Pros and Cons of Bamboo Flooring — Honest Pros and Cons
Bamboo flooring has replaced traditional hardwood flooring in many places such as home and commercial buildings as an eco-friendly, beautiful and affordable characteristic over a decade. Bamboo flooring is easy to install and they are made up of a natural renewable material with varieties of styles and colours.
Among the materials that have the property to replace hardwood flooring bamboo is one of them. However, just as hardwood has its advantages and disadvantages so does bamboo. Bamboo floors give a classy modern style to the floor with an exotic look that is relatively inexpensive, which catches the eye of many consumers.
There are many brands in the market. In the first hand before choosing bamboo flooring, it is necessary to understand the properties of the material to utilize the better product.
Therefore understanding the pros and cons of any type of flooring before purchasing is crucial and be sure to consult personnel for the better flooring which might suit your lifestyle. Here are some pros and cons of bamboo flooring.
Pros Of bamboo flooring
1. Eco-friendly
The bamboo plant is natural which shows its eco-friendly. It’s able to grow completely within three to five years, which is much more than some trees which take more than twenty years.
Bamboos can regrow itself within 5–7 years (compared to oak trees which take 20–120 years to mature only). It can absorb more carbon than other hardwood forests, reducing the amount of carbon. It definitely has the upper hand on hardwood other types of flooring.
Bamboo flooring is creating its own market as it fits well with some of the most popular trends and styles. It’s new in the market yet attractive, its elegant and similar to hardwood.
It has the appearance and feels similar to hardwood with edge grain planks identical to hardwood. You are lucky if you want a stylish, clean, and contemporary design as its light in colour and provide a natural feel, fragrance and brightens the space.
3. Durability
The durability of bamboo varies with its quality as some types of bamboo are stronger and more durable than traditional hardwood. The un-carbonized bamboo can be stronger and durable as red oak if manufactured and harvested properly.
As well as certain strand-woven bamboo can also be processed to be even harder and more durable. The durability of the bamboo makes it reliable and sustainable.
4. Refinishing
The refurnishing property of bamboo is also important as you can remodel it. As time passes bamboo might be scratched, discoloured or stained.
Refinishing the top layer of the surface and giving it a finishing coat will give it a new look. But, it depends on the thickness of the plank. More the thickness much better refurnishing is possible.
5. Natural Material
As the generation is being more concerned about the environment they live in and the contribution they can give. The research shows having the natural feel and fragrance brings calmness and steadiness to your mind, people are attracted to bamboo flooring.
They prefer materials and designs that don’t involve modern technology manufactured in industries producing many wastages. Bamboo flooring at home provides a feeling of nature and individual personality.
6. Easy maintenance
The bamboo floor never asks for more as it’s very easy to maintain. The small particle debris can be removed by using sweep or vacuum regularly.
The mop can be used while cleaning the floor with water and mild soap (mop should be squeezed to drain excessive water), it provides a shiny look to bamboo. There is ready-made cleaners like non-wax or alkaline free solution or any bamboo or hardwood flooring cleanser.
7. Pest Resistant
Bamboo itself is a natural resource. It has the property to survive and certain immunity to repel insects. And bamboo is not grown under the influence of pesticides as well as safe from termites and bug which is pretty attractive.
Some of the bamboo floorings even resist the claws of your pets and you know how kids play. It not fully irresistible but compared to hardwood flooring it’s better.
8. Resistant to Water Damage
Bamboo is a bit more resistant to water than traditional hardwood flooring to some extent. It is naturally resistant to bacteria, mould, stains, warping and mildew. Using a damp cloth to dry the floor as soon as the water or liquid spills on the floor is advised.
There is a wide range of varieties in bamboo. Strand woven bamboo is much harder than hardwood flooring while natural bamboo is light golden in colour.
Bamboo is carbonized to give it a darker colour. Stained bamboo can give abstract streaks for pale bamboo in a light, medium or a dark shade.
Bamboo is a natural product and its ability to regrow makes it available in the market. That’s why it’s cheaper than the hardwood floors.
Many fields have been planted to harvest bamboo in large scale for commercial purposes. Considering in mind that low-cost bamboo cannot always be better. You need to do a little survey and research to recognize its quality.
Cons Of bamboo flooring
1. Volatile Organic Chemical Emission
During the manufacture of bamboo floors slicing or shredding the stalk of the bamboo plant and during adhesion of pieces back together requires heat, pressure and resin-based adhesive.
This adhesive releases volatile organic chemicals into airspace over the house polluting the environment. As the level of adhesive and the amount of VOC’s emission varies depending on how the planks are manufactured.
2. Scratches
Bamboo floors are easy to maintain but it’s impossible to keep it perfect. There are many causes for the nasty scratches on the surface of the bamboo floor.
High heels, furniture legs, sharp objects falling on the floor and especially kids and pet claws will cause some serious damage on the floor. Small grits and tiny particles of sand or dirt will also do harm to the floor.
3. Grading System
There are no official grading system or independent system being used to rate the quality of the bamboo. The review and the grades are given by the retailers themselves on their websites or advertisement.
This makes it impossible to find the imperative and reliable quality of flooring dealer to obtain A-grade material. This is the important drawback that has to be taken care of instantly for better consumption, quality and enhancement of the product’s business.
4. Low-quality Brands
There are brands that will give you a lifetime bonus but need to compromise with the product, that’s not worth it. The shrinking of the bamboo and quality that might get frequent scratches are the problem faced due to lack of manufacturing procedure.
Do your research and you will get the best. The sites that might help you are Yelp, Ripoff, Complaints Board and the BBB.
5. Commercial Harvesting
Due to the benefits here comes the drawback like irresponsible forestry and illegal harvesting of bamboo plants. This harms the ecosystem and the outcome of the product. They even harvest bamboo prematurely (early as five to six months) resulting in the production of soft, non-durable floors.
Bamboo is a highly renewable resource, still, there are a number of environmental concerns regarding bamboo. Though it provides greenery and oxygen to the environment. Excessive deforestation of the fields to be replaced with bamboo fields for a commercial purpose is a serious environmental issue.
6. Damage Caused by Water
Bamboo is water-resistant than other traditional hardwood materials. But being a natural and organic material, excessive moisture might harm the bamboo floors causing warping and discolouration.
They can even change shape as the humidity changes, resulting in cracks. Bamboo flooring is not suitable for bathrooms or basements where the environment is moist.
7. Design Limitations
It doesn’t suit every interior decor. Even Though it looks pretty good in modern homes but reduces the versatility of interior designing.
Still, the drawbacks might occur the same way as it did in traditional home’s vintage aesthetic. If you are not serious about your interior and flooring that might be a disaster.
8. Lack of Hardness
In the process of manufacturing if the bamboo is not properly matured and hardened because they are harvested very early.
Even though the flooring might look great it won’t be durable and will lack hardness. The darker planks are softer ones because of the carbonization process to colour them.
References
(Last Updated On: March 8, 2020)
Originally published at https://honestproscons.com on November 17, 2019.
