Just got a new set of washer and dryer delivered and set up by HD. Love the washer. The only problem is there was a slow leak from the water supply in the back. Dripped onto prefinished hardwood floors over 30# felt over T & G subloor. This is a new addition on our house and is over a new dry crawl space with plastic down and very good ventilation. It dripped for up to a week (not sure exactly when it started). Got the dripped stopped, the water in the crawl space vacuumed up. The weather here is 40 % chance of rain today but dry and warm for the next two days. The water seems to have built up above the felt and below the wood floor and is wicking up between the end joints of the wood floor in a ten foot square area around the washer.
Advice to minimize damage to floor. We have fans running. Go and buy an new dehumidifier? put it near washer or in crawls space?
I ran the forced air heater this am when the house got below 65 degrees but will heating increase cuppping and expansion? Should I run a space heater behind the washer?
Thanks Brian
Replies
I'd go get a dehumidfier, especially if you live in a climate where it will be useful in the future.
But the big job is yet to happen... you've probably got a refinishing job on your hands. Think about renting one of the multiple random orbit sander machines.
You might be a lucky one.
What species of floor? Red Oak has a propensity of getting black with water intrusion.
No buckling yet?
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. You want to dry it out as fast as possible, but you also want to dry it out evenly. And it's impossible to dry it out fast and evenly when one side is against (wet) felt on top of a (wet) subfloor.
In addition to simple warping, there's a danger that the wood will absorb water and expand, and that will cause it to buckle, because there's nor room for it to expand. Neither case is very good (I've seen warped maple and it's not very pretty), though SOMETIMES when flooring buckles you can get it to go back flat with a few carefully placed face nails or finish screws, after the wood dries out again.
Not sure what you can do about it, though. I know some folks have tried weighting the floor with concrete blocks or such, but that interferes with drying, and it's not clear that it helps much.