Rain came in and soaked my main room!! help
by
Cal
+7
During a downpour rain came in to my den. The ceiling and walls are knotted pine and the floors are hardwood. I removed the carpet and the floor and walls are almost dry. What is my next step in bringing them back to life.
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Borrow a bunch of portable fans and place in the room to help speed up the drying process. Until everything is bone dry, it is hard to assess damage. Then see if anything is warped or needs replacement. Check for mold and have an inspection from a remediation specialist.
if you were 'FLOODED' ( Submerged ) and the wall behind the knotty pine was also damaged there may be more to 'drying it out' than just fans and a Dehumidifier ( you can rent these at a lot of 'Tool Rental' places );
but ... to rejuvenate the wood surfaces I use HOWARDS Feed and Wax -- sold at many home improvement centers or on-line ...
I used Concrobium spray on my clients wood that got wet in a flood and was dried to prevent mold. They also have some foggers to prevent mold https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_3_12?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mold+fogger+bomb&sprefix=mold+foggers%2Caps%2C243&crid=3HH9RNLD73MY7&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amold+fogger+bomb
Concrobium also comes in a cleaner to prevent mold too.
How did this water get in? I would address this problem also.
After its dried out, I would get the air tested to make sure you have no toxic mold growing behind those walls and ceilings. Myself I would rip off some of those boards to get a fan into the walls and ceiling to dry it out throughly. You can get those little clip on fans cheap, and find many at thrift stores.
if it has a varnish or some sort of 'sealer' on it make sure it's in good condition - not peeling or something from the water -- but no, just saturate a soft cloth, apply, and come back a bit later and buff it out -- with knotty pine, I'm pretty sure the wall is in individual tongue/groove boards -- I'd do one at a time -- working ceiling to floor; you'll be amazed at how the wood drinks this stuff up!! I have a 150+ year old pine table -- was 'raw' wood when built, and never had anything on it ... except thru the years and years of use -- I found this product and it looks like a brand new table -- wish I had 'before' photos -- and I've had it almost 40 years ! I use this on all my antique pieces -- pie safe, tables, chairs, anything that is real wood.