Flooring moisture damage

[homeowner12]

I am trying to determine best way to fix the buckling problem on floating clicklock laminate floors in our lower level. Few months ago, we noticed few spots buckling up and thought it may have been due to a faulty installation (i.e. not leaving enough expansion gap). We removed the click lock in one room and notice that there is moisture on the underlayment padding, moisture barrier and also on parts of the plywood subloor. The plywood has become warped (elevated) in some areas.

We did have a leak from the water line to the fridge few months back which I'm thinking might have introduced moisture to the sublfoor. The plywood is nailed to the concrete slab foundation of the house (no joists).

Few questions I have are:

1) The plywood has moisture but doesn't seem totally damaged and I'm wondering if I need to pull out the plywood and replace it or can I let it dry out? If I can keep the plywood, should I sand down the warped areas?

2) I was thinking of removing the plywood and installing ceramic tiles (or even vinyl tiles as I've heard these are better for moisture prone areas) but seems like removing the plywood will be the most difficult job since it looks to be nailed down to the concrete slab. Any suggestions on removing the plywood?

3) Could mopping this type of click lock flooring cause moisture problems? Whats the best way to clean?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[nealtw]

I use a Bissel Steam mop to clean what I have left of my lam floor, the rest was spoiled with a plumbing leak when it was new, replaced it with tile. The first thing you need to find out is if the perimeter drain is clear and taking water away from the foundation . I would remove the wettist part of the plywood and let the concrete dry out and see what happens when it rains. If the drains are clear and working and you still get moisture you could have waterproofing problem on the foundation wall. The vapour bearier should have been below the plywood but with nails driven thru it how effective is it. For pulling nails pick up a nail bar, it's a small crow bar you hammer down in front of the nail and under the head and pull it.