Over the years, the use of linoleum as a universal floor covering, this material has outlived itself. Today, he was replaced by many other coatings that are not inferior in any way. One of the most common is laminate flooring, which is available in specialized stores in a wide range. Its positive qualities are durability, ease of installation and maintenance, but problems may arise when choosing a poor-quality material. The most common is the deformation of the floor covering. What to do if the laminate is swollen depends on the reasons for the situation.
Improper operation and maintenance
Caring for this flooring differs from the rest only in that it can not be poured with a large amount of water, so when washing floors, use only slightly moistened rags, not wet ones. Frequent wet cleaning with waterlogging of the floor or prolonged exposure to water when spilling or flooding can easily lead to floor deformation. If the laminate is swollen from water, then, depending on the area of the affected area, individual parts or the entire floor may require replacement. The latter option applies to owners who, when buying, decided to save money and purchased a cheap laminate. The low cost of the material indicates only its insufficient quality and should not be attractive when choosing a floor covering for a long service life. The base surface under the laminate can also be of poor quality, which can also lead to bloating. In this case, regardless of the choice of the main floor covering, it will be necessary to disassemble and rebuild the entire floor, completely replacing the substrate.
Thus, the choice of high - quality materials for the floor will help prevent further costs or at least reduce them . Some expensive brands are even able to completely independently recover after wetting, without needing replacement.
Incorrect styling
If after buying and laying a good coating, a laminate swells after a while, the reasons may be in its incorrect flooring. The fact is that the laminate must "breathe" and for this it needs special compensation clearances around the perimeter. They are needed to provide the material with a buffer zone for expansion when heated or increased in humidity. These gaps, as a rule, are hidden under the baseboards, therefore, they do not bear any decorative load, because for the free movement of the laminate it is enough to leave about one centimeter from each wall. For the same reason, the need for free movement, this flooring can not be fixed to the floor, the laminate should simply lie on the substrate and interconnected by locks.
Water exposure elimination
If the laminate is swollen, how to fix the effects of water? First of all, it is necessary to carefully remove the entire floor covering to the deformed element and around it, after which it should be left for a while so that the moisture that gets on the substrate can completely dry out. The beginning of work is carried out by removing part of the baseboard, which is closest to the swollen element.
After that:
- the elements of the floor are removed in turn;
- the surface is dried;
- deformed elements are replaced by new ones;
- the whole structure is assembled again.
Old floor
What to do if a laminate has been swollen, laid for a long time, and there is no way to buy the same elements? Ideally, this situation should be prevented and several elements should be left when laying the flooring for possible future repairs. If this was not done at the time, then you can take for replacement any element of the coating used, which is laid under the furniture. It will be possible to replace the taken part with any shade, because it will not be visible, the main thing is that the new purchased item should have the same locks and fit in size to the floor covering used.
Uneconomical savings
This is how you can characterize a cheap laminate, because over time it will have to be replaced completely, even if there are no deformations. The fact is that poor-quality materials have a short service life, and with the additional influence of external factors, the entire coating collapses almost immediately, and it makes no sense to buy or replace only part of the flooring, since the other elements will also soon become unusable.
Solving the problem of improper installation
How to repair a swollen laminate if there were no moisture effects on it? The reason in this case is incorrect installation. and you can fix it by giving the structure greater mobility. To do this, remove all weighting objects from the floor covering, that is, completely free the room from furniture and remove all skirtings around the perimeter of the room.
After completing all the preparatory work, you should:
- mark the joints of the wall and the laminate;
- cut off the abutting parts, providing a compensation gap along the entire perimeter;
- put the baseboard in place.
After the work done, the flooring needs to be given time to level out on its own and only then reload the room with furniture. If the seams of the laminate are swollen, and nothing touches the walls, then you should pay attention to the pipes coming out from under the floor. If any, the gap between them and the coating must also be left at 10-15 mm. The main thing is to decoratively fill the room so that the left slots are not visible thanks to the baseboards. The main point here is that the skirting boards themselves should be fixed exclusively to the walls, and not to the laminate. If there are locks for doors in the room, their installation is allowed directly to the floor covering.
Problem warning
When the laminate was swollen, how to fix the problem? To do this is always more difficult than to prevent its occurrence. To avoid this misunderstanding, even before starting laying work, enough time and money should be devoted to the acquisition of high-quality materials - both for preparing the base and the laminate itself. The main role in the choice should not be played by cost, but by the quality of products and positive reviews about this brand. Also, during installation, it is necessary to pay attention to the waterproofing of the floor and, if necessary, glue all the joints of the elements with special glue during installation.
In addition, in order not to think further what to do if the laminate is swollen, you should:
- do not wet the cover too much during cleaning;
- periodically polish the floor with special tools;
- comply with all operating rules.
Moisture protection
Even at the stage of flooring, the laminate can provide some protection against water. For this, after its installation, it is necessary to treat the surface of the coating with special wax. The main thing is to apply it only to cracks and joints, avoiding getting on a smooth surface, otherwise the floor will be too slippery. In any case, the cracks are pre-cleaned, and after applying the wax carefully polished. For the best effect, you should use a polishing machine, but you can work manually. It is important that after polishing on the surface of the laminate there are no traces of wax, so the procedure is carried out several times. The last polishing should be done no earlier than a few hours after application, and full use of the floor is allowed after another 12 hours. Since wax can release toxic substances into the atmosphere, all work should only be carried out in a protective mask or respirator.
Conclusion
Now what to do if the laminate has swollen, it is clear, and there is no need to call a master for this, who will additionally take money for his work. Of course, it is better to prevent any problem and pre-secure your floor covering from possible deformation in the future, so you should study all the rules of operation of the laminate and clearly observe them. But be that as it may, it is best to immediately buy expensive material in order to avoid problems in the future.