The Real Truth about Bamboo Flooring
Every week, a million acres of the world’s forest disappears due to logging. If that sounds upsetting to you, you’re not alone. Many of us are rethinking the wood and paper products we buy for daily life and for our homes.
A tree sixty feet long can take as many years to be replaced once it’s been cut down – forests aren’t renewing themselves quickly enough to meet demand. By comparison, a piece of sixty foot bamboo can be replaced on a bamboo farm in just sixty days. One of the planet’s fastest growing plants, bamboo is an excellent substitute for wood in many uses.
If you use it correctly, bamboo can be just as strong as steel – it even works as rebar in concrete, allowing steel to be used for other things. Bamboo’s a great choice for flooring, as well. Many trees that might have ended up as laminate and hardwood floors can be saved by using bamboo instead.
Bamboo flooring feels a lot like wood, is just as easy to clean, and has the same low tendency to harbor allergens. It’s just as easy to install, and has a warm and natural look. Bamboo flooring is a lot more environmentally friendly and sustainable, however, with a particular look to it that’s like nothing else available.
Most bamboo flooring is what’s called compressed bamboo, though veneered laminate flooring is also on the market. The majority comes pre-finished and is ready to install right out of the package, with many versatile installation options. Make sure you know what you’re buying and what you’ll need for installation before you dive in.
Make sure you learn a little bit about the flooring you buy, since not all bamboo is as sustainable as it could be. When bamboo is grown properly, it doesn’t need much in the way of chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Not every grower takes the time and effort to grow it the right way, however.
Remember to look into the manufacturing processes that your flooring has undergone, since that can affect quality, health factors and sustainability. Toxic glues, cheap bamboo and wasteful processing can produce a flooring that’s inexpensive, but not all that eco-friendly. Talk to the manufacturer when possible.
If you’d like to have a new floor in your home, and you want to make sure you do as little damage to the environment as you can, bamboo is a real possibility. When it’s grown the right way, it pulls carbon dioxide out of the air, decreases erosion, and can even clean up contaminated soils. Add in its fast growth, and bamboo is a viable alternative to wood.
Many different colors and styles are available, depending on how they’re made and what treatments are applied. This allows just about everyone to find the color and look of bamboo that’s perfect for their needs. Remember that darker floors are softer, and can’t take as much damage, but still perform just fine under most circumstances.
If you’ve been on the market for a great floor that provides all the benefits of wood, but you aren’t sure about the environmental impact a hardwood floor might cause, think about bamboo. These beautiful floors are the answer to all your problems!
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