Aside from discoloration in the flooring installation, damage from water can cause planks to become loose. Over time, warping and buckling is an issue as well, due to excess moisture.
If the water damage was not extensive, you might want to consider replacing the flooring with new laminate or hardwood. However, if the water leak has resulted in mold growth and persistent moisture under your floorboards, it is preferable to cut your losses and replace the old floor.
Laminate flooring can get wet, but only the top. Laminate flooring's sides, open seams, damaged areas, and bottoms can never get wet.
How Long Does It Take for Mold to Grow Under Wet Laminate? It only takes as little as 24 hours for mold to start growing under wet laminate flooring, if the water is dirty, it has come from a dishwasher, outside groundwater, a toilet or dirty carpet it can start growing bacteria even quicker, in as little as 12 hours.
Beneath your floating floor, then, is a perfect environment for mold to grow, as all the things it needs to grow and flourish exist there.
Look around the room and see if you can find any signs of mold growth, including a musky odor, as well as black or dark green streaks in-between the planks.
But if your floor is submerged or stays in contact with water long enough, it can swell and break down. Water damaged boards can't be fixed, but they can be replaced. If you have leftover laminate flooring boards from your original installation, use those. If not, match the damaged boards with new ones.
In tests, it takes a couple of hours of being submerged for the various materials in laminate flooring to break down or peel away. This is why it's vital that you keep your laminate flooring as dry as possible if you don't want to have to replace it because of bubbling, swelling or peeling.
What are the problems with floating floors? Floating floors can be susceptible to moisture and humidity, which can cause warping or buckling. They also tend to be more prone to gaps between planks due to their lack of attachment.
It can take up to several weeks for wood flooring to completely dry. Also, the humidity in the room and the amount of water that was present on the floor can prolong the process. So leave the fans and dehumidifier running until the moisture test shows that no water remains in the wood.
A floating floor with great materials, structure, and properly cared for may last anywhere from 40 to 80 years or even more. If you're using thin and low-quality floorboard planks, expect a shorter floor lifespan.
One of the most common reasons why laminate flooring develops space between floorboards is temperature. A rise in temperature leads to expansion, while a decrease in temperature leads to contraction.
Mold can grow under laminate flooring if there is excess moisture or if the laminate flooring is not installed correctly. Laminate flooring is made up of a wood fiber core that is coated with a protective layer, which makes it more resistant to moisture than traditional hardwood flooring.
Moisture and water damage are the most common causes of buckling, as they can cause the planks to swell and lift up from the subfloor. Temperature changes can also cause buckling due to the expansion and contraction of the laminate planks.
However, in the event of flooding or a bad sewage leak, standing water beneath vinyl plank flooring won't dry out on its own due to too much condensation that has collected between the vinyl planks and substrate or underlayment.
Laminate floors are installed with expansion gaps to allow them to expand and contract as needed. This is necessary, but also leaves room for water to seep underneath and cause some real problems. It is much more likely that there will be damaged boards if water finds its way underneath.
If your planks are absorbing excess moisture, they can swell and take up more room, thus lifting from the floor. First, find the source of the water. This could be a leak in the ceiling or wall, or it may simply be excess moisture in the home.
Treat exposed molded subflooring with a mixture of 1 cup of borax and 1 gallon of water or an EPA-registered mold removal product. Spray the solution on the moldy plywood. You can also soak affected subflooring with a brush broom. Wait 10 minutes, scrub the area, and repeat the process two more times.
Scrub the affected area with a mixture of hot water and soap. Use an appropriate mold and mildew cleaner to disinfect the area. You can also use a diluted bleach solution (mix 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water). Spray this cleaning solution directly onto the moldy floor and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Floating laminate flooring can be installed in nearly any room, with a few exceptions. Because the inner core of the material is made with wood or fiberboard that is susceptible to moisture damage, installations in any room with a floor drain or sump pump should be avoided.