Hardwood floors can be a valuable asset to any home, and are a great way to add beauty and elegance to it. However, if hardwood floors retain any water or moisture, the damage can be very extensive. Even when wood floors are made waterproof, they cannot totally avoid sustaining damage from moisture. It is extremely important to dry your floors as quickly as possible to prevent further damage in the form of molds, warping, or rotting.

The first thing to do is to remove any moisture from the floor. Dry the floor surface (and more importantly the subfloor) so that the boards don't warp. You can do this with fans, dehumidifiers, and other drying methods. Drying your floors quickly will not only stop warping, it will also stop molds from developing on the wooden floor.

Before beginning any repair work on the floor, it's also important to note the type of damage that has occurred. Different types of damage require different methods of repair. If there are white stains present, the damage may be isolated to the floor surface. If black stains are present, this could indicate a mold problem. Buckling and cupping of the floorboards are signs of serious damage and may require replacement.

Much also depends on the amount of water damage MI homes' hardwood floors experience. Floorboards damaged by overnight or temporary standing water may still be returned to their original state as long as proper drying methods are done. When excessive flooding has inflicted damage on hardwood floors, it is advisable that you contact water extraction professionals. It might also be wise to contact mold detection experts to keep indoor air quality in check.

You can expect the wood to continue to swell, and if gets to the point where you cannot walk across it, you should remove the boards completely. This is generally a good idea because water damage Michigan homeowners face may be minimized with proper ventilation of the subfloor. The hardwood and subfloor must have normal equilibrium moisture content (EMC) before resanding the floor.

In some cases, if there are water stains on your floor, you may be tempted to replace the entire floor to get rid of the stains. This is not always the best remedy. You should first see to it whether the water damage Michigan homes' floorboard water stains can be removed by sanding and finishing the affected area. Once the boards are dry, tape off the surrounding area so that it's not affected during the repair process.