How to Fix a Water Damaged Shower Floor

A water damaged shower floor looks dirty, unmaintained and feels rough under the feet. Such a floor will have mold, mildew and hard water stains. Sometimes, the tile and grout may also crack or have missing gaps. Fixing these damages is easy and for most damage types, you can rectify yourself using the right products. Here is a detailed guide on how to fix a water damaged shower floor.

How to Know that the Shower Flooring is Damaged because of Water?

• When you enter such a shower, you get a musty, old smell.
• The tile and grout have hard water stains that give the surface a whitish and rough appearance.
• The caulk appears to have worn out from the corners.
• Seepage issues from the shower corners, drain or from in-between the grout.
• Mold and mildew spreading on the entire flooring.
• Tile and grout have cracks and missing spaces in-between them where water has stagnated.
• The shower door is leaking and resulting in a pool of water below.

Such a shower definitely needs a fix. These are all signs of water damage. First, let us understand the possible reasons for the water damage. This will help us to get to the solutions better.

Possible Reasons for Water Damage on Shower Floor and their Solutions:

• Constant Water Leakage from the Glass Shower Door:

Whether you get hard water or regular water in your taps, a leaking shower door does not only make your surfaces wet all the time, but also bring along water damage. Any tile and grout surface constantly being exposed to water starts showing deterioration. The hard water stains can leave whitish marks, making the tile and grout very harsh and rough to touch.

Constant water leakage from the shower glass doors also contradict the very purpose they are installed in the first place. This problem occurs when the shower doors are not installed properly. There are large gaps between the door and the sidewalls or there is a large gap between the ground and the door bottom.

Solution:

This problem can be solved by sealing the gaps with seals or sweeps. Seals and sweeps are available for frameless or framed shower glass doors. Seals are mostly used to fix side gaps on the doors. Sweeps are used at the bottom to cover the gap between the door and the ground. If the gap is really huge, you can use a door threshold.

Installing good-quality shower door enclosures is the first step to rectify any door-leakage issues. You can try using enclosures from pFOkUS. We have the best quality shower door sweeps, seals, drip rails and thresholds available in various sizes and finishes to match your requirements.

• Water Seepage from underneath the tile and grout due to incorrect installations of the underlayment:

If you think that the water is coming on the floor from beneath the tile and grout, then there is a possible issue with the underlayment of the tile. Perhaps, there is a gap in your grout or corners that is making the water seep in and then cause damage. This further leads to dense staining and mold formation at the root. Floorings, where water seeps in because of gaps in tile and grout, have the worst mold and mildew problems.

Solution:

You need to treat this issue in a step-by-step process. First, you need to use a powerful penetrating tile and grout cleaner that can remove all the mold and mildew breeding at the pores of tile and grout. You can try using Imperia Deep Clean from pFOkUS. It is our deep-penetrative powerful cleaner that eliminates all the germs, stains, mold and mildew from the root, while leaving a sparkling surface.

After treating the tile and grout with a deep cleaner, you need to wait for the surface to dry completely. It is best to close the water valve to ensure no water is leaking from faulty taps, flushes and basins. Then, you need to first fix your cracked grout and tile. Sentura – a two part pigmented flexible solvent-based epoxy/resin, formulated with a 1200psi adhesion, ensures that it never pops out from the surface.

Sentura from pFOkUS can perform a seamless tile and grout repair ensuring that there are no cracks or missing spaces in your tile and grout. It can also be pigmented with Caponi in more than 40 colors, to match your undertakings.

After fixing damaged grout and tile, it is important to seal the grout, so that any water leakage or seepage cannot further deteriorate it. A good-quality epoxy-resin grout sealant would be ideal. Try using Caponi, a pigmented grout sealing system that is built on a rock-solid 2-part solvent titanium resin/epoxy foundation. Caponi can seal your grout in more than 40 colors, making the surface water-resistant. Once, you have sealed your grout with Caponi, you will not have to worry about further stains and mold in grout.

Lastly, you need to seal your tile. Grout and tile need to be sealed separately because the moisture present in the grout may spoil your tile in spite of the top sealant coat. We recommend you to use Celine – our clear resin solvent-based topical sealant that forms a hydrophilic waterproof barrier on your tile. No water leakage can now damage your tile, once it has been sealed.

• Water Damage Due to Water Seeping in from the Corners:

If the corners of your shower floor have got caulking done, then this kind of damage is unavoidable. Caulk is a very temporary fix to sealing shower corners. It tends to peel in extreme humid conditions and invites mold and mildew to form on its surfaces. If you find the corners with peeling or cracking caulk, then you know that they have got damaged due to water.

Solution:

This issue can be rectified by using a stronger sealant at the corners. You can try using Sentura for the same, Apart from being a tile and grout crack repair product, it is also used to seal shower corners. Sentura is a flexible adhesive that easily covers all the corners while waterproofing the surface. It delivers a beautiful and natural appearance in the shower. After sealing your corners with Sentura, you can be assured that no water will ever seep in from the corners and cause damage on the floor.

• Water Damage to Incorrect Inclination of the Flooring Towards the Drain:

Showers floors are constructed in such a way that cascading water from the tap or shower automatically flows towards the drain. This is because an inclination is given that is higher at the end of the shower door and lower at the end of the drain. All the flowing water does not collect on the shower floor, but is directed towards the drain. If you find that the floor level is not inclined, you may find water collecting on the floor at all times. This leads to hard water stains, water spots, mold and mildew and deterioration of tile and grout.

Solution:

You may have to get the floor reconstructed if you want it to incline. If that is not feasible, you need to make it a point to mop your floors each time after use. To remove the mold, mildew and stains, you need to use a good-quality robust tile and grout cleaner such as Imperia Deep Clean. It will also remove the stains caused by soap and shampoo spills. And, if you have sealed your grout and tile, then you don’t have to worry about the accumulated water causing damage on the flooring.

Conclusion

These are various ways to fix a water damaged shower floor. You need to first analyze the cause of the damage and fix that problem. In all cases, you should seal your grout and tile to prevent severe water damage. If your shower floor is highly damaged due to water and if you do not have the time to fix it yourself, then you can hire D’Sapone to do the job for you. It is one of the leading stone, tile, grout, glass, and brick restoration service providers in the US. They perform patented procedures using pFOkUS products along with offering a 5-year labor warranty on their services.