This article will discuss how to fix water damaged swollen laminate floor. You have your laminate floor swell up due to water damage, and there are a lot of reasons why it swells.
Due to the constant exposure to water, laminated floors can swell up and accumulate water damage. You might be thinking that laminates are waterproof, so how can it get water damage right?
Well, a laminated floor is not vinyl. That is one main reason why it is not waterproof.
It may look like vinyl, but they are not the same. Vinyl is a more versatile material, and lamination is just used to make the wood floor look shiny and somehow protected.
Suppose that you want to know more about fixing your swollen laminated floor, kindly continue reading this article.
Do You Know What Laminate Floor Is?
A laminate floor is a multi-layered product that is typically synthetic and has been converged together using the process of lamination. It stimulates the look of wood, and sometimes, it looks like stone, also depending on your preference.
The laminate floor has gained popularity throughout the years due to its easy application. It can make the floor look good, and a laminated floor also is easy to maintain and clean.
Another perk of a laminate floor is that it requires little to no installation skill. Moreover, the cost of it is also cheap.
A laminate floor is also durable enough to last long enough for you to not replace it from time to time. Laminate flooring is also hygienic, with various brands having antimicrobial resin.
How To Clean Laminate Flooring
If you want to clean your laminate floor, you need to take extra care of it to maintain the lamination intact. If the lamination gets damaged, you may have to replace it to ensure that no further damage may arise.
To start cleaning, read the cleaning instructions for the laminate floor. Most of the time, the companies have recommendations regarding what cleaning tools and agents need to use.
Also, make sure to mop your floor as frequently as you can and never let the stain sit on it, or you may have further damage to it.
5 Easy Steps To Fix Your Water Damaged Laminate Floor
Here are five easy steps that you do if you want to fix your laminate floor from water damage. Make sure to prepare yourself for this process since it will affect the look of your home.
Step #1. Stop the water
First, you need to spot where the water damage comes from because all the steps will be nulled if the water damage occurs again and again.
Stopping the water has a lot of benefits for your home. It will not just stop further damage to our laminate floor but also prevent further damage to your walls, cabinets, and your whole house.
Step #2. Dry it up
Step two in fixing your laminate floor is to ensure there is no excess water in the affected area. Making sure it is dry helps you identify how much damage our laminate floor has taken.
Step #3. Examine the affected area
We recommend you take your time with this step and examine the whole area to find just how significant the damage is. If there is a spot unnoticed, mold buildup may arise, and you might have more significant problems.
Step #4. Remove the affected planks
For this step, you need to remove all the affected planks. Some planks may be hard to withdraw due to the laminate floor’s locking system, so you can also take your time for this step.
After removing them, you can safely replace them with new ones.
Step #5. Seek expert help if needed
If you think that you are doing something wrong, you probably are, and you should seek help if that happens. Some water damage is severe and cannot be solved by someone who has insufficient knowledge to do such tasks.
Here are more articles that may guide you when you have water damage inside your home aside from your laminate floor. How do you treat water damaged wood, and how to repair water damaged floating floorboards.
How To Prevent Water Damage On Your Laminate Floor
To prevent water damage to your laminate floor, you need to make it waterproof. Maybe you are wondering how to make a non-waterproof laminate floor waterproof; it is simple, caulk all possible ways water can get inside your laminate floors.
Ask your flooring company who installed your laminate floors if they can recommend any in terms of caulking. It is best to know if the best option is possible for you to use.
You can also use a silicone caulking gun to cover up any cracks to make your laminate floor waterproof.
Conclusion
You have gained new knowledge on how to fix water damaged swollen laminate floor. Now, you can select those swollen laminate floors you have at home and fix them right away.