Desperate for advice re damp chipboard floor

whitesatin

We are one month into a claim for a flooded kitchen floor. It has been agreed by insurance that they will do the repairs and replace the flooring. The tiles were partly removed today and revealed that the plywood they sit on has been saturated and also the chipboard under that. The damage is greater than first thought and has been referred back to the insurance company, thus delaying the whole thing. The smell is awful, a chemical smell, maybe glue from chipboard. I am airing the whole house as this is permeating everywhere. I can taste it! Not sure what next step will be or when but I'm thinking that soaked chipboard can't be dried out and remain as strong. This could go on for a while and I'm worried about any toxic effects in the meanwhile. Can anyone advise re this possibility?

FreeBear

Chipboard turns to mush once it has been damp for any length of time, even the moisture resistant flooring grades.

You need to ventilate the house so that the chemical fumes can escape - Some of the stuff used in chipboard manufacture is quite unpleasant - Formaldehyde being just one.

whitesatin

FreeBear wrote: »

Chipboard turns to mush once it has been damp for any length of time, even the moisture resistant flooring grades.

You need to ventilate the house so that the chemical fumes can escape - Some of the stuff used in chipboard manufacture is quite unpleasant - Formaldehyde being just one.

Sounds like I'm right to be worried. It's certainly not a pleasant thing to inhale. I hope it goes quickly as things look like dragging on for some time. I'm hoping they will just get on with taking up the chipboard instead of insisting on drying it out, a big job, I know, and very disruptive but better in the long run.

TheCyclingProgrammer

By all means ventilate to get rid of the smell but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Various sheet wood materials do contain formaldehyde but not normally in high levels. It's normally only a risk when sanding and releasing particles into the air.

If you have any MDF or particleboard furniture in your house, these can often emit low levels of formaldehyde into the air. It's not worth worrying about.