodwaters from sewage backup or storms, or water that has come into contact with fecal matter or heavy metals and chemicals, must be replaced.

When Your Floors Are Water Damaged, You Need to Act Fast

Whether your floors have been exposed to water due to a burst pipe, leaky dishwasher or overflowing bathtub, the most important thing to do is to act fast! The longer water sits on your floors, the more damage it’ll cause, especially when it reaches the subfloor.

Standing water also promotes the growth of mold and could lead to your needing mold remediation. The growth of mildew and bacteria are also cause for concern and may cause health effects. Did you know that water-damaged areas and items must be dried within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth?

How Our SERVPRO Team Can Help

Depending on the extent of water damage to your floors, consulting with a professional water restoration company such as SERVPRO of East Central Austin is a wise choice. A professional is trained and experienced to thoroughly examine your flooring and subfloor to determine where the water has reached and whether secondary damage (such as mold growth) has occurred. Remember, just because you don’t see puddles of water, doesn’t mean that damage isn’t lurking beneath the surface.

With the help of specialized equipment, our experienced SERVPRO technicians can accurately detect hidden moisture and take appropriate steps to perform quality water damage restoration. This multi-step process includes the use of a combination of high-performing pumps and industrial wet vacuums, fans, air movers and dehumidifiers to dry your floor and the surrounding area. We are meticulous about monitoring and documenting the drying process to verify that your property is dried properly and thoroughly.

The team at SERVPRO of East Central Austin understands how stressful water damage can be for homeowners, and the importance of moving quickly to remove the water and begin water damage restoration. We provide 24-hour emergency service, seven days a week (including holidays), so you can rest assured that if an emergency happens, we’re there with you right away and stay with you every step of the way thereafter.