Living in Naples means living with hurricane season, and flooring is one of the parts of a home most exposed to storm humidity, power outages, and the occasional water intrusion. Here's what we tell our customers every year before the season ramps up.
Before a storm
- Know which rooms have the most water-vulnerable flooring - carpet and solid hardwood hold moisture longest.
- If you're closing up a seasonal home, set the AC to a humidity-controlling setting rather than shutting it off entirely - a fully closed, unconditioned house is hard on any floor.
- Keep furniture pads and area rugs off the floor in rooms with a history of minor flooding, so nothing traps moisture underneath during a power outage.
After a storm, if water gets in
Speed matters more than anything else. Standing water on carpet, laminate-adjacent trim, or solid hardwood for more than 24-48 hours dramatically increases the odds of permanent damage or mold. Pull up wet padding, run fans and a dehumidifier, and call a flooring professional before deciding whether a floor needs to be replaced or can be dried and saved - see floor repair.
Rebuilding after storm damage?
Get a free flooring assessmentThe long-term fix: choose storm-resilient materials
If you've been through a rebuild once, it's worth reconsidering material choices for next time. Luxury vinyl plank is fully waterproof and the material we recommend most for ground-floor rooms in flood-prone parts of Collier County. We'll walk you through exactly which rooms benefit most.
