Repairing Damaged Hardwood Flooring

Many homeowners go with hardwood floors for the natural and organic look of these floors. Although this flooring option has a strong-sounding name, it is still, unfortunately, prone to damage.

Whether you install the floors yourself or you get someone to do it for you, you can still experience issues like scratches, cracks, stains, water damage, and other things. The good news is that even if your hardwood floors are afflicted with any of these issues, there are things you can do to repair or mitigate the damage.

In this article, we are going to talk about a few of these issues and some remedies for them. It is important to note that when it comes to floor installation, it is always best to go with a professional. Professional floor installers have the experience to install floors in a way to avoid some issues propping up in the future.

Refinishing

Although this doesn’t fall under the category of floor damage issues, refinishing is a good option for floors that have a series of superficial issues.

If your floors have issues that you think can be remedied by refinishing them, then this can be a good solution for you. It’s a bit of a longer process, but refinishing can really revitalize your floors.

Scratches and Chips

Small scratches and chips happen with use and general wear and tear; and if you have kids and/or pets in your home, this can precipitate general wear and tear.

Thankfully, there are relatively simple fixes for scratches and chips. The first thing you need to do is identify the finish used on your floor (stain, varnish, wax coating, polyurethane, etc.). You have to make sure that whatever you do to repair a scratch or chip does not damage your floors further.

If the scratch is very minor, you can simply apply wax or a floor polish to the scratch. If the scratch is a little deeper, then you can coat the scratch with a wood stain, specifically one that matches your hardwood floor.

Water Damage

Water damage occurs when you have leaks or spills that rest on your floors for an extended period of time. This can lead to your floors warping. So you’ll want to deal with water on your floors as soon as possible.

The first thing you’ll want to do is clean up all of the water. Try to absorb as much as possible because if you don’t get it, then your hardwood floor will absorb it. After you get all of the water, you will then want to clean your floor. You can use any disinfecting cleaner that’s available on the market, so don’t stress out about finding “the right” cleaner.

If you see any areas with mould, then deal with those with any mould or mildew remover. After this is done, you can dry your floor thoroughly. You will, however, have to dry your floors steadily to avoid cracking.

After this process is done, you may start to see that some floorboards are cupping. When this happens, floorboards will start to concave or convex. Some can be fixed with vigorous sanding. But if this doesn’t work, which can happen with some boards suffering from severe cupping, then you will have to face-nail the floors back down.

Stains

Stains can be difficult to remove and may require you to sand or refinish the wood. But these aren’t the only options available to you, and they don’t have to be the first option.
Before you sand or refinish, you can try cleaning it with hydrogen peroxide. You can soak a rag with the hydrogen peroxide and place the rag on the stain and let it sit. You do this because you want the cleaning product to soak into the wood.

After it has sat for a while, you can remove the rag and clean up any hydrogen peroxide left over. Once this is done, you have to let the floor dry. If this does not remove the stain, then you will have to resort to sanding or refinishing.

If your floor suffers from cracks, scratches, stains, or water damage, then we hope the helpful tips in this article will help. If you have floors that are damaged beyond repair and need to be replaced, then we invite you to visit any of our 14 locations across Southern Ontario. We have an impressive range of hardwood flooring products, along with great options for laminate, vinyl, carpet, and tiles. You can use our store locator to find a location close to you.