How to treat mould on a timber floor?

[Chloe88]

We found a heavily mouldy area under the kitchen sink after removing the laminate. I believe the moisture has been accumulating for quite some time. Any suggestions, if replacing the kitchen is not an option? 

 

[Jason]

Hi @Chloe88,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're pleased to have you join us. 

Our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts and other community members will be happy to help with suggestions about how to deal with the mould. But firstly, could you please tell us if you have identified the source of the water damage? Obviously that will need to be rectified before any damage can be addressed. Are you also sure it is contained to the area in the photo? What are your plans for the kitchen?  

Thanks,

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @Chloe88 

Thanks for sharing your question about your timber floor. Jason brings up a very important point, where is the source of moisture coming from? If you have already addressed this problem, then you can move on to the next activity. I propose investigating if the cabinets beside it have been affected as well. If they have, you'll need to repair these cabinets before you cover them up.

In regards to the mould on your floor, I suggest using soap and water in combination with Selleys 750ml Rapid Mould Killer Remover. Once the mould ahs been washed away you'll have a better idea if any of the timber floorboards have been damaged. If they have been damaged, you'll need to repair these sections as well.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Chloe88]

Thank you for your reply. The flashback didn't have any silicone at the bottom, which I believe is the main reason water is leaking onto the floor from the back area. I'll also check the dishwasher tomorrow to see if there's any leak issue.

[Chloe88]

  

Thanks for your reply. This is after using the mould killer treatment, which has caused the timber to turn a lighter color. I'm not sure if it's supposed to look like this. I believe the bottom of the cabinet may also be affected. When you mentioned fixing the mold, did you mean I would need to remove the cabinet? Are there any other suggestions for dealing with it without having to break the cabinet? It's not a good time to bring someone in for repairs.

 

[EricL]

Hello @Chloe88 

That flooring looks much better, yes, it is supposed to look like that as it is now the same colour as your actual timber floor. I totally understand regarding the timing, At the moment all I can suggest is to let the area dry off, place an electric fan in front of it to facilitate air movement. This should remove most of the moisture trapped in that location. If you need to put a cabinet in front of that area, I suggest temporarily anchoring it to the rest of the kitchen. Just remember that once the holiday season has passed those damaged cabinets must be repaired. delaying it too long will cause mould and fungus to spread in that area.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[Chloe88]

Thanks so much, Eric. We found the main leak in the dishwasher and are having a carpenter inspect the cabinet and timber floor. I have one more question: do you have any advice for repairing the hole they made

 

for the pipe in the timber floor?

[JacobZ]

Hi @Chloe88,

I'm glad to hear you've found and rectified the cause of the leak.

As it looks like you have good access to the underside of the floorboards, the repair will be fairly easy. 

You're going to start by attaching a piece of timber to the underside of the floorboards. You can use a piece of plywood or DAR pine that is wide enough to fully cover the gap.

Use at least 4 x timber screws that are roughly the thickness of the floorboards plus half the thickness of the material you are attaching underneath. These 25mm Countersunk Head Timber Screws or these 30mm Countersunk Head Timber Screws are good options.

If you had some spare floorboards anywhere, you could then use cut some pieces with a jigsaw or holesaw and screw them in place using the same screws I mentioned above.

Alternatively, you could use some wood filler like this Timbermate 250g Pine Wood Filler.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob