How to repair swollen laminate flooring without replacing it.

Having the most pristine and stylish floors for any home has become pretty much accessible and affordable nowadays with the simple replacement of laminate in favor of hardwood floors which are in turn not so affordable although known for their durability and quality. On the other hand, laminate cannot really be considered as durable and might in fact swell well after a rough humid summer or an accidental and frugal water spill not properly cared for in time. 

The swelling might very well be an actual consequence of various events taking place under your laminate’s pretty display, even as normal a reaction as humidity in your home, since laminate is not too fond of moisture. Another reason for the bubbling could be not leaving a gap for the laminate to expand as the time passes when it gets installed, this and many more are side effects of a poor or badly done laminate installation that needs to be addressed earlier on if you want your floors to look as when they were first laid down. 



Fortunately, as easy and pliable as this material responds to bending, it is also as easy to put back in shape for the most part. The process of putting all of the bubbles encountered in laminate out of it is as easy as it sounds, and you’ll have sharp looking and put together floors back in no time with these few swiftly methods we have bundled up in this article to help you repair any swollen laminate flooring experimenting puffed up spots or lifted corners without replacing it. 

As soon as you do notice any particular indications that your floors might be bubbling up or any swelling happening on the laminate film, inspect around the area where any type of humidity, spill or water leak happened to assess the cause and determine the best way to fix the laminate section. Take a look at all the spaces on the floor affected and you’ll likely see the cause right away. For example, if the corners meet with the next plank the laminate might have expanded in turn. If you see formed bubbles that move to the touch, humidity and moisture are your best guess as to the direct cause. 

Then, once you have your problem all identified and rounded up, the next course of action is to, in fact, just to remedy it. For bubbles you can move and general swelling under the laminate caused by moisture and heat, you can poke a hole into the bloated portion. After poking it, let the air escape and push down on the laminate pressing it to the base. Drying the zone with a hair dryer then ensures it is rid of any trapped moisture remaining underneath it. If the bubble wasn’t too serious then pressing down on it with something flat should add the finishing touch to it, but some swelling is peskier and will only stay down after being weighed down with a roller which you can find at your nearest hardware store. 

For lifted corners from excess moisture and wet mopping too much, drying with the hair dryer and weighing down the site will also suffice. Although some of these might be swollen due to expansion, in that case cutting the gap will address that. For this you might need to remove the wall mold and then remove the boards -as most come with a convenient latch system that makes any repairs just as manageable- one by one. 

This will also address any expansion gap not taken care of when the floors were laid down the first time, so make sure the gaps from board to wall are the appropriate stretch, we recommend leaving a wiggle room of ¼ to even ½ an inch for the laminate to expand without having to swell once more.   

If the damage is too severe on any of the affected planks, you might need to replace the whole laminate plank altogether if it comes to that, as any attempt on repairing any of the swollen laminate flooring without replacing it when the section has damaged further beyond any actual salvation we might have considered when applying these methods will result in a complete loss of the entire laminate section at the end. 

So once your floor is pieced back together you might think, why go through all this trouble trying to repair swollen laminate flooring without replacing it? We have some pointers on preventing the swelling from happening so you don’t even have to think about how to repair swollen laminate flooring without replacing it. 

The most important tip we have listed and the one you should really consider is to fully know that moisture and water are your floor’s sworn enemy, and will always be this way, unless better waterproof laminate is soon invented. They don’t belong together, unfortunately. So keep the water level low for mopping and avoid using buckets of water on this type of floor as it will invite water into it in no time. 

You can fight off humidity in your home by running a dehumidifier through any room with laminate flooring, or even setting up your air conditioning unit with its dehumidifier setting if available. A humidity percentage of 40% up to 65% is ideal for your floors to fight off any moisture that might find its way under it. 

An extreme yet durable and great solution, or prevention method for swelling on laminated floors, is to treat your surfaces with some kind of topping like polyurethane coating. This will definitely fend off water damage in the long term although it might not fill the gaps completely but it will definitely waterproof your planks to some extent, while minimizing the damage from gouges or scratches that it may suffer over time. 

Finally, if you need backup and are not sure how to repair swollen laminate flooring without replacing it, you can always consult someone expert in flooring and laminate in your area or nearest hardware store on further best practices to implement when lavishing on your inexpensive and easily fixable floors.