How to Care for Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring
While strand woven bamboo flooring is very durable and much more hard wearing than traditional bamboo, properly caring for your floor will protect it from potential damage and make sure that it continues to look its best for decades after installation. Caring for bamboo flooring is much the same as caring for other types of hardwood floors. Proper care will reward you with many years of enjoying the natural beauty provided by bamboo flooring. We have compiled tips and care information below to help you in maintaining the longevity and natural beauty of your new floor.
As with any natural flooring, it is best to use protective pads underneath the ends of chair, table, and cabinet legs. Felt pads are preferable and casters should be avoided or used with fabric caster cups or floor protectors underneath of them. When moving furniture, don’t drag it across the floor or you will scape up the floor
In addition to taking care with furniture, make sure to not wear high heals, cleats, or other types of shoes that involve strong pointed ends as these can damage the floor as well. Trim the nails of any pets you have regularly – this is good for your pet as well as good for protecting your floor!
If you decide you would like to put down any area rugs over your bamboo floor, choose they types that are suitable for use with wood flooring. Rugs that are backed with rubber can cause discoloration of any natural flooring as the rubber cuts off the oxygen supply to the wood.
Use a soft bristled broom for daily sweeping. Regular sweeping will keep dirt from accumulating on your floor and make sure that it doesn’t scratch up the floor when you do sweep. It is best to dedicate one broom for inside the house on your bamboo and a separate one for other areas such as the patio or garage. This will keep the hard particles that are likely to accumulate in work areas or outdoors from scratching your new bamboo floor.
When mopping, avoid using any ammonia based cleaners or other cleaners with strong chemicals. There are environmentally safe cleaners that are designed specifically for bamboo and these are generally the best to use. If your cleaner isn’t labeled specifically for bamboo, make sure that it doesn’t contain harsh chemicals, is safe for hardwood floors, and test it out first on a small hidden area or test plank. Give at least 24 hours after testing to make sure that the color and finish isn’t damaged by the cleaning product. Microfiber mops work very well for bamboo floors as they are gentle and also easy to clean up afterwards. Do not wax bamboo floors. Strand woven bamboo flooring will come with a warranty from the manufacturer – use of certain types of chemicals on the floor itself will invalidate this warranty so be sure to read it and use only materials that the manufacturer reccommends.
As with any natural flooring, the humidity levels in your home will effect the floor. Bamboo does best with humidity levels between 30-60%. If you don’t run an air conditioner in your home, you may need to consider monitoring the humdity levels. If your area is very dry, you may want to consider installing a humidifier if the levels are below 30% for extended periods of time. All types of wood flooring with either shrink or swell and eventually crack with humidity outside of the appropriate ranges.
Harsh, direct sunlight will cause your new strand bamboo flooring to bleach out over time. If you have a window that provides this type of light, consider adding screens or blinds to help protect your flooring. Furniture and rugs should also be moved around periodically as a natural floor ages. This will help ensure that any fading that does happen is spread throughout the whole floor. Also take care with plants that are placed directly on the surface of your strand woven bamboo flooring. If they leak regularly on the floor, they will cause staining and discoloration.
