The Truth About Bamboo Flooring

Durable, green, the ideal floor. These are some of the claims made about bamboo flooring, which has quickly become a popular choice among businesses and homeowners looking for a modern floor to complement their space. To be fair, many of these claims have their basis in truth, but there are many important facts that the manufacturers fail to mention, facts that may seriously impact your decision to buy bamboo flooring.



For many potential buyers, the most important feature to look for is performance. Will the floor hold up to heavy traffic, pets, and children? Will it stay looking nice for years to come? Bamboo companies claim that their flooring is many times harder than most solid hardwood options, but this is not entirely true. With around 1,600 different species of bamboo, only several of which are actually usable for flooring, there is a lot of room for variance in quality. Add to this a lack of regulations to control quality, and you have a truly daunting market to navigate when shopping for bamboo flooring.



Now for the bit of truth to this claim: bamboo flooring can reach hardness ratings of around 3000. Most do not. While bamboo can reach extraordinary strengths when properly grown, most of it is harvested prematurely so that the manufacturer can speed up production and turn a greater profit. This leads to a floor that has been known to severely dent and scratch the same day it was installed.



The next, and perhaps biggest, claim is that bamboo flooring is eco-friendly. This rises mainly from the extremely fast growth rate of bamboo, which can regenerate within three to five years and reach full maturity around seven years, as opposed to hardwood which can take a hundred years.



Remember how easily most brands of bamboo flooring are scratched and dented? This leads to a higher replacement rate, which means more harvesting. In the long run, this could cancel out the benefits of quick regrowth.



In order to increase their profits, bamboo companies will often clear-cut natural forests to make room for bamboo plantations. This destroys biodiversity and can cause severe erosion, both of which are negative impacts on the environment.



Because the industry is rooted in China, bamboo must be shipped overseas. This consumes a lot of oil and contributes to the problem of global warming. Locally sourced products, like hardwood flooring, do not share this problem.



In the manufacture of bamboo flooring, a lot of chemical glues are used. The glue content in bamboo flooring can vary between 3%-20%, and ensures that thrown-out planks will remain in landfills indefinitely.



Finally, while some companies do make an effort to reduce their environmental impact, there is no governing authority to hold them accountable. The hardwood industry has the FSC. Bamboo has nothing.



One more thing potential buyers should be aware of is the health risk that comes with bamboo flooring. Especially in low-grade products, formaldehyde is used in the glues. Formaldehyde is a gas that has been proven to cause eye, respiratory, and skin irritation. It also causes nausea, can aggravate asthma, and may cause cancer. In products with high formaldehyde content, the cutting and drilling involved in installation can have severe health effects on the installer, and after installation this gas can be released into the air.



The most important thing when shopping for bamboo flooring is to do careful research into each brand you are considering. Do not just take a companies word for the quality of their product, but do your own homework to find out which flooring will actually meet your needs. To stay on the safe side, stick with solid hardwood flooring, which has a longer lifespan, fewer health concerns, and has been proven to be environmentally friendly.



Find out more about the truth behind Bamboo Flooring.