If you've had a flood or water leak, you’re probably worried about your floors. Here’s what you need to know and look for, plus when to consider a new floor.

 

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If you've had the experience of a flood or water leak, you were probably worried about your floors. Here’s what you need to know when you need  to consider a new floor.

If you've had any water damage in your home, one of the concerns will be your flooring. You’ll want to call a professional immediately for the best chance to saving your home from further damage — and keep your flooring repair costs low.

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Types of flooring

The biggest factor is the kind of flooring you currently have.

 

Indoor carpet: Always remove it as soon as possible. This type of carpeting is too heavy and thick to dry quickly. If it is left on the floor, wet indoor carpet usually will cause mold growth, as well as buckle or ruin the sub-flooring.

 

Outdoor carpet: If your carpet is on concrete slab or basement, you can leave and dry safely in place, if water damage is minimal. Some homeowners with basements who have light flooding each year will use the outdoor carpeting/concrete on a slab to reduce carpet replacement and keep costs low.

 

Hardwood flooring: Will take some time to determine, you may need to call a professional to help in that area. If you find any planks that have buckled due to water damaged flooring, never resurface until completed dry.

Once drying is completed, you might pull up a few planks to see how the sub-floor moisture content is.  If the sub-floor is still wet, you may need to remove all flooring that may be a breeding ground for mold. You may never see if you don’t check the sub-floor. Also, you might need to resurface the hardwood floor if you notice cracks or buckling in the finish from the water damaged area.

 

Vinyl flooring: Check for moisture, underlayment may pop up from the sub-floor. If there is any water below the flooring, remove and replace the flooring once the sub-flooring has been completely dried.

With any flooring water damage, be sure to disinfect the remaining flooring or sub-flooring well with bleaching agents. Mold can cause major health problems; quick and thorough drying is the key to keeping mold at bay and you and your family members healthy.

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Hire a professional

A flood can be high stress, and you might not have time to think things through. Calling a certified restoration service provider will be a crucial step in getting life back to normal.

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Most water damage and removal services have 24/7 emergency hours and a person you can reach immediately. Call them as soon as the water damage and flood has been discovered and them start assessing the damage.