laminate floors
 

Mark,
I had a cheap counter top water cooler that held five gallon jugs in my kitchen. Last year the valve started to leak on my laminate floor. Upon noticing the water spill I removed said cooler, cursing myself for buying a cheap one, and lifted the carpet that was under that spot. The laminate was warped at the edges where the water could penetrate the seams. The floors were only 6 months old at the time and I thought I was pooched, as replacing boards mid way through the floor does not look very easy. It went on my honey-do list. Lucky for me after the area dried out for a month (the list doesn't get done quickly around here) the floors were flat again. I would think that the construction of the floors sawdust and glue that they would not stand up to too much moisture. Having thrown away the cooler I now find out that it was just a mineral build up on the valve that is easily cleaned, grrrrr!

Geoff

My dish washer leaked and destroyed my kitchen floor but it had been leaking for a while before I saw what was happening. Had to replace the floor because after it being on the honey do list for six weeks it didn't improve a bit. Also did something similar to what ratttler did and in 2 weeks all was well.
On to my tanks....they sit on Laminate and as long as water is mopped up right away Ive had no problem. I do try to keep the water in the tank but stuff happens. Had a turbo block the return on my refugium and when I got home found water 30 feet away from the tank. Got the water cleaned up and waited for this huge area to be added to the list. No problems resulted from this spill or any of the other hundred or so minor spills. Maybe I'm lucky so far but just in case I placed the tanks in an area easy to repair (??????) and have a couple extra box's of flooring waiting.

Scott

I lived in an older 100 year old house with Hardwood (Maple) and had many spills - overflows and tank meltdowns. I was very worried what the floor would look like underneath after moving the tank - however it didn't even look as if it had any damage. I was ecstatic!

We had a 65g tank & stand on our laminate floors for a year. We just upgraded to a 120g and when we moved the 65g the was no damage done to the laminate floors.

reply
 

You must have the same cheep one as me. When my valve leaked the manufacturer recommended hot vinegar water passed through it over and over until it stopped. I did it, leak stopped, problem solved.

I second the rubber mat thing but I agree that you should find a way to not alow water to get under it.