We have hardwood floors in our kitchen, and had a floor mat at the sink area that turned out not be be waterproof. It often got wet, and held the moisture against the hardwood. The moisture soaked into the joints, expanding the wood and causing swollen ridges along the joint lines:
Roughly the top 1/3 of the picture (2 horizontal joints), and the bottom 1/4 (1 horizontal joint), show undamaged areas. The planks are completely flat and the only way to see the joints is via the differences in wood grain. The damage in the middle of the picture was hard to capture in a photo, but you can see light reflections off the raised joints and small gaps along the joints.
I expect that the wood will dry out over time, but it isn't clear whether the swelling will ever completely return to normal. If I sand it smooth and then the swelling reduces, the joints will look like chamfered edges.
So I'm looking for how to approach fixing this.
- Is there a way to speed drying, especially that allows the wood to shrink rather than locking the distortion in place?
- Is there a way to know when all the shrinkage that will happen is done happening?
- Is drying, sanding, and finish repair the standard solution?
