How to Remove and Draw Moisture Out of Wet Wood

Whenever you find anything in your house that’s made out of wood has gotten wet, you will want to get the moisture out right away and dry the area/item to prevent permanent water damage.

For items made from solid wood such as Hardwood Floors or Solid Wood furniture, water damage does not always mean permanent damage if they have gotten wet.

In most cases, if the water is removed and dried out promptly there will be very little water damage.

For items made from man-made wood materials such as Plywood, MDF, Particle board, water damage can be catastrophic!

If furniture made from these materials is allowed to get wet and soaks in, it will create bubbling/deformation and in worst cases will simply stall falling apart!

Removing moisture from these materials will also be extremely hard to do!

In the following sections, you will learn how to get any item made from wood in your home completely dry & how it might even affect your home if not done properly.

Continue Reading: What Happens When Wood Gets Wet

How to Remove Moisture Out of Wood

Your ability and method to get the moisture out of your wood depend on the kind of wood you’re trying to get the moisture out of.

The materials used may change depending on if you’re cleaning up a wood floor, subfloor, table, deck, or something else.

How to Draw Moisture Out of Wood Floors

The first thing you should do when trying to get water out of a wooden floor is getting rid of as much standing water as possible.

• First, with either a mop and bucket or wet-vacuum remove all the standing water from your floors.
• Then, with towels or rags completely dry the wood floor
• Once that’s done to increase the speed of water evaporation, consider increasing the temperature in your room.
• Use Fans to circulate to help circulate the air throughout the room
• Lastly, Introduce a de-humidifier to suck up all the moisture content out of the room.

If the weather outside is very warm, consider opening your windows and use the fans to circulate the air better.

In this case, a de-humidifier might not even be necessary to draw the moisture out of your wood floors!

For Drawing Moisture out of Hardwood Floors continue reading here.

How to Get Moisture Out of a Wood Table

If you have a water spill on a wooden table in your kitchen, dining room, or elsewhere in the house, the first thing you will want to do is grab a small towel, washcloth, or a handful of paper towels to wipe up as much standing water as possible.

If the table has absorbed water, you should move the table to a well-ventilated area, perhaps even outdoors if the weather is nice!

Alternatively aiming a fan or two at the table will help speed up the moisture evaporation considerably!

To remove any remaining moisture, also consider spreading a coat of baking soda over it as it can help draw away and absorb the moisture from your wood table.

After you’ve dried the table consider applying a mixture of vinegar and olive oil over your table if it’s a solid wood table. Dip a cloth in the vinegar mixture and wipe the spilled area with it to prevent any future stains.

How to Draw Moisture Out of Wood Decks

In order to first get any standing water out of a wooden deck, you can use a wet vacuum, but you can also try using a leaf blower which may be easier for outdoor use.

If you are considering refinishing your deck and want it to be as dry as possible for the process, you should consider tarping it a couple of days before this to prevent any new water from soaking in it.

If you are really in a hurry you can consider applying baking powder on the particularly wet spots, which will be able to draw the moisture out of your deck.

However, because a wooden deck is outdoors, the natural breeze should be able to get it all the way dry without any additional work on your end!

How to Remove Moisture From a Wood Subfloor

To get a wooden subfloor dry, you will want to work as quickly and diligently as possible to get the surface floor dry.

This includes sucking up all standing water and wiping down the area.

Then, place a de-humidifier and a number of fans in the room in order to dry it out as thoroughly as possible.

If you think this isn’t enough or that the moisture has set into your subfloor, please call a professional to help you.

Removing Moisture from a subfloor can be very challenging on your own, in most cases you will need to remove the floor above it to be successful at this!

Continue Reading: How to Remove Moisture from Subfloor

How to Remove Moisture From a Wooden Door

Getting moisture out of your wooden door depends on how long the moisture has been let to set in.

If it’s a new spill, then simply wiping away the water and pointing a fan at your door will help remove and draw out the moisture from your door.

Older spill or water damage, however, will need more complicated repairs.

If for example water has continuously rained on the door and has made it soaking wet, you will first need to address the issues as to why the water has been able to soak up your door.

Then fans should be aimed at the door from both sides to speed up the drying process.

You can also consider removing the door from the frame and take it to a well-heated room to speed up the drying process.

If you are trying to fix older moisture damage that has set in, then you may need to sand away the damaged part and then repaint it with a sealant to protect against moisture.

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General Tips For Drying Out Completely Soaked Wood

There are some basic tips you can follow in order to ensure your wood gets as dry as possible after it has been completely soaked.

• Placing fans in the wet area and aiming directly at the object,
• Placing a de-humidifier in the wet area to draw out the moisture of the wood,
• Increasing the temperature in your house,
• Bringing the water damaged wooden item outside in sun to dry it out,
• Opening windows to let air circulate through the area if the weather permits,
• Placing moisture absorbing pads on top of the object to draw out the moisture.
• Using a wet-vacuum to suck up and remove much as much moisture as possible beforehand

Other Products that can Be Used to Take Moisture Out of Wood

There are few other ways you can take moisture out of wood.

One important thing before trying to get wood completely dry is to remember to suck up and remove any standing water either with wet-vacuum or moisture absorbing towels/pads.

This is especially important if you’re absorbing water from a floor spill!

Baking Soda

Baking soda can be extremely useful and a very common item you already might have that can help get moisture out of your wood.

Baking soda is able to absorb moisture out of wood because its chemical makeup attracts the water too it, sucking it out of the wood.

In order to use baking soda to draw out water from wood, you simply need to place a fine layer of the baking soda powder on the wet wood area and leave it for at least 12 hours. Make sure you have the area marked off somehow so no one steps in it.

Also, consider cleaning up the baking soda from time to time and applying a fresh layer of baking soda to draw out the moisture more effectively.

Cat Litter

Surprisingly cat litter can be one of the best ways to remove and draw moisture out of wood!

Both the Cement-based and Silica-based cat litter will work for this and can be simply spread out in a layer over the water damaged wood item.

If you got a choice however opt for the Silica-based cat litter to draw out the moisture as it will be much easier to cleanup and it has no risk of staining the wood item when compared to cement-based cat litter.

Silica Based Moisture Absorbing Pads

These are some of the best choices for drawing moisture out of wood, they come in packets/sheets that can be placed over the moisture affected wood and it will help draw out the moisture.

This is almost the same silica that can be found in a cat litter which is much cheaper and more readily available at your local store!

Diapers

This might be an unusual choice, however, Diapers are another source for Silica that is readily available and extremely cheap.

When compared to Cat Litter they already come in a ”packet” that can be simply placed over the item, or cut open to spread over the wood item to draw out the moisture!

Does Salt Draw Moisture Out of Wood?

While salt does help dry to remove moisture from the air, unfortunately, salt is not good to use for drying out wood.

This is because not only will salt not be able to suck out the moisture from wood as effectively as a baking soda can, it will also dissolve and mix into the wood.

As it attracts large amounts of moisture, salt tends to dissolve in sludge, if the salt sludge seeps into wood that you are trying to dry, it will discolour it and ruin it!

How Long Does it Take to Draw Moisture Out of Wood?

How long it takes for your wood to dry partly depends on how much moisture there is, the kind of wood, and whether it is outside or inside.

In most cases, it will probably take around 12-36 hours for the area to be completely dry.

As far as wood on a deck or somewhere else outside that has gotten wet from rain, it can take up to a full week to dry.

However, because this wood is usually sealed from water damage, you shouldn’t have to worry about it leading to wood rot too much.

If you’re trying to dry out wood as soon as possible, the best tools to use would be fans that can circulate the air and a Dehumidifier that will suck out the moisture from the air and from the wood.

When to Call a Professional

While sometimes getting water out of wood is a simple process, at other times it can be fairly complicated and time is of the essence!

When you have a large flood situation, if for example, water has soaked up all your hardwood floor it’s crucial to dry it out as soon as possible to prevent your floors from having to be completely replaced.

Water damage professionals have the equipment and skills to completely dry out large areas of wet wood/floors as quickly as possible to minimize any water damage.

In the worst-case scenario, if the water has already damaged some parts of the wood, they can also repair the affected parts.

We have Water Damage Restoration Technicians that can Help Dry out your Wood & Repair any Water Damage Caused.

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