Major water damage in homes is mainly caused by heavy rains, floods or excessive overflow of water, which ultimately ends up damaging your household stuff, especially carpets and furniture. Although it might seem that the damaged furniture will not be able restored to its original form but water damage is not always that severe as it seems. Furniture damaged by water can be easily managed most of the times, although it might not become new again but partial repair is definitely possible. No matter wood or upholstered, any sort of furniture at your home can be repaired by paying attention and using proper restoration techniques.
So your furniture has been hit by water damage lately? Don’t worry and scroll down as we listed some basic tips to restore your furniture back to its grandeur!
Tips for Repairing Wooden Furniture
Dry Out the Wood
First things first; dry out the wood furniture! Water can damage the wood greatly if the wood remains humid for a long time. Therefore you must never leave your furniture unattended after it has been hit by water damage. Put the furniture at a place where it remains in direct contact with the sun. However, you can also use fans and dryers to speed up the process. But remember to check the weather conditions before drying the wood outside because extreme cold climate won’t dry the wood quickly making way for the mold to grow and excessively hot weather will form cracks in the wood.
White Spots Can Be Treated
Contaminated water is most likely to form white spots on the wood furniture but don’t worry, they can be treated easily! Take a spoonful of baking soda and prepare a cleaning solution by mixing it with equal amount of toothpaste. Dip a damp cloth in the cleaning solution and scrub it over the spots. Once the furniture becomes free of spots, polish the affected area with a dry cloth to regain the shine.
Clean the Moldy Black Spots
Just when you are done cleaning the white spots from the wood, you may witness some black spots as well. White spots are formed due to the absorption of water but the same spots turn black indicating that water has penetrated deep inside damaging the finish of the wood. If you witness any black spots on the wood, it means there’s mold growing on your wooden furniture. In order to remove the moldy spots from the furniture, first you need to remove the upper finish of the wood. Then, clean the mold with a peroxide cleaning solution and coat the area with a new finish.
Repair the Crumpled Furniture Veneer
Apart from the spots and mold, the wood furniture veneer may also collapse by getting in contact with water. However, you can soak the furniture veneer using a moisturizer till it becomes flat again. Once the coating lies flat, clean it with a cloth and dry it off. Then take a syringe, fill it with the veneer glue and inject the glue slowly inside, by pointing the needle between the furniture and its coating. Just as the glue goes onto the wood, remove the syringe and put a heavy block over the surface so that the veneer sticks properly. Don’t hurry in removing the block and let the glue dry out completely.
Tips for Repairing Upholstered Furniture
- If your home is not flooded heavily then there are chances that the furniture did not remain in contact with water for a long time. In this case, it is easy to restore the upholstered furniture because it may not be damaged severely. First of all, start the restoration process by pulling up all the upholstery fabric specially colored items to avoid any probable color bleeding. The upholstery fabric must be dried completely because any humidity left in the fabric will provide a breeding ground for the mold to grow.
- Upholstered furniture has the tendency to absorb contaminants from water easily as compared to wood furniture. Therefore, you must determine whether your upholstered furniture is worth splurging the restoration cost or not. Normally upholstery furniture ends up being disposed of especially when they are heavily soaked in flood water unless it is very valuable.
- Upholstered furniture tends to be more difficult to repair than wood furniture so if you still decide to hold onto your upholstered furniture, it’s better to have it restored by a professional.
Acquire professional restoration services
Your furniture may need some extra care and repair depending on the extent of water damage therefore it is preferable to call for a professional help instead of doing it on your own. While you don’t need to look out for any other repair and restoration company because NYC Steam Cleaning is always there at your service! We at NYC Steam Cleaning are known for the best furniture repair and cleaning services in town. Dial 1-888-245-1199 now and let our professionals take care of your furniture as we assure to restore your prized possession back to its former splendor!