Not totally convinced that the seams are always a disaster waiting to happen.
- LVP click-lock systems can be pretty tight if you install them right. Yeah, water *can* get through, but it’s not like it’s instantly soaking your subfloor.
- I had a laundry room mishap (washer hose blew, classic) and the water mostly stayed on top for a while. Managed to towel it up before it got under the planks. Maybe I got lucky, but it wasn’t immediate doom.
- Underlayment with a moisture barrier definitely helps, but I wouldn’t call it pointless. It slowed things down enough to give me time to react.
“If you’re dealing with a midnight toilet flood, best bet is to pull up what you can and get fans running ASAP.”
For sure, but sometimes yanking up the planks just spreads the mess or damages the locking edges. If it’s not a huge amount of water, I’d try extracting first—shop vacs work wonders—and then run fans/dehumidifiers for a day or two. Pulling planks is my last resort unless there’s standing water trapped.
Vinegar mop jobs... yeah, learned that lesson quick. Just makes everything smell weird and doesn’t help with the actual moisture.
Had a similar situation last year—my kid managed to flush a toy and the bathroom turned into a wading pool at 2am. I was worried about the LVP seams too, but honestly, most of the water just sat on top for a while. Used towels and a wet/dry vac right away, and the underlayment seemed to slow things down enough that nothing got warped or moldy. Didn’t bother pulling the planks because I’ve done that before and it’s a pain to get them re-locked without chipping an edge.
I agree on the underlayment with a moisture barrier—it’s not foolproof, but it definitely buys you some time. Wouldn’t skip it, especially in bathrooms or laundry areas. And yeah, vinegar mopping just left things smelling funky here too. Switched to baking soda for odors and stuck with fans for drying.
At the end of the day, quick action seems more important than stressing about the seams themselves. Just don’t let water sit, and most LVP will hold up better than you’d think.
Not gonna lie, I’ve seen LVP “hold up” until a few weeks later when you start noticing a weird bubble or soft spot. Sometimes that underlayment just hides the problem for a bit. I get not wanting to pull planks, but I’d rather deal with a pain now than mystery mold later... Learned that one the hard way after my nephew’s “science experiment” with the upstairs tub.
I get where you’re coming from, but honestly, I’ve had LVP bounce back just fine after a quick dry-out—no bubbles, no soft spots. Maybe it depends on the brand or how tight the seams are? I’m not a fan of ripping up perfectly good flooring unless there’s obvious damage or a smell. Plus, pulling up planks can waste a lot of material, and that’s not great for the landfill. I’d rather try fans and a dehumidifier first, then check for issues in a week or two. If there’s still a problem, then yeah, time to pull it up. But sometimes the “nuclear option” isn’t necessary. Just my two cents.
I totally get the hesitation to go full demolition mode right away. When our laundry room flooded, I was convinced the floor was toast, but after a marathon session with fans and a borrowed dehumidifier, it dried out fine. No warping, no weird smells—just a lot of lost sleep. I guess it really does depend on the install and maybe a bit of luck. Still, I keep sniffing around for that “uh-oh” smell just in case...
