Easy ways to protect your timber floor from water damage

25 Sep Easy ways to protect your timber floor from water damage

Posted at 22:40h in Maintaining, Flooring by Leo Zhang

Timber is a classic and durable material that makes for excellent flooring in any home. Its sturdiness, however, has some limitations and you should know that water is its number one enemy.

You may not realise it, but seemingly harmless activities at home that involve water, such as mopping, can gradually wear down your wooden floor. Little spills and humid indoor air pose the same threat.

Top Tips for Protecting Wood Floors:

The FloorVenue team have come together to round up some tips that will help protect your timber floor:

1. USE RUGS

This may be the easiest thing to do. Place rugs in areas around the house where spills and other water-related dilemmas are more likely to happen. These include the kitchen, dining area and bathroom doorway. Similarly, place a rug in front of appliances where there are water leakages, such as refrigerators and air conditioners.

2. SEAL IT

Make your timber flooring resistant to water by coating it. Coating finishes seals the wood, preventing it from absorbing water and moisture. You may also wax the floor. But before applying it, make sure that the wax suit the type of finish. Some finishes, such as urethane-based products, react adversely with wax, making the reapplication of a coating necessary on an almost yearly basis.

3. CLEAN IT PROPERLY

Cleaning the wood floor properly will surely extend its life, but do not use harsh materials, such strong detergents and chemicals. Doing so heightens the risk of staining. Do not resort to power washing when dealing with stubborn stains. Call in a professional instead.

4. FIX THE PLUMBING

Constant leaks can damage your timber floors. Address this issue by having your plumbing system fixed. Fix the broken pipes in the bathroom and kitchen. Similarly, fix your appliances that have water running in them, such as refrigerators, air conditioners and dishwashers.

The effects of water damage can be very difficult to remedy, so it would be practical to carry out simple measures to protect your timber floor.

Where To Not Install Timber Flooring

Still deciding on your flooring? It is important to understand where to install timber flooring, and more importantly – where to not. Areas with higher moisture levels are not recommended.

We recommend not installing timber flooring over wet areas including:

Bathrooms
Kitchens
Laundry
Bar areas
Toilets
Kitchenettes

For more tips on buying and maintaining flooring materials, visit our blog section regularly. We also have a very comprehensive article on ways to prevent and fix water damaged flooring. Feel free to contact our customer service associates for more information about our products and services.

Frequently Asked Questions

The easiest method of protection is to place mats in areas that will be at high risk of moisture or wetness, such as your kitchen and laundry areas.

Alternatively, you can choose to coat your timber floor, sealing the wood and preventing it from absorbing moisture and wetness. Ensuring your plumbing system is up to standard will also assist greatly in preventing leakages, thus minimising risks of water damage to your floors due to leaks.

Another tip is to mop only with a slightly dampness and avoid flooding the floors when cleaning. Solid timber shouldn’t have any problem standing up to the occasional spill and mopping, as long as you are diligent in maintenance and cleaning.

In the majority of cases, when a change in the flooring is noticed, any water that seeped in has already hurt the floor.

When faced with water damage, the easiest method is to replace the damaged planks and then refinish the entire floor to prevent further damage.

However, if the damage is mild, floors can be sanded down, re-stained and then re-coated.

Check out our guide to fixing water damaged floorboards here!

It will be difficult to fix water damaged wood floors without having to hire a professional for repairs or replacing floorboards. You can always request professional advice from FloorVenue.

The easiest way to protect your floors from water damage is to place mats in all high-risk areas, such as the kitchen and the laundry rooms which have high moisture environments.

Alternatively, you can seal your floor with a wood sealant to minimise the risk of board swelling and absorbing moisture.

Ensuring your plumbing system isn’t leaking is also important in ensuring problems such as burst pipes do not occur and damage the planks.

By the time you notice any changes to your floor, the planks are most likely already damaged.

Repair options vary depending on your type of floor. Hardwood floors do not have to be replaced, you may choose to sand and scrape away any surface mould, stains, or cupping.

However, with floors such as engineered wood which have a very thin surface layer, sanding is not a viable option so the planks will have to be replaced.

The choices you have also depend on the severity of damage. If damage is severe, even hardwood planks will have to be replaced and the entire floor has to be refinished.

Easy ways to protect your timber floor from water damage

25 Sep Easy ways to protect your timber floor from water damage