How To Fix Bubbles On Laminate Floorings? [Exhaustive Guide]

Are you frustrated and tired-looking for the solution on how to fix bubbles on laminate floorings? We have got you covered.

The floor is an essential part of the house, and it determines the look and value of the house in many ways. While deciding the suitable material for the floor, people explore many options, and laminates are one of the popular ones.

A laminate floor is the first choice for many, and hands down; it is because of the look in the very first place. A house with a laminated floor also plays a crucial role in adding more value to the home other than look.

The installation of a laminate floor is not that difficult as well. However, some problems can certainly make the situation really bad for the homeowners, and bubbles are one of them.

A puffy area on the floor doesn’t look good, and also you notice the slow wear and tear it involves. By purchasing quality laminate floors and installing the same, you have invested a good amount of money and effort, and if you have to do it again, it can be tiresome and costly.

Therefore, to help you out with the solution for the bubbles in the laminated floor, we have prepared this comprehensive guide for you. Please take a look at it and try to follow the instruction while learning about the entire process on how to fix bubbles on laminate floorings and the reasons behind the bubbles to get rid of the same quickly.

Know About Laminate Floor Bubbles

The term “bubbling” is used to describe the rise of laminate planks and the appearance of bubbles in them. There are numerous reasons why this might occur:

  • Moisture in the air or in the subfloor causes the edges of laminate planks to rise.
  • Direct water damage can also produce bubbling or buckling. Bubbles can form if enough water is left on the surface or if the floors are wiped with a wet mop.
  • This can be caused by a lack of an efficient moisture barrier.
  • Buckling and bubbling might occur as a result of a shift in the laminate’s width due to poor product manufacturing.

Fixing a bubbled laminate floor is a lot simpler when you know what’s causing it. Furthermore, if you can identify the issue locations and sources, it becomes easier to take preventative steps. Do you want to know more about laminate flooring toxicity? You can read this guide.

The Reasons For Laminate Floor Bubbles

To understand the solution, you must know the reasons. Based on the causal factor, you can come up with a solution. Laminate bubbling is a common problem, and there’s typically a straightforward solution.

Because of excessive moisture, your laminate boards are likely to have bubbles on and in them. It’s not enough to just know what’s causing the problem; you need to know why it’s happening in the first place before you can remedy it.

Repairing the damage is a band-aid method that you’ll have to use again and again if the problem persists. Before you decide to fix your bubbling floor, it’s a good idea to conduct some investigation to find out what’s causing it and how to avoid it in the future.

The good news is that once the issue has been resolved, you can rest easy knowing that it will not recur. Here are a few ideas to consider in order to assist you in discovering and eliminating the source of the bubbling on your floor.

Keep Reading: Detailed Guide On Caulking Baseboards Laminate Floors

Mainly The Water

Believe it or not, most furniture and floor damage may be traced to water. Your laminate floor will continue to be damaged unless you take action to stop it from spreading.

Laminate flooring isn’t totally water-resistant, no matter how many times your seller or the interior designers have told you that. Waterproofing does not guarantee total protection from the damaging effects of prolonged immersion in water.

Over-mopping and steam cleaning, unmanaged water spills, or a steady leak from a ceiling can all contribute to laminate flooring becoming saturated with water. Once the water is absorbed by the boards, it’s there for good.

All you have to do is find the source of the problem and fix it to prevent it from happening again. Like all wood that has been soaked in water, the boards will start expanding and buckle as they are pushed together by the expanding boards.

There is no other option but to fix the impacted and damaged board when that happens.

More Than Water

Since wood expands and contracts when it’s hot, laminate flooring should be fitted with enough expansion gaps to compensate for the expected movement of the material.

Due to the constant pushing and pulling of the boards against each other by gravity, boards that don’t have adequate expansion gaps can buckle under the stress of temperature variations and eventually burst.

Temperature fluctuations can cause laminate flooring to expand and contract. A floating floor is a sort of flooring that isn’t attached to the walls or the subfloor.

Buckling, peaking, and bubbling can occur if there is not enough room between the floor and the wall. If you connect molding too tightly over the borders of the laminate flooring, it may impair the material’s ability to contract and expand properly, even if there is ample room around the flooring.

Expansion joints are necessary when installing laminate flooring over long distances. Floorboards are separated by a few millimeters in these joints.

Laminate flooring that runs longer than 40 feet in the same direction is prone to bubbling because of its long length and constant weight. Make sure that your laminate floor has enough expansion area to avoid bubbles caused by the natural movement of the wood.

Laminate flooring might be damaged if it isn’t installed correctly. As a result, it’s critical that the laminate be installed by a trained professional who understands the value of expansion gaps, how and where they should be used, and how to prevent any potential complications that it could cause.

Steps On How To Fix Bubbles On Laminate Floorings

When you are already in trouble, and you have noticed quite a few bubbles in your laminate floors, it is time to figure out how to fix it. To maintain the look of the laminate and also to enhance its durability, this fixing is essential. Let’s dive into it directly.

First thing first.

Wood Floor Bubble & Laminate Bubbles Are Not The Same

Looks like wood, but it’s actually laminate. An HDF core is all that separates the wood pattern from the HDF core, which is only a thin photographic layer.

Moisture can enter into the inner part of the fiberboard, which ends up swelling when it is exposed to moisture if the “photo layer” or “pattern layer” is scratched or otherwise damaged.

A lack of solid wood implies that you can’t use sandpaper to sand off any imperfections. You can neither scrape the edges nor do something else that would be done to solid wood.

Unlike natural wood, HDF differs in another way. HDF, unlike wood, does not expand or contract with changes in moisture levels. You’re investing your time in futile if you try to fix a laminate floor that’s buckling by heating it up.

For wood flooring, this method rarely works because warps in wood are usually permanent. Swollen laminate flooring can be fixed and repaired by determining the cause of its bubble.

Bubbling in the laminate floor caused by water damage can be fixed with a few simple measures.

Inspection

Look closely at the area of your floor that is bubbling. To see if there are any bubbles on your floor, simply walk across it. It is necessary to remove a board if it has bubbles on it, indicating damage.

In the event that you discover a bubble in the middle of the floor seam when performing the examination. It’s a symptom that the expansion gap is too small, causing the boards to swell and strain at the seams.

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Get Rid Of Molding

Mold and air bubbles on the laminate wall near the affected laminate board. Use a hammer and a screwdriver to remove the mold from the laminate floor molding.

Laminate Board Removal

Removing laminate boards till you get to the damaged one is necessary after removing the mold. Using the connection board, carefully remove the floorboard from the lock.

The floor could be fixed by releasing the tension on the board if the bubbling was caused by an insufficient expansion gap. Make sure that the distance from the board to the wall is between 1/4 and 1/2 inches. Fix it by slicing through the board close to the wall.

Replacement

Replace the damaged laminate floorboard with a new one of the same color. The tongue of the board should be inserted into the curve of the board with care and precision.

A weight can be placed on top of a peaked board when the required spacing has been provided. This would allow the floor to settle on its own without the need for additional assistance.

Fix It

Put the other undamaged floorboards back in their original location. Make sure your laminate flooring has adequate expansion and contraction gaps by inspecting it thoroughly.

Type Of Floor

Laminate flooring comes in a variety of grades, and many people don’t understand this until after they’ve installed it. For example, AC1 is commonly used in model homes and floor closets.

As you climb the ladder, you’ll find laminates like AC6, which are employed in commercial settings. Consider how much foot traffic the floor will see before deciding on the sort of laminate to use.

If your laminate is continuously bubbling, you may want to think about getting a new one. Remember that you can utilize a lower AC rating floor in a few areas of your home.

Seal

Keep in mind to seal the floor as well. A common blunder is failing to properly seal the floor after installation, which leaves the floorboards vulnerable to liquid infiltration. An additional step is required, but it’s worth it.

How To Fix Bubbles On Laminate Floorings Without Replacement

Your laminate flooring can be repaired and restored to its former splendor once you’ve identified the source of the bubbling and taken steps to prevent it from happening again.

There are six steps to repairing laminate flooring, and each one must be finished before the next one can be started. If you rush or try to skip a step, you’ll end up in worse shape than when you started up the laminate creek without a paddle.

As a result, it’s essential to follow each step sequentially and not divert or take a shortcut. The laminate repair rules are there for a purpose, so abide by them.

Cross-Check & Double-Check

Determine how many boards need to be replaced and where they are before beginning any repair work. Take note of any boards that appear to be bubbling while inspecting your floor.

If you’re not sure you got it correctly the first time, try it again. In order to avoid any surprises at the end of your repair job, it’s always a good idea to cross-check and know precisely how much work you have ahead of time.

Mold Removal

Remove the laminate molding from the wall nearest to the boards you need to repair as early as you know the number of boards you need to repair and where they are located.

In order to reach the damaged boards, you will need to travel a shorter distance and unlock a smaller number of lamination boards. Start working from the wall that has the damaged boards on it at all times.

In spite of its ease of removal, it’s essential to take your time so as not to damage the molding since you will need it to be reinstalled after the job is complete.

Removal Of Boards

Remove the laminate boards that are sandwiched between the damaged board and the wall one at a time, keeping them organized so that they can be quickly reinstalled when the damage has been fixed.

Repair The Boards

In this situation, the phrase “repair” is a little deceptive because you’ll actually be replacing the damaged board with a new one.
Before removing the laminate board that has been damaged, make sure it is properly attached.

Consider this if it’s too tight and isn’t given the space to expand while you’re replacing it. Removing and replacing a damaged laminate board is a time-consuming process, so it’s best to do it in a manner that doesn’t interfere with any of the other laminate boards in the room.

Keep It In Place

Replace and lock the laminate boards once you remove those to reach the damaged board in place as you make your way back toward the wall from which you started.

Because flooring has strange muscle memory, it is easier to reinstall them in the same sequence you followed for the removal so that they fit together as if they had never been in the exact location before.

Replace Only Molding

Finally, the six-stage process comes to an end, and it’s one of the most rewarding. What you removed earlier to get to the damaged laminate boards and replace that, check that one to be sure whether it has mold in it.

Lock it back in place and toss the laminate board that was damaged. Step back and appreciate your bubble-free laminate flooring.

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How To Prevent Laminate Bubbles

Now that you have completed the removal process and got rid of the bubbles, you would certainly not want to repeat the process in the future, right? What is the way out, then? It is time for preventive measures to avoid such problems in the future. Here, in this section, we are going to discuss that.

  • Moisture Barriers: Concrete subfloors must be covered with at least 6mm of moisture barrier. It is recommended that they be a minimum of 12 mm thick if you reside in a humid location.
  • Proper Cleaning Methods: When cleaning, take care not to use too much water, as it might seep into the boards and cause damage. In addition, vinegar and other acidic cleaning chemicals can damage the glue that holds laminate planks together, resulting in loose veneers.
  • Use Dehumidifiers: The humidity in the summer is particularly oppressive, making this a top priority throughout that season. Reduce the amount of moisture in the air by turning on your air conditioners. This will help protect your floors from water damage.
  • Check Humidity Levels: Laminate flooring requires a humidity level of between 60 and 30 percent, depending on the type of flooring. When humidity levels are kept within this range, your flooring will be protected from any harm caused by excess moisture in the atmosphere.

Few Words Before Wrapping Up…

We have tried to keep this article as informative as possible so that you don’t find any difficulty while following the steps on how to fix bubbles on laminate floorings. Laminate floors are a popular choice for several reasons, but bubbles are among the drawbacks that you may have to face.

People who live in areas with a high humidity level shouldn’t go for laminate floors because of the bubble issue, though there are various other reasons behind the bubbles.

If you have already invested in the laminated floor, there is no way to change everything just for the bubbles. With the instructions and steps described here, you can quickly get rid of the bubbles, and we have also mentioned the preventive steps that will help you prevent such problems from occurring again.

Make sure that you follow them strictly so that you can get the best results. One thing we want to tell you is that it would not be wise to try to do it all by yourself if you have a lot of bubbles on the floor and any of the mentioned methods don’t work for you.

Call the professional if the DIY doesn’t seem like your cup of tea to avoid more problems. All the best!

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