Reversing Effects of Hardwood Water Damage in Naples Homes

1/4/2024 (Permalink)

If your Naples homes experiences water damage, call SERVPRO. We're Faster to any size disaster.™

Proper Training and Equipment Resolve Water Damage 

Hardwood floors are more resilient to spilled, leaked, and flooded water than you might realize, but only if reputable professionals rapidly complete appropriate moisture removal and drying interventions. The beautiful hardwood floors in your elegant Gulf Coast home lie atop several layers, with the topmost fine-grained strips or planks being the most water-resistant. Standing fluids often swiftly run off these materials, leaving the surface seemingly unharmed.

Naples water damage to your flooring materials, unfortunately, is just starting as the liquid apparently disappears. Water drains through the joints and crevices to soak supporting structures beneath, giving homeowners a brief and false sense of security. 

Absorbed Fluids Create Damaging Conditions

Underlying subfloor layers comprise cheaper open-pored or engineered wood (plywood) that readily absorbs moisture. They swell and hold the dampness next to the unfinished bottom and sides of the hardwood. Swelling causes the subfloor to distort, with previously level surfaces disrupted enough in some circumstances to dislodge the decorative top planks (buckling). As wetness invades the unfinished surfaces of the hardwood, the more tightly-pored wood eventually swells, causing harm like:

• Crowning, where the center of a hardwood strip or plank rises
• Cupping, where the edges of each length of hardwood rise, creating a concave “cup” in between

Mitigation and Remediation of Hardwood Warping

To prevent hardwood water damage in Naples properties from advancing to the warping and buckling stage, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) suggests intervening promptly with extraction and structural drying techniques. SERVPRO® and our technicians are IICRC-certified, employing effective standing water and moisture removal strategies learned from standard-setting organizations such as the following:

• Use of moisture detectors, meters, and infrared cameras to identify precisely where the moisture is found--periodic retesting during the project ensures moisture measurements correct to normal levels
• Wanded extraction of any visible pooled liquids
• Use of negative air pressure across floor mats connected with hoses to an extraction unit--the suction pulls liquids detected earlier from several layers up and out of the flooring before swelling takes hold and causes harm
• Development of a drying plan to encourage the evaporation of absorbed water vapor, including the use of air movers, heaters, and dehumidifiers 

Contact SERVPRO of Naples / Marco Island immediately after water damage for the best hardwood floor restoration outcomes. We are available at (239) 302-5700 to schedule an assessment and provide emergency services.