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revealing bamboo flooring problems

Bamboo Flooring Problems And The Solution

by Dylan Johnson

Just because bamboo flooring is widely known as the distinctive and beautiful natural flooring along with the attractive features to meet the home flooring expectations doesn’t mean that no issue exists. In fact, there is still a number of bamboo flooring problems recognized due to some inherent vulnerabilities.

The problems generally include the limited materials and the reactions of the flooring due to humidity, staining agents, liquids and high-foot traffic use which are all the factors to purchase the right flooring products.

Here are the list of bamboo flooring problems and issues that we are going to share you on this page.

Check them all out in the review sections below.

Water Issues Of Bamboo Flooring

Water can be the first element causing issues on bamboo flooring.

Typically, bamboo is more resistant to water damage than the most wood due to its dense material.

Bamboo also comes with the natural antimicrobial properties, making it to be safe for residential use.

However, some inherent vulnerabilities and moisture can still be a big problem for bamboo.

In most cases, warping, staining and plumping can occur easily on bamboo floors whenever the water or other liquids stay on the surface.

Water along with the other liquids also leads to another problem such the growth of mold and mildew, particularly on the subfloor.

Thus, when you choose bamboo flooring, water issues are the first things that you need to consider.

Make sure you know how to overcome the problems if your heart just fall down on bamboo flooring.

Humidity Issues

Though the bamboo floors might not experience puddles and even splashes, they can get damaged by the humidity.

The main home areas that are more prone to this issue are bathrooms and basements.

Believe it or not, the water in the air forms the humidity and cause issue more insidiously than the liquids which are directly attacking the floors.

This way, the amount of moist vapor and the growth of microbial risks will accumulate and finally lead to a long-term damage on bamboo floors.

This, it is much recommended that you avoid installing bamboo floorings on your bathrooms, laundry rooms and basements as well as all the below-grade-installation areas.

Otherwise, you must think about performing the specific maintenance based on the manufacture’s guidance.

In this regards, maintaining bamboo flooring in wet environment is not as easy as you may think of.

There must be a special treatment applied on the floors in order to keep it clean and durable as you wish.

Read Also: Bamboo Flooring Ideas Mix and Match Designs with Pictures

Volatile Organic Chemicals

Volatile Organic chemicals are ones of the bamboo flooring problems that you need to take into account, too.

Though bamboo is a natural material resembling the wood look, it is manufactured through the process of shredding down and molding, heat and pressure as well as adhesive addition.

In most cases, bamboo flooring with the low quality uses adhesive containing volatile organic chemicals (VOC) which are noticeably toxic, causing unhealthy environment.

The only one solution to avoid this chemicals is to purchase the products from the reputable home improvement stores.

This is because they have a high quality of collection on flooring products and provide you with the warranty for your product purchasing.

Scratches Issues

Does bamboo flooring scratch?

Why not?

This is the next issue or problem on bamboo that you need to pay attention to.

Even though it is naturally hard, bamboo can scratch easily due to some certain conditions.

Sharp things like the pets’ nails and your high heels can leave the invisible marks on the floors.

Even your heavy furniture legs that you are carelessly moving also cause scratches.

These will accumulate from times to times, causing a permanent damage to your bamboo floors.

In addition to scratches issues, small particles such as dirt, dust and debris that stay overtime on the floors can also cause a dull broken look.

Hence, proper maintenance is the only way of keeping the floors clean, look like new and even durable.

In this regards, most reputable manufacturers offer guidance on how to maintain the bamboo floors properly and to repair the damaged planks well.

Carbonized Bamboo Flooring Issues

Other bamboo flooring problems which you necessarily know is the carbonization.

Do you realize how carbonization give an impact on the bamboo material?

Carbonizing means heating the bamboo materials in order to get the desired dark color, to reach an aesthetic value and to generally mimic the hardwood look.

As a result, there will be a large number of color hues and shades of the flooring to fit the rooms layout.

However, it causes problem on the floor materials. Carbonization makes the floor materials weak, soft, and more prone to damage because of liquid staining, water flow or abrasion.

As problem may always exist, then a solution must be there to overcome.

To make sure you can use this carbonized bamboo well on your flooring, the product has usually been added by the special coating that is aluminum oxide finished applied on the surface of the flooring product.

Thus, the bamboo floors will just function normally like the other type of bamboo.

Environmental Issues

Bamboo is a natural plant, organic and renewable. It grows through the periodic cycle that takes around three to five years.

This periodic harvesting allows the manufacturers to cut the stalks without taking out their root. That’s why it is not necessarily important to replant them.

This leads to an understanding that bamboo is featuring eco-friendly.

Nevertheless, the process of manufacturing bamboo arises some problems.

As bamboo flooring becomes more and more popular, there are some bamboos overplanting among the farmers.

This can affect the natural balance of both flora and fauna specifically in their environment.

Originally, bamboos are majorly derived from Southeast Asia. Transporting them from the region to other parts of the world is causing a carbon emission resulted from the vehicles. Accordingly, it rises health issues in the environment.

Maintenance Issues

Another bamboo flooring problem you have to recognize is the maintenance issues.

Maintenance is the next important thing to care for after the installation.

Again, maintenance is also one of the most important factors that determine the floors durability.

In maintaining bamboo floors, it is not recommended to use wet mopping, otherwise, it causes a floor damage.

How many times the wet mopping are performed, more damage will accumulate, too.

This can lead a big issue if there isn’t any proper maintenance.

Therefore, most manufacturers provide the consumers with the guidance.

It includes the regular maintenance such as sweeping and vacuuming to clean the dirt, dust and other small particles that potentially cause scratches.

In addition to avoiding the maintenance issue, any spilled water or other liquids must be immediately wiped up just after they fall upon the floors.

Independent Rating Issues

Imagine how challenging the engineers try to introduce the bamboo flooring around the world to make it recognizable internationally.

This way, a product must have an international standard.

In this relation, bamboo flooring is less recognizable internationally except for “Acceptance Criteria For Structural Bamboo” that is aimed to focus on the bamboo usage as load-bearing components instead of being surface coverings.

To know the international rating of a bamboo flooring type, you can just search and find the customers’ reviews.

If it is rated good, it proves that the flooring is popular for its high quality.

Look at where the consumers come from. If they are from the countries around the world, it means that the flooring is internationally good at its rating.

Types of Bamboo Flooring Problems That Makes People Leave

Due to the several bamboo flooring problems exist, there are a few of problems that makes people mostly dislike the flooring.

Those are the humidity factors, the toxins contained in adhesive and the easy-scratches case.

These are the three main problems that makes people avoid using bamboo flooring in their home.

Though there are already the right solutions over the problems, people tend to choose another flooring to make sure that they would not take such an effortful task to care of the floors.

However, most manufacturers keep innovating the bamboo flooring products which offer the best bamboo flooring to meet the people’s need.

In this regards, to find the bamboo flooring products with the minimum risks of getting problems, it is strongly suggested that you look for the reputable stores.

It is due to the reasons that the reputable stores typically sell high quality products from the reputable manufacturers.

Read Also: Bamboo Vs Wood Flooring Review, Which One is Better?

Final Words

Conclusively, bamboo flooring problems do exist on all types of bamboo flooring products.

However, they can be avoided or at least minimized as long as we purchase the high quality bamboo materials, perform the proper installation and maintain the flooring well based on the bamboo flooring types.

It is because each of the flooring products come with their own characteristics that might require different maintenance from one to another.

In this regards, don’t hesitate to ask the home flooring experts for suggestions so that you don’t hesitate to install the wonderful bamboo flooring in your home.