Why Bamboo Flooring May Be the Best Choice for Your Home
When your home needs new flooring, or you're having a new home built and need to choose flooring materials, you have many more options than just standard carpeting. This includes a range of tile, stone, and wood; each will have its own advantages and disadvantages, but note a few reasons why bamboo might be the best option for your home.
Eco-friendly option
You may hesitate to choose any wood for flooring if you don't want to hurt the environment by harvesting this natural material; however, bamboo is very eco-friendly, as it grows back very quickly. A bamboo plant may mature in as little as three years, whereas many trees take twenty years or more to grow fully! If you love wood floors and the environment as well, bamboo is the right choice.
Cleaning and maintenance
Bamboo is a very dense wood, so it's not likely to absorb water and moisture, making it less prone to show water stains and spots than other wood varieties. It's also more hygienic than tile floors and stone, as these materials are both very porous and will have pits and grooves on the surface. This allows dirt and debris to get ground into those surfaces. You can typically clean bamboo floors with a simple dust mop and even a vacuum to remove dust from between wood slats. Because the wood is so dense, it's also less likely to show scratches and scuff marks over the years, so you may not need to have it repeatedly sanded and then painted or stained as you do other wood varieties.
Fire resistance
Wood floors of any sort may not seem like they would be fire resistant, but the density of bamboo also means it's not very combustible, as it doesn't hold much air that would feed a fire. The coating that is put over bamboo to seal it also makes it less likely to catch fire or allow a fire to spread. If you love wood floors but live in an area prone to brushfires, or are worried about your home's fire risk for any reason, bamboo can be a good choice.
Lightweight
Stone tiles are usually very heavy and may require some added bracing to the subfloor, especially for older homes. Carpeting and its padding can also be somewhat heavy, as can wood like cedar or mahogany. If your home's flooring is older and not in very good condition, bamboo can be the most lightweight option and safest option for the home.