Repairing water damaged laminate floor

Dishwasher hose has a pin hole leak that sprayed when running. Think we caught this after two cycles. Waiting for repair person. Think about 1/2 pint per washer cycle escaped. About 8 slightly warped/peaking areas involved. Maybe 25 sq.ft. total.

A handyman friend said to place slightly damp towels over the spots and lay HEAVY bricks, lead weights, etc. on top....... and run a fan over the area for 2-3 days to see if the boards will settle back into place. After that, find some 2 part epoxy with a hypodermic needle applicator and squeeze under the affected areas. Put towels and weights back on and leave alone for 2-3 days.

Think it will work ? Any advice on this 2 part epoxy?

Thanks......

 

As a general rule, wet laminate is toast. Your handyman's method probably won't work because moisture damage cannot be reversed in laminate.

 

You can't glue down laminate,, it will buckle. I doubt that you can save it. Do you have any replacement boards?

 

A lot of contractors won't recommend laminate in a kitchen. I installed a high quality laminate floor in my kitchen and wouldn't change anything.
I installed it knowing that if I had a flood, the floor would need replaced. For DIY, I would be looking at around $600 - 800 for materials.

I don't know what 2 cycles means. If you mean 2 cycles within a "washing cycle", in other words you caught the leak rather quickly, the problem is your floor.
A quality floor should be able to hold water for at least 30 minutes or more. Water will damage the floor if left unaddressed but should not damage it immediately.

 

I think if I was going to "try" to fix it, I would forget trying to rewet the floor. I would build a couple temporary walls on top of it... lay some 2x4s or 2x6's on the floor as a bottom plate, put some against the ceiling as a top plate, and cut studs to fit tightly to force the floor back down. Leave it under pressure like that for a week or two, with fans blowing over it. Things tend to warp from uneven drying. If you can keep it flat while it dries you might have a chance of saving it. Problem is it won't dry quickly... the subfloor will need to absorb the moisture cuz I doubt it will dry much through the grooves.

 

No way should laminate have been used in any place there may be water!
Those suggestions you got are a joke and will never work.
Once it gets wet it's trash, of it's not removed ASAP your also going to be dealing with mold under it and the subfloor needing to be replaced..

 

Decided to forgo the handyman's proposal. Called local flooring company and they recommended a water damage restoration outfit they work with. Called our H/O insurance company, opened a claim...... and an adjuster will come Monday or Tuesday.

Restoration guy came today and pulled up about 30 sq.ft. of laminate to find linoleum underneath. Not too much water had spread...maybe a quart or more was his guess. Dehumidifier was set up and will run until further notice. Sub floor had little or no water damage.

Will keep you posted and thanks for your input.....

 

H/O insurance adjuster coming tomorrow. Restoration company found little damage and no mold. It seems that finding a match to existing 8 and 10 y/o laminate will be difficult. So....a LOT of undamaged laminate will be torn out and new laid down. We shall see what adjuster says.

Restoration guy says new laminate should be under dishwasher and a three sided tray on top. If another leak...water will come out the front and be evident quickly. A water alarm will be installed.

Read about a battery powered shut off with a sensor that triggers the device. Good idea....and where to install it ?

Thanks

 

I have had my bacon saved once by using Flood Safe supply line on my dishwasher. Maybe a cup of water exited due to a faulty valve.