Water stain or mold? Also mild crowning.

[Logit883]

We had a water spill in our kitchen (water filter didn’t insert correctly and water dumped onto the floor). We did our own clean up. In retrospect we should have brought in some equipment, but we put fans on it and allowed it to air dry.

At first, there was cupping. But that went away after they dried. I wasn’t paying attention for a while. But now I’m noticing that the boards have some mile crowing. We didn’t so any refinishing. I had read that crowning was from refinishing before it dried. Any idea whether the crowing is temporary or is that often permanent? Can that be fixed when we have the floors refinished?

I also noticed some surface stains on the wood. They seem to be stable (i.e. I don’t notice it spreading). If they are water marks, I assume they can also be sanded out during refinishing. But I’m also nervous it could be mold. Can you tell from the pictures?

Thanks for the advice. I’m basically wondering if we can live with this for a while and refinish before selling or if it’s something that needs more immediate attention.

 

[highup]

Looks like it leaked more than you thought. It's easy to dry the top of the boards, but it can take a long time for the underside to dry. How long ago did this happen? What is under the wood floor? If it's a vinyl floor, then all the moisture below has to evaporate by coming out of the seams or by lifting the finish off the wood. ...looks like it's trying.
Do you have insurance?

 

[Logit883]

Looks like it leaked more than you thought. It's easy to dry the top of the boards, but it can take a long time for the underside to dry. How long ago did this happen? What is under the wood floor? If it's a vinyl floor, then all the moisture below has to evaporate by coming out of the seams or by lifting the finish off the wood. ...looks like it's trying.
Do you have insurance?

It's solid hardwood with a cork underlayment and wood subfloor underneath. This happened almost 11 months ago - so it has had a significant amount of time to dry. The good news is that nothing feels loose. The floor is still very solid despite the gaps and crowning that have occurred.

We do have insurance. I didn't file a claim at the time because I was unsure whether this would be considered error on my part or an accident. Since it has been less than a year, I may give me insurance company a call to discuss.

 

[highup]

You wouldn't know without asking your insurance company. I'd consider that as much an accident as if a log rolled out of your fireplace and burnt deep into the finish by the time you figured out how to remove the flaming pice of wood. It's still an accident.
That would be expensive to fix, so it would be worth checking into.