Although many homeowners believe that termites only eat through solid hardwood flooring, the truth is that those little buggers can also damage the sublayers on laminate flooring. The tricky part about assessing possible termite damage is that an infestation looks very much like water damage.
Visually, when water damage occurs, it appears as sagging sections in the laminate flooring. Likewise, termite issues will also produce a sagging, blistered effect in laminate flooring areas. However, upon closer inspection, you'll see a series of tunneling, situated predominantly beneath the buckled tile areas, which are holes created by termites "chewing" through your flooring. Unfortunately, once you notice all of this damage, the flooring is beyond repair and needs to be completely replaced, since this infestation can affect the entire structure of your home. Avoid the financial burden, as well as any accompanying stress, and prevent these beasties from eating your home for dinner!
The (Disheartening) Telltale Signs of Termite Infestation
So, how can homeowners tell if they have insect squatters that are living inside their walls and laminate flooring? When it comes down to it, it's all about reading the telltale signs. Since these wood-eating insects live deep in the soil, or in wooden structures, such as the walls and flooring of your home, it is highly unlikely that you'll ever have any up-close-and-personal contact with termites.
As homeowners are usually unaware of their unwanted housemates until it's too late, you'll want to be watchful for these three telltale termite signs:
1) Termite frass is (surprise, surprise) wood-colored, ridged pellets that are very small in size. You'll find little piles throughout your home near their entry points.
2) Mostly noticeable at wall joints and bases, termites produce a mud-like, earthen-colored packing on the laminate flooring wood surface, or on the ground surface outdoors.
3) As termites hollow out hardwood and laminate floors during their excavation process, you'll hear audible tapping noises once your floors and walls have become severely infested.
Call Completely Floored for Laminate Flooring Questions
At Completely Floored, we're here to educate our customers on how they can prevent laminate flooring problems such as termite infestation and damage. Come into our Completely Floored showroom, located in Everett, WA and talk to our flooring pros about how you can eliminate problematic conditions that would encourage an infestation, such as wood-to-ground house contact, or excessive amounts of humidity and ambient moisture. If you're interested in laminate flooring, you'll want to talk to our on-site flooring experts!
