Flooded laminate flooring -- any hope of rescue?
 

A window well filled up in yesterday's torrential rain, flooding our
basement. The carpet -- which we were thinking of replacing anyway -- is
not so difficult to get reasonably dry with a carpet cleaning machine.
But the room with the flooded window well has cheap laminate flooring
over thin plastic-faced felt underlayment. The surface or the boards is
dry and the adjacent carpeted area is reasonably dry, but there is a
squelchy sound when we walk on the laminate floor, and the edges and
ends of some boards are curling up. Any hope of saving this floor?

Perce

Flooded laminate flooring -- any hope of rescue?
 

On Jun 8, 3:59*pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
A window well filled up in yesterday's torrential rain, flooding our
basement. The carpet -- which we were thinking of replacing anyway -- is
not so difficult to get reasonably dry with a carpet cleaning machine.
But the room with the flooded window well has cheap laminate flooring
over thin plastic-faced felt underlayment. The surface or the boards is
dry and the adjacent carpeted area is reasonably dry, but there is a
squelchy sound when we walk on the laminate floor, and the edges and
ends of some boards are curling up. Any hope of saving this floor?

Perce

The only thing that I can think of is to wait until everything has
dried out and then sand the floor and refinish it. But that assumes
that the laminate floor has a thick enough wood layer on the top that
it can be sanded smooth without going through the wood where it is
curled up.

Flooded laminate flooring -- any hope of rescue?
 

"hr(bob) " wrote in message

The only thing that I can think of is to wait until everything has
dried out and then sand the floor and refinish it. But that assumes
that the laminate floor has a thick enough wood layer on the top that
it can be sanded smooth without going through the wood where it is
curled up.

***********************************

Laminate has no wood. They call it "laminate" because it is laminated
plastic. Engineered wood is a different product.

In any case, water under it has the potential for mold and mildew. I'd tear
it out and replace it after everything is properly dried.

Flooded laminate flooring -- any hope of rescue?
 

On Jun 8, 3:59*pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
A window well filled up in yesterday's torrential rain, flooding our
basement. The carpet -- which we were thinking of replacing anyway -- is
not so difficult to get reasonably dry with a carpet cleaning machine.
But the room with the flooded window well has cheap laminate flooring
over thin plastic-faced felt underlayment. The surface or the boards is
dry and the adjacent carpeted area is reasonably dry, but there is a
squelchy sound when we walk on the laminate floor, and the edges and
ends of some boards are curling up. Any hope of saving this floor?

Perce

Is it a locking floating floor maybe removing a few end strips, run a
fan and dehumidifier now. Its well known to use a wet-damp rated floor
in basements, and kitchens.

Flooded laminate flooring -- any hope of rescue?
 

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
A window well filled up in yesterday's torrential rain, flooding our
basement. The carpet -- which we were thinking of replacing anyway --
is not so difficult to get reasonably dry with a carpet cleaning
machine. But the room with the flooded window well has cheap laminate
flooring over thin plastic-faced felt underlayment. The surface or
the boards is dry and the adjacent carpeted area is reasonably dry,
but there is a squelchy sound when we walk on the laminate floor, and
the edges and ends of some boards are curling up. Any hope of saving
this floor?

I'd suck out as much water as possible, enlist a de-humidifier and hope for
the best.

It sure won't get any worse. With patience and suitable placement of carpets
and furniture, you may not even notice any lingering problem.