Water Damaged Furniture And Hope For Restoration
Water in your home is a disaster to the building materials: carpets, sheet rock, hardwood floors. Also, anything more than a sprinkling of clean water is too much water for your fine furniture. Even worse, any flood water or sewage backup will introduce contaminants into your home.
If not dried quickly, wet furniture can warp, rot or even mold. Drying and restoring water damaged furniture takes quick thinking and a little know how; professional equipment helps as well. When you’ve had water damage to your furnishings, you will need an experienced restoration team to help you 1) assess the damage, 2) salvage what they can, and 3) keep your family safe.
Water Damage Restoration In Henderson
Types Of Furniture That May Be Damaged
The bad news is “basically anything that is not plastic (wood, metal, upholstery, veneer, glue, and glass) can be damaged due to prolonged contact with water. Particularly vulnerable are:
- Pressed wood, particle board, or composite furniture deteriorates when wet. The water will weaken the glue, causing the material to fall apart. The same goes for laminated furniture made from composite materials. In most cases, it’s best to just throw these items away.
- Furniture made from vinyl or other synthetic materials are easier to dry and disinfect.
- Fabric and upholstered furniture can be dried and saved. However, it’s very difficult to clean and sanitize porous furniture after a sewage backup.
- Leather furniture may shrink as it dries and supports mold and bacteria growth.
- Hardwood furniture is typically the most expensive and the easiest to dry and save. However, it may be necessary to sand and refinish the surface to remove water stains or fix minor damage.
What’s the Timeline?
Unfortunately, there is no one answer to how long furniture can sit in water before it’s ruined. Whether you can save wet furniture depends on the amount of water and the type of furniture. Water will cause composite furniture to fall apart much faster than hardwoods. One inch of water causes much less damage to your furniture than three feet.
Move quickly to prevent wet furniture from being ruined. The faster you act, the more likely you can salvage your furniture after a flood or water event. While you should try to save your furniture whenever possible, focus on removing the water and drying the structure of your home first. For example, it’s much less expensive to replace a water damaged couch than to rebuild an entire room. The sooner you get a professional water damage restoration team’s resources on site, the sooner you will have the hands and team members in action.
Upholstered Furniture And Other Household Textiles
Upholstery limits your options after a massive water damage issue. If the water reached the upholstery, the fabric may be stained or watermarked. If the chair or sofa was in water for several hours or more, mud and silt may have penetrated the fabric and padding. The padding will hold the water, causing mildew to grow inside and out.
If water penetrates the finish, the wood will mildew. Joints in the frame may loosen. The furniture also may be contaminated with sewage, pesticides, or industrial chemicals that were in the floodwaters. It may be best to discard the upholstered furniture.
Before attempting to clean water damaged household textiles, make sure you have the right disinfectant for the job. Check the directions. Other than chlorine bleach, most disinfectants are effective only on hard surfaces. Trust ERX to have the best (and safest) products for your home.
The ERX Emergency Restoration Experts of Las Vegas are available right now. When you call ERX, a quality team will be dispatched to walk you through every step to restore your home.
