The way to eliminate Black Mold Stains From Oak Flooring
Mold grows where moisture is present; a black discoloration on your oak flooring may signal both mold and humidity. The moisture generally comes from over, seeping through the finish and soaking into the wood, but it can also come from under, in the event the subfloor is wet. You can eliminate the mold and get rid of some of the discoloration utilizing timber cleansers, but you may need to stain and refinish the ground — or portion of it.
Surface Staining Vs. Wood Discoloration
There is a difference between black discoloration that has settled on the surface of your oak flooring and also at a discoloration of the timber itself. You can attribute the issue to moisture in the cases, but at the first case, remediation is quite straightforward and doesn’t involve sanding or refinishing. After the wood itself is black, the discoloration could be brought on by mold, or it may result from tannins from the wood responding with minerals from the water. For both situations, the remedy involves stripping the finish and bleaching the timber or replacing the affected boards with new ones.
Killing Surface Mold
Mold grows only in the presence of moisture, so first you have to dry out the ground. Jogging room heaters and fans is one way to try it, or, if you’ve got central heating, turn the heat up and open the vents in the affected area. If mold is growing on the surface of the ground and it hasn’t penetrated the finish, it is possible to kill it by washing with a solution of chlorine bleach and water or — to be safer — a non-water-based hardwood floor cleaner. You may be able to restore the shine of the affected area with a refresher coat of finish or even an application of wax.
Treatments for Blackened Wood
From the time you notice blackening, mold has generally penetrated into the timber, which makes remediation more of a job. After drying the ground, you want to sand the finish with a hand sander so that you are able to apply wood bleach; utilize a flooring sander in the event the damage is widespread. Implement chlorine bleach to kill mold, making sure to neutralize it with a solution of 1-cup baking soda per gallon of water before rinsing and drying the timber. If black Water stains remain, treat the timber with a saturated solution of oxalic acid crystals and water; subsequently neutralize and rinse.
Staining and Refinishing
Bleaching raises the timber grain, and if you sand it down, it is ideal to do it gently, using 120-grit sandpaper, to prevent sanding off the top layer of bleached timber. It is possible to find a stain that fits most flooring colours, but if the match is not exact, it is ideal to err on the side of a lighter stain, as opposed to a darker shade. You always have the option to fine-tune by adding pigment to the finish coat. Repairs do not always mix, and at times the only method to hide a patch would be to sand and refinish the whole floor. You may be able to prevent this by scuffing the finish and covering the ground with a tinted topcoat.