How to Prevent Water Damage on Hardwood Floors

After flood damage, recovering a hardwood floor is difficult and usually requires the services of a professional restoration company. However, failing to protect floors from moisture or spills on a daily basis can also damage them irremediably. Here are some essential tips for prolonging the life of hardwood floors by keeping them dry and undamaged:

• Wet, moist or damp items, such as carpets, clothes, boots or appliances, should be removed from the floor as fast as possible.
• Spills should be wiped up from the surface of the hardwood floor immediately to prevent the liquid from penetrating the floor.
• If a room with a hardwood floor has an exterior door, a rug should be placed in front of the door.
• Homeowners should inspect the plumbing and fix any leaks that could cause water to leak into the floor (or any structural component for that matter).
• The humidity in a home should be balanced. During the summer, air tends to be moister and during the winter, the air is dryer than usual. Both moist and dry air can affect wood, so humidifiers should be adjusted accordingly.
• The sealant on hardwood floors must be reinforced periodically. Wax sealants should be refinished annually. Polyurethane sealants (oil or water based) last longer and only require maintenance every few years.
• When cleaning hardwood floors, a quality product – intended specifically for hardwood floors – should be used. Pools or puddles of liquid, no matter how small, must be removed immediately from the floor. Mop heads or rags should not be soaked when cleaning, but only dampened.

Tips on how to act and prevent damage when dealing with a flooded hardwood floor can be found here. The PuroClean team stands ready to provide professional restoration services to any property affected by fire, water or mould damage.

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