Will Water Damage Wood? - How to Prevent and Repair Water Damage

Wood is a natural material that is especially vulnerable to water damage. When exposed to high levels of moisture or water without much protection, it can be susceptible to rot and mold. Water damaged wood can be difficult to repair, and if left untreated, it can cause serious damage to your home. If you notice white spots, stains, blush, or other surface discoloration on your wood, it is likely being attacked by water.

The sooner you take action to repair the damage, the better.

Water damage occurs when water

is allowed to saturate a hardwood floor, often resulting in a condition known as cupping. This happens because the unfinished bottom of the boards absorbs more moisture, causing the bottom of each board to expand more than the top. The result is a wavy appearance and each row of wood rises at the seams.

Once your home has been damaged by water, you have approximately 72 hours (or less) to clean everything and prevent mold growth. After that, extremely harmful wood rot and mold can begin to settle on floors and even walls. Professional water damage restoration teams will use specialized tools to manipulate temperature and relative humidity to remove excess moisture in your home. Water damage can be quite a demanding problem, which can greatly affect the condition of your property or furniture.

If you are suffering water damage to your wooden floors, don't hesitate to call a professional for help. If you have discovered only minimal damage due to water draining well and the floor dries quickly, you need to wait about 4-6 months before sanding the wooden floor to make it look previously flat. Checking your home annually for places where water can get on walls or other areas is a great way to help avoid serious damage. Water can compromise the structure of the wood, leading to mold growth and costly restoration efforts.

My advice with furniture is the same as with structural wood or generalized water damage (such as floors and walls). This material is very vulnerable to water damage and swells when soaked, which spoils the integrity of the material. Caulking cracks, sunken or leaking downspouts, and clogged access spaces are common places where water damage can creep into your home without you even realizing it. Water can penetrate small cracks in concrete, stucco and panels and seep into interior walls causing wood rot and mold damage.

Orange Restoration has been providing mold removal, fire damage repair, infection control 26% water damage restoration services in the San Diego area since 2004. For homeowners, it is vital to know how long it will take before wood is damaged by water in order to prevent it from rotting, find solutions, and establish some preventive measures. You can usually avoid getting to that point by avoiding the most serious water damage before they occur. To prevent water damage from occurring in your home, make sure that all areas are properly sealed off from moisture sources such as rainwater or plumbing leaks. Additionally, check your home annually for places where water can get on walls or other areas. Finally, if you do experience any kind of water damage in your home, don't hesitate to call a professional for help.