Mildew on Wood Veneer Floor

[Tori]

We live aboard and were gone for five days upon returning home I smelled something odd...all of the clothes stored in the lockers on the port side were damp and mildewed...more searching under the rug on the wood veneer cabin floor wet and mildew.
Apparently the rigid plastic water tank leaked alot while were gone...clothes, lockers,rug easy fix. What to do with the floor it is discolored,kinda squishy in two spots and the laquer is peeling off.
I scrubbed it and dried it and put a fan on it...what else?

[zeehag]

how much area is delaminated?
can you find another bit of veneer and replace it ? or can it be re-glued?? do you have pix????

[Tori]

Alot of the laquer is peeling and some of the wood delaminated. I am attaching pics don't know crap about wood

[zeehag]

is it teak? if so--let it dry. remove the finish and clean with murphys oil soap and let dry. epoxy and varnish. omg i sed varnish!!!! it may still have some discoloration but it will be a lot stronger after epoxy and wont get worse.

[Tori]

It is original so I assume it is teak most everything else is...
Can you reglue down squishy areas? I would rather keep the original stuff if I can.

[SailFastTri]

What zeehag said, but after you strip it, bleach it, then let it dry and then sand, stain and varnish to restore depth and finish. Use a few sealer coats (thinned varnish) before the build coats. You'll need at least 7 coats lightly sanded with 220 grit between coats.

[zeehag]

they donot need to bleach it--it willnot match their wood--just clean it with murphys-that will clean it so it doesnt change color. bleaching it isnt a good idea for teakwood. is not a blonde wood. should work well. works on mine--and i have a heluvalot of it--teak, that is. is what my formosa is, except where it is fiberglass.
tori--the penetrating epoxy will fix that-- let it get into the spaces an soak into the wood--if there is a gap-- add some fiber of teak sandings to thicken the epoxy and have it same color as wood, and put it into gaps. it will cure same color as wood. prep for varnish or whatever your finish of choice is--do NOT bleach it-- the cleaning will do that.if your filler is from the boxes you can buy--the finished result will be white plastic--use teakwood sandings for the filler, so it is teak colored

[minaret]

Inject the delaminated veneer or "squishy areas" with 50% reduced WEST followed by straight WEST, and then put something heavy and flat on it while it cures to make the "bubbles" go away. Apply a layer of plastic film inbetween so you dont bond your heavy flat object to the deck. Once it's cured, strip it, sand it, and revarnish. You might want to dry it from underneath as well, you can see where the water penetrated the seams. Make sure it's all nice and dry before you epoxy, I'd moisture meter it. But then I'd probably vacuum bag it as well...

[sabray]

You would use bleach to kill mold spores. Industrial hygienist would say 10 parts water 1 part bleach and scrub. Then dehumidify stop all points of water leaks. Mold needs food air and moisture . Kill the food (bleach) dehuidify can't to much for air less you have a ozone machine.

[SailFastTri]

Sabray has it right. Look for instructions online. You need to kill the spores or they will grow inside the new finish. If you don't use bleach there are other treatments but you must kill the spores.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Sabray has it right. Look for instructions online. You need to kill the spores or they will grow inside the new finish. If you don't use bleach there are other treatments but you must kill the spores.

The epoxy thinned with MEK will kill the spores just fine, believe me. I would be doing several good acetone saturations to aid drying, this would kill spores as well. Bleach will discolor the wood and then it wont match...

[Shiner]

Finally a post I can contribute to so I don't feel like a stalker on the site.

Allow to dry completely. Any areas that have delaminated I use a two pack slow cure epoxy in a seringe with a "cat catheter" attached to push in under delaminated areas.
The vet will look at you strangely but the catheter allows you to get right into the damaged areas. The plastic over the area is important before you place a very heavy weight on a timber pad.
When the glue is cured strip the whole area, sand and then scrub with Oxalic acid. Don't use bleach. it will change the colour of the floor.
A stiff bristled brush is best. If you are worried about the oxalic Acid, scub a piece of mouldy old timber and see what this stuff does to clean wood and kill and remove mould stains.
When the area is dry again re sand, and since it is a floor finish in clear poly eurethane.
I hope this helps,
Regards, Shiner
[Former antique restorer]

[Tori]

Wow this sounds fun! Still have fans on it drying it out...lame that this happened...

[martinjrichter]

Most molds can't stand sunlight especially UV light. Put the wood outside in the sun for several days each side to kill the mold. Zee is right, I don't think I would use bleach as it will discolor the wood. When the panel is dry, make sure the moisture content is 6-8%, have it tested w a moisture meter before you begin the finish process.

You may want to contact the manufacture to find out what the used originally to finish and protect the wood. Good luck.

[zeehag]

if you are not able to remove th wood from boat without messing up boat, let a fan flow onto it--is how i am drying some wood in my shower of late--lots of airflow. open hatches around it--leave em as open as possible.