Bamboo Flooring and Bamboo Rugs

In addition to its stunning natural beauty, bamboo flooring is impressively strong and durable. Bamboo flooring is made of one of the hardiest bamboo species. It's cut into strips, dried, and laminated under pressure to produce a floor that's as strong as the most popular hardwood floors. Price-wise, the cost of bamboo flooring is about the same as that for premium hardwood floors.

Bamboo Floors are Tough and Durable

It may seem expensive, but bamboo has been shown to match the durability and toughness of the toughest hardwood floors. If you buy bamboo flooring, it may well be the last flooring you ever buy. Bamboo is stronger than oak and maple, and when laminated is almost as strong as soft steel. Bamboo doesn't shrink or swell like most hardwoods, so it's ideal for flooring and furniture.

Bamboo floors are typically manufactured in 3-foot or 6-foot lengths of tongue-and-groove pieces, which are either nailed down or glued together. Most bamboo flooring suppliers offer styles that include the recognizable bamboo "nodes" every foot or so, or without the nodes visible in the grain.

Most bamboo wood flooring is coated with urethane during manufacturing, to provide an extremely tough, durable surface, but it's possible to buy strips of unfinished bamboo that you can finish yourself.

The bamboo's natural blond color is the most common color of bamboo floors, but it's also available in a dark amber color, which is achieved by smoking, or carbonizing, the wood while it's drying.

Caring for Your Bamboo Floor

Bamboo flooring is as easy to care for as other popular quality wood floors. A broom or dry mop is used to clean it of dust and loose soil, and a non-abrasive hardwood cleaner can be used with a slightly damp mop for additional cleaning. Excess water should be avoided — the mop should be only slightly damp. And never use abrasive cleaners or abrasive cleaning pads on your bamboo flooor.

Bamboo Rugs

Woven bamboo mats and bamboo rugs are also popular, for spots where an area floor covering is desired but carpet is not. Bamboo mats are made of flat woven bamboo strips for a tropical look. Many bamboo mats can be used either indoor or out, and are popular on porches and in other outdoor areas.

Bamboo rugs add an elegant, contemporary look to any home. Quality bamboo rugs are also very durable, as well as easy to maintain.