Water under your laminate flooring can cause severe damage if not dried quickly. Laminate flooring is relatively easy to install and maintain, but there are a few things you need to know about how to dry laminate flooring with water under it.
Allow the floor to dry for 24 hours before using.
Typically, laminate flooring with exposed edges retains its original shape for about two hours when submerged. After four hours, boards will begin absorbing the water and swell by 2/16ths of an inch or more. Even once they completely dry, they'll likely never return to their original dimensions.
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.
The best solution is to use purpose-built dehumidifiers. They will assist in removing any moisture from the air and will also assist in removing any water from underneath your laminate flooring.
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. If it ever gets to this point, you'll need a full replacement, as the mold can infiltrate your home and wreak havoc on your health.
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.
If you have a plywood substrate, you may experience swelling and distorting when exposed to moisture. Once plywood has become wet, it's important to remove the moisture as soon as possible with the combination of a dehumidifier and a drying fan which usually takes a minimum of three full days.
Your Subfloor and Floor Are Severely Damaged. Subflooring is the wooden or concrete support system beneath your flooring. If you have water-damaged subfloors, you'll likely notice your floors are swollen or lifted. They may also feel soft or squishy when stepped on.
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.
Unless you are a quick draw on the mop; dog urine will damage laminate flooring, real wood flooring, engineered wood and tile grout. Unfortunately with a lot of flooring the pee will be absorbed into the floor itself or underneath and this is what can make the issue very difficult and expensive.
Understand that while the water will not cause permanent damage to the LVT flooring, the subflooring, walls and baseboards do require drying, and if left unaddressed, will eventually damage the LVT. At Water Mold Fire Restoration we have the specialized equipment on hand to handle water damage to LVT flooring.
Does a wet subfloor need to be replaced? No. If you can begin the drying process immediately after the initial water damage, you may be able to avoid subfloor replacement. It's best to let restoration professionals address the existing damage.
If the sub-floor has rotted or spongy in any way, it will need to be removed. However, if the sub-flooring appears strong and solid but simply wet, ventilate the area and allow time for the sub-floor to dry. It all depends on the amount of time the water was left to saturate the sub-flooring.
Whether your subfloor will dry depends on the level of damage it has sustained to the damaged sections. The best way to ensure that the subfloor will dry out, however, is to mitigate the initial issue. Remediation requires stopping the water leak below your floor covering.
Place the fans at the highest settings possible. If there is a level below the flooring that can be accessed, place fans on the lower level and aim the air up toward the ceiling to dry the subfloor and flooring from underneath.
Yes, mold can grow under vinyl flooring if moisture becomes trapped underneath the flooring material. Vinyl flooring is not a breathable material, which means that moisture cannot escape through the flooring.
Water and moisture that is trapped under the floor will not evaporate on its own so you'll need to determine if the subfloor is affected and if removal of all or part of the floor is necessary to prevent subfloor damage and any mildewing.
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.
Borax is highly recommended as a mold remediation product. To get rid of mold using borax, you'll need to mix it with one gallon of hot water. Then, apply the solution to the area affected by mold beneath the flooring. Next, scrub the area with a brush until the mold cannot be seen anymore.
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. However, if water is allowed to seep into the seams between the laminate planks, it can create a humid environment that is conducive to mold growth.
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.
Choose a natural cleaner as your subfloor pet odor treatment. Choices include white vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Use vinegar full strength or mix it with warm water in a 30 percent solution. Sprinkle baking soda full strength.