Ikea Laminate Floor warping?

Last month, we tore up our 12 yr old laminate floor in our kitchen and replaced it with a commercial grade wood laminate from Ikea that was designated for use in high traffic areas, kitchens and baths. We had a water leak near the kitchen sink several years ago and the plywood underneath had some mold but wasn't buckling and wasn't damaged otherwise.
About a week later, we noticed some warping near the kitchen sink.
My husband says he thinks the laminate itself is not taking water well that's splashed from loading the dishwasher, etc. He took a piece of scrap we had and dropped a little water on it and it seemed to warp a little.
I think it's the sub-floor underneath. The new floor is warping so bad now that you can actually catch the edge of your shoe on the edge of the laminate.
I emailed Ikea who basically said, rip up the whole floor, drive the 30 miles to our store and if they determine it's a defect, they'll refund our money. Well, that's great but I'd rather find out why this is happening because I don't want to buy something new and have the same problem. Besides that, why would Ikea advertise a flooring that designated for use in commercial applications, high traffic areas, kitchens and baths if it can't take water?? How are you supposed to mop it?? It doesn't make sense. I still think it's the plywood underneath but we haven't decide what to do just yet. No other spot in the kitchen is having any issues. The rest of the floor looks great. I did use some Bona on it last week for cleaning and nothing happened in terms of damage to other parts of the floor. Does anyone have a thought?

 

Hi there Welcome to the DoItYourself.com forums.

Sorry about what happened to your flooring and this nightmare! So...what did you do when you had the water leak as far as the water and the floor? Did you just swipe up the water? Any type of laminate wood flooring will not be "waterproof". With any water leak, I would highly recommend the flooring be taken up right away to prevent the laminate wood flooring from buckling and/or warp. If there's any type of sitting water, the laminate wood flooring would just soak it up.

I wouldn't recommentd "mopping" these type floors either, unless you make sure that mop is wringed out well and the floor dry after mopping.

Always use the recommended cleaning instructions of the manufacturer.

 

You learned the hard way, why laminate flooring is just as disposable as carpet or sheet vinyl.

Laminate and moisture don't mix. Concrete moisture? Wood subfloor moisture? It doesn't matter, both will do just as you have witnessed with your floor.