When dealing with water damage, performing the cleanup as soon as possible is always ideal. Particularly so, when it comes to real hardwood floor drying in either your residential or commercial location. Engineered hardwood or other flooring types do not call for such specific remediation needs. However, since hardwood is delicate and porous, if a leak, overflow or other water issue soaks into your wood floors, it becomes a race against time before permanent damage occurs.

You may not initially see any warping on a water-loss-affected wood floor. In fact, hardwood flooring is so intricately cut and installed, there are several nooks where water can effectively ‘sit’ and cause movement from underneath. Eventually, this movement will show on the surface as warping or cupping.

How Water Affects Hardwood Floors

When water sits on hardwood floors for extended periods of time, it can get absorbed into the pores of the wood. The edges of the flooring will start to expand or swell, which can cause warping of the wood and an uneven surface. If left to dry naturally, this can cause permanent damage to the wood flooring resulting in the need to replace it. However, if you can have a professional dry like the one we provide at Lamunyon Dry Out and Foundation Repair, the wood quickly enough, the floors can usually be saved with no noticeable damage.

Lamunyon Dry Out & Foundation Repair’s Hardwood Floor Drying Process

To combat the damaging effects of water on the hardwood, we utilize a specialty professional drying system meant only for use on hardwood floors. How cool is that!

Our system pulls moisture through fluted panels on drying mats to pull the water out of the wet material by using negative air pressure. Then, corrective action is taken to gently and steadily lower the humidity of the wood back to normal levels. When done immediately after moisture exposure, this process leaves your floors looking like nothing ever happened. Best of all? The flooring remains in place as we work to dry it out, allowing you to get back to life that much faster. We also offer sewage cleanup services in Kansas; contact us for more info on all water damage restoration needs. Our water mitigation services are available within Kansas in Manhattan, Salina, Topeka, and McPherson locations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Use a desiccant dehumidifier, put it in the highest setting, place it at the center of the room, and leave it for 24 hours. Additionally, use air movers to circulate air to dry a hardwood floor faster. Doing this process will help you to dry the wood floors safely without causing damage. It also helps to reduce the chances of mold damage. Also, wait a minimum 3 days to dry the hardwood floor completely and move your furniture.

Identify the source of moisture, and if the moisture damage is minor and hardwood floor cupping is minimal, use a dehumidifier to control your home’s humidity levels. For a larger area, call us for specialty professional drying system.

If you’ve used a desiccant dehumidifier, it will take 24 hours to 2 days for surface water to dry out from hardwood floors. However, for water below the wood floors, it may take several weeks to fully dry. Whether you are drying water leakage or flooding for engineered wood flooring or wood laminate flooring, the process for drying them both is the same, i.e., using a dehumidifier, fans, and vacuum extraction. So, until the moisture meter turns positive, you must keep using the same process. And if the floors don’t return to their original state, then re-nail or replace the entire floor!

At Lamunyon Dry Out & Foundation Repair we are proud to stand behind our work. Each service is different, but certain projects have a lifetime warranty.