Cork - advice needed

[Ewa]

Hello,

There was a water failure and the water got under the cork floating floor (Wincanders Cork-o Floor). How to remove the stains? The spots are darker and less smooth than the rest of the floor.

Please answer to the group. I've altered my address to avoid spam.

Regards Ewa

[Joseph Meehan]

How long ago?

From the description "less smooth" I would guess you will need to refinish the floor.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

Contact the manufacturer for specific information

BB

[Ewa]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.

It happened a year ago. Some people advised me that it can be removed on its own during the central heating season so I waited. Well, it altered. First it was more "unsmooth" but without the change of colour.

Removeing the dark colour is more important to me than removing the "unsmoothing".

By the way, the only advice I got from specialists (when it happened) was to replace the hit tiles or even the whole floor. But now it looks better than at the beginning. So I'm ready to experiment with something else. :-)

Regards Ewa

[Joseph Meehan]

As Bill said, contact the manufacturer and see if they have any comments. My guess is that it will fade back towards the rest of the floor over time. The surface is likely to need a little refinishing to get it even. That is normal maintenance anyway.

[Ewa]

Hello and thanks again,

The manufacturer is in Portugal and I can't contact them. I could only contact the company which delvered the cork and installed everything. As I said they wanted to replace the floor. But the floor looks much better than they forecasted a year ago.

That'd be great. :-)

I'm not an English native speaker. Could you please explain what you mean by "refinishing"?

Regards Ewa

[Joseph Meehan]

No one would know from your writing.

Refinishing would generally include sanding the floor and applying a new finish, like varnish.

[Ewa]

Hello,

Thanks. :-) I'm Polish. I live in Warsaw.

I didn't know that this method was applied not only to parquet but also to cork floor.

Thank you very much for your help.

Regards Ewa

[Ewa]

Hello,

Thanks for your answer.

I have two kinds of liquid to keep the floor clean. I use "Wicanders Floor Cleaner" for every cleaning and "Wicanders Floor Dressing" once or twice a year.

What I need now is something to remove the stains after the water disaster. The water got under the floor and then the brown stains appeared along some slits. The spots are also a little bit "unsmooth". But the main problem is with the dark colour. Joseph wrote that it may fade back so now I'm more optimistic. However, if you know what else I can do, please inform me.

Regards Ewa

[Yasashii Arbaito]

Oops, looks like the Wicanders Cork-O floor is actually cork with a vinyl coating. So there's probably no good way to refinish it. However, the good news is that the water staining should fade over time. How much, I have no idea.

[Ewa]

Hello,

My cork is with a vinyl coating.

As I said the stains weren't visible just after the disaster. They appeared after a few months. So now they have been visible for about 8 -9 months. I hoped that they'd dry out during the central heating season but they didn't.

Do you think that there is a chance that they can still disappear on their own?

Regards Ewa

[Ewa]

Hello,

I'll be patient. :-)

Thank you very much.

Regards Ewa

[Ewa]

Hello,

Yes, it is.

Probably not.

As I said in my answer to Joseph - I'll be patient. :-)

Thanks you very much.

Regards Ewa