Floor Drying

We hear it almost every day. People will tell us that they have concrete floors so they do not need drying. That is a myth! Concrete absorbs water, in fact, it always has a certain level of moisture internally. Dry carpet left on damp concrete will absorb the moisture like blotting paper resulting in the growth of unseen mould and eventually rotting!

Save your carpet. If your property has been subjected to a flooded floor, that floor needs to be dried. Most floors will have some sort of covering such as carpets, vinyl, timber laminate or tiles and without the correct equipment and/or knowledge it will be almost impossible for you to determine just how wet the sub floor is.

Water can also cause discoloration in both concrete and wooden floors as well as create unpleasant odours. In most instances it is necessary to take measures to ensure stains are removed along with any odours using deodorizers and anti-bacterial spray.

Water is particularly ruthless on hardwood flooring due to the porous nature of wood which allows moisture to be easily absorbed into the material resulting in water stains. In addition to that, any wooden floor that is not dried completely may begin to buckle and cup if large amounts of water are absorbed and the planks swell.

If you have a feature wooden floor that has suffered flooding, do not rely on the fact that it may have been sealed and waxed and therefore protected from water. That seal is designed to protect from small amounts of water distributed across the floor during mopping and cleaning processes, not to be submerged in water for a period of time.

The simple answer to this is to ensure that your floors under the carpets, under the tiles, and under the wooden surface are professionally dried and tested with moisture meters upon completion of the job.

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