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Bamboo Flooring Pros and Cons

Posted February 14th, 2011 in Environment, Health, Performance by jcolton

There’s a lot of information out there that you need to process if you’re considering bamboo flooring.  With so many important factors to take into account, it can be difficult to make a truly educated decision.  To help with the process, here’s a list of the pros and cons of bamboo flooring:

Pros

  • A rapid regrowth rate (reaching full maturity and hardness in about 7 years) gives bamboo a point in the eco-friendly department.
  • It can be cheaper than more traditional hardwood flooring.
  • Bamboo flooring comes in a variety of styles and colors.

Cons

  • Irresponsible forestry practices (clear-cutting natural forests to make room for bamboo, unnecessary use of fertilizers and pesticides) make it environmentally unfriendly.
  • Formaldehyde-based glues and finishes make bamboo flooring unhealthy for you and the environment.
  • There is no enforcement of fair trade practices or quality control in China, where bamboo originates.
  • Lots of energy must be expended to ship bamboo flooring overseas from China, another hit in the eco-friendly department.
  • Premature harvesting (as early as 3 months) doesn’t allow the bamboo to properly harden, producing soft, non-durable floors.
  • The darker variety of colors results from a special heat treatment that further softens the bamboo.
  • Bamboo flooring cannot be refinished, so a dented, scratched, or otherwise damaged floor must be replaced, which drives up the cost.

So there you have it, the pros and cons of bamboo flooring.  There are far more disadvantages than advantages, but the choice is ultimately yours.

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Bamboo Flooring Cannot Be Refinished

Posted January 3rd, 2011 in Health, Performance by jcolton

Ask different manufacturers, and you’ll get different answers to this question.  However, a careful look at how bamboo flooring is made should provide us with a fairly good idea of whether or not it can be refinished.

First of all, bamboo is not actual wood.  It is a grass, and like all grasses is made of many strands.  Here is the first problem.  When you sand down the surface prior to refinishing, these strands will tear out very easily.  You can see a picture of a sanded bamboo flooring plank below.  The sandpaper used was 100 grit – a much more forgiving grit than would be used if you actually had to refinish an entire floor.  You can see the fibers tearing out at the edges:

The next problem is the formaldehyde so commonly used in bamboo flooring production.  When you sand the floor, this toxic chemical is turned to dust.  Not only will the stench be unbearable, but the health risks will be incredible.  Formaldehyde can cause health problems ranging in severity from eye and throat irritation to cancer.  The dust will end up everywhere, contaminating your house as well as your lungs.

On the topic of glue, so much of it is used in bamboo flooring (as much as 20% glue content!) that a sanded down plank will look hideous, covered in glue pockets.  You can see these blemishes in the picture above.

Since bamboo is not as durable as manufacturers would have us believe, you will eventually have to do something about the dented and scratched surface.  If you can’t refinish it, you will have to replace it.

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Bamboo Flooring is Bad for Your Health

Posted December 20th, 2010 in Health by jcolton

The innate tubular structure of bamboo does not lend itself well to flooring planks.  It must be sliced up and glued together to form the rectangular boards that make up a floor, and it is in this gluing process that another of bamboo flooring’s major flaws is introduced.

Because bamboo is native to China, most bamboo flooring is manufactured in China, where there is little to no regulation over manufacturing methods.  Enter formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent gas commonly used in glues to create bamboo flooring planks.  Formaldehyde is known to cause nausea, burning eyes and throat, breathing problems, and fatigue.  In severe cases, it can trigger asthma attacks and cause cancer.

Formaldehyde gas can be released when bamboo flooring is cut or sanded, making bamboo flooring risky to install.  But even after installation, formaldehyde will leak into the air for years.

So, by installing a bamboo floor in your home, you are bringing in a known toxic chemical.  Reactions to formaldehyde vary from person to person, and what might cause one person to become seriously ill might not effect someone else.  You just have to ask yourself, is it worth the risk?

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