Know Your Floors: Some Facts You Should Know About Bamboo Flooring

The Lowdown on "Green" Bamboo Floors
More and more people have been steadily choosing bamboo not only because it is one of the most attractive and durable flooring options on the market today, but also because it is a sustainable and renewable flooring source. Its use doesn't put too much of a strain on the environment, which makes it a truly environmentally-friendly flooring material.

Carbonized and Blond, Horizontal and Vertical
As far as appearances go, one can find bamboo in two shades: carbonized (dark) and blond (light). These color differences are a result of processes that each bamboo flooring panel has gone through. Blond bamboo is the natural color of bamboo, and has not been boiled for as long as carbonized bamboo. Additional boiling darkens the natural color of bamboo into a soft brown and softens it by around 30%. Though seemingly softer, the hardness of carbonized bamboo is still comparable to that of many hardwood species.

The descriptions "horizontal" and "vertical" refer to the way the individual strips of bamboo are laminated together. In horizontal bamboo planks, strips of bamboo are laid flat to show the natural growth rings of the plant. In vertical bamboo, the strips of bamboo are turned to their sides and laminated together to show long, slender rows.

Cleaning and Maintaining Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring also owes its popularity to its easy maintainability. A dry or damp mop is basically all you need to keep dust and other dirt from accumulating on your floor. Be careful not to overwet your mop as this can damage your bamboo floor in the long run.

Other measures you can take to keep your bamboo floor pristine is to put mats on doorways in order to catch the dust and small pebbles that shoes may track inside a room. It won't hurt if you also follow manufacturer's instructions when installing your bamboo flooring. These instructions are made by the experts wanting the best bamboo flooring experience for their customers.