Finding Flooring For A Beautiful Home

Water Damage And Your Floors: Typical Treatment Needs By Flooring Type

16 February 2021 by Janet Robinson

When it comes to dealing with water damage, many homeowners automatically think about basement treatments, water removal, and preventing mold growth. What many don't think about is the special needs of different types of flooring when your home suffers water damage. Here's a look at some of the things that you need to know about water damage restoration and considerations for different types of flooring in your home.

Carpet

If a carpeted room in your house has suffered water damage, the restoration process is a simple but challenging one. If the water damage is minimal, it's actually fairly easy. The carpet will be treated with a mold inhibitor and dried thoroughly with industrial fans. Minimal water damage refers to water that has remained in the carpeting and hasn't penetrated the carpet padding beneath or the subflooring. 

In situations where your carpeted flooring has actually become saturated with water, the restoration process is a bit more extensive. Your restoration contractors will have to remove the carpeting and the padding beneath, then assess the condition of the subfloor.

Subflooring that has been damaged by water will need to be removed and replaced for structural stability. Once the subfloor is confirmed to be structurally sound, new carpet padding will be installed. It's best to opt for new padding so that you don't risk microbes or other issues from the water penetration of the old padding.

Finally, your carpeting will either be dried out thoroughly and treated with a mold inhibitor before being reinstalled, or your water damage restoration contractors will advise that you have the carpeting replaced completely.

Laminate

The biggest single challenge with laminate flooring and water damage is the fact that laminate flooring will absorb water. When this happens, the flooring deteriorates and the water can also affect the subflooring. If your home has suffered water damage and the laminate flooring had standing water on it, you'll have to have the flooring removed, the subflooring inspected, and any repairs done before applying new flooring.

Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is actually one of the most resistant to water damage. Vinyl flooring won't absorb water, so if the flooring is properly installed and sealed, you won't have to worry as much about any kind of restoration effort other than just removing the water and treating the surface to prevent any kind of mold.

However, if even one tile isn't properly sealed, water can seep beneath your vinyl tiles and cause the flooring seals to fail. You'll have buckling or bubbling in the tile, and the subflooring will be damaged by water. You'll need to have a restoration contractor remove the flooring, replace or treat the subflooring, and then install and seal new vinyl tiles to fix the problem.

Talk with a local home water damage restoration contractor today about your flooring and its specific water damage treatment needs.

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