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It’s a scene right out of a horror movie: awakening to the terrifying sound of running water, only to be unable to find the source. Then, as you step onto your hardwood flooring, you nearly jump out of your skin – it’s soaked! A pipe has burst! What do you do?
First of all, don’t panic. Though solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring, as you probably know, don’t appreciate getting soaked, there are tangible action steps you can take to minimize the damage a burst pipe – or any water-related emergency – can bring.
When exposed to large quantities of water, prefinished hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring have a tendency to bend out of shape as the wood takes on water.
The quicker you act in response to this emergency, the greater likelihood you’ll be able to salvage your flooring. We know you love your substantial investment, so we’ll get right to what to do to save it.
If the pipe is still spewing its contents all over, the first thing you should do is, of course, stop it. Most houses have a main valve around their perimeters that’s easy to find, so go outside (where you’ll usually encounter it) and shut it down. If you live in an apartment or condo, there usually is a valve near the broken appliance or pipe that cuts the supply from there.
Wet furniture and the like only serves to soak your hardwood flooring further and stop any residual water from evaporating. Hustle to get everything out of the way so you can start the cleanup for real. This especially applies to items that use electricity!
It’s a great idea to have this handy machine around the house. If you don’t, your cleanup job is going to be ten times harder and you might not be able to save the flooring. In place of a wet vac, however, you can attempt to use towels and mops.
To clean up any residual water after your wet-vac, stash all dehumidifiers available in the damaged room. It might look a little funny, but trust us, it’ll be worth it to see your hardwood flooring looking good again.
Looking to replace a few boards? An entire floor? We’ve got you covered with our extensive hardwood flooring selection. For personalized shopping help, contact us.