The parquet made of bamboo is at the peak of popularity today. However, even such a seemingly perfect material can create certain bamboo flooring problems.
The parquet made of bamboo is at the peak of popularity today. However, even such a seemingly perfect material can create certain bamboo flooring problems in case of the wrong care of it.
Humidity
The bamboo floor is more dense, and steady against water impact than the majority of wooden floor coverings. It has some weak natural antibacterial properties.
However, you shouldn’t consider that the bamboo is impregnable for moisture. It’s not true. Moisture still constitutes a danger to a bamboo. When installing it in the damp areas, where liquids can accumulate on the surface of the floor made of bamboo, the board can be warped, condensed and painted. It also leads to the growth of a fungus and mold, especially on the draft floor. You shall avoid the use of a bamboo in bathrooms. But if decided to lay a bamboo, choose a quality product and constantly look after it.
Even if bamboo flooring does not collide with splashes and puddles, humidity may still cause damage. Such rooms as bathrooms and basements are especially inclined to these problems. Moisture in the air can really be more artful, than a hit of the liquid. Getting through cracks and crevices, moist vapor can cause damages to both boards and a draft floor, causing a growth of microbes.
Scratches
Nothing spoils the appearance of the bamboo floor, such as scratches. Their most part of them is, as a rule, result of careless movement of furniture. To avoid the emergence of such scratches, it is enough to glue pieces of felt to furniture legs. However, not only furniture can damage bamboo parquet. The danger for it are sharp-heeled shoes, sports shoes with thorns, and also the dirt getting from the street in the form of sand and small stones.
Therefore if you want to keep a bamboo parquet in good shape as long as possible, remember several simple rules:
- don’t walk on a floor in street footwear;
- daily carry out the dry cleaning of a floor by means of the vacuum cleaner;
- regularly clear rugs at an entrance to the house of dirt and dust.
Cracking
The floating bamboo flooring can be happened after installation, in such way it looks for the place because of what such defects are formed. In spite of the fact that the bamboo is considered as strong and durable material, it can be cracked from excessively strong pressure. It is important to remember it upon purchase of massive and heavy furniture. For the purpose of a uniform load, distribution of light furniture is recommended to be rearranged periodically, and heavy one – to establish not on a parquet, but on special supports. It can help to avoid the strand woven bamboo flooring problems.
Deformation and delaminating
The bamboo parquet doesn’t take out excessive moisture. Continuous and prolonged exposure to the water quite quickly leads to the fact that the bamboo begins to cave in first, and then flake. However, it is quite simple to avoid this problem. It is enough to wring out properly a rag during damp cleaning and at once to wipe any spill of water, not allowing it to stagnate on the floor. In such way, you can avoid the shrinking of bamboo floor.
Change of color
The parquet made of bamboo can change the color for two reasons: intensive influence of a sunlight and incorrectly picked up detergents. From the constant exposure to sunlight, parquet loses color saturation, in other words, dull and faded. Small rugs on a floor and blinds at windows will help to cope with this problem successfully. What about the chemicals for mopping – they influence a bamboo much more aggressively than the sun. From some of them, the parquet can not only lose color but also become covered by ugly spots. In avoidance of it, use only special means for bamboo floors during cleaning and precisely follow the recommendations specified on the label.
Emission of toxins
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers of a bamboo parquet adhere to safe technologies in case of its production. In some countries, it is made by means of glues and sealants, which contain highly toxic substances, for example, formaldehyde. Such floor actively evaporates toxins and can’t be considered as environmentally friendly. To avoid this problem, buy a bamboo parquet only from the well-known manufacturers and surely check the presence of appropriate certificates at sellers.
Caring for bamboo parquet to avoid problems with bamboo flooring
Competent installation and care of bamboo parquet will provide preservation of ideal appearance. The procedures do not require a lot of time and financial investment. It will be sufficient to make regularly dry sweeping, and once a week to wipe a floor with a damp rag without any chemical components. The bamboo is material, which is exposed to mechanical damage at the average degree. To avoid scratches or small chips, on legs of furniture it is necessary to paste slips from felt or other dense, but soft fabric. Also, it is easy to sand a bamboo flooring.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the bamboo parquet belongs to expensive floor coverings. Therefore, preventing similar problems, you will save yourself not only from unpleasant surprises but also from essential expenses. Moreover, in response to your care, a bamboo floor will serve to you, not for one decade. Naturalness and durability are the main qualities that profitable distinguish bamboo parquet from other types of floor coverings.
What are the bamboo flooring problems and how to avoid them?
If you put bamboo down, use a underlayment, I would not recommend gluing to the foundation. I live in Texas and put bamboo floor in all four bedrooms. The two rooms on the north side of the house is deteriorating. I was told it’s because of moisture, from the concrete foundation, even through the contractor applied the Mapei Moisture Control Adhesive.