No discussion on bamboo flooring is complete without inputs from agitated homeowners who fell for the beauty of the flooring and are now apparently paying the price. From Ohio to Oregon and Massachusetts to Mississippi, the cry goes up, “Why does my floor scratch if I so much as drop a plastic glass on it?” “Even my dog leaves gouges on the floor!” “I have to walk over moon-sized bumps every day!”



So what really is wrong with your perfectly finished, beautifully laminated, exotically tinted bamboo floor? For starters, you probably didn't look hard enough before you bought it. With numerous retailers selling online and many stores including it in their regular inventory, bamboo flooring was never easier to buy, or harder to authenticate. So perhaps a few tips will help:

Checklist

Bamboo joined together with adhesives and compression agents can actually be harder than oak, but only if it doesn't come from the base or top of the stalk. So find out where your raw material came from

Many mills use immature stalks, not taking time or care to dry the raw bamboo properly (ideally, down to 2-4% of the moisture content). Ask for drying specifications in order to avoid warping and splitting problems later. Also, try and find out whether the bamboo used came from a fully matured plant as opposed to a fully grown one. While a bamboo plant will grow to its full height in about six months, it takes about five years to mature, so you could say there's a difference!

Many of the adhesives that join the bamboo strips together may contain high quantities of urea-formaldehyde that cause indoor air pollution. In fact, many bamboo mills manufacture the adhesives rather than import them. Therefore, make sure you know the nature of the adhesive

The flooring you buy from a large importer may actually have been sourced from a small mill that uses dated techniques and equipment. Check an end of horizontal grain bamboo and see if you can find small gaps between the strips that are filled with adhesives or simply left as they are. What you ought to see are strips cut perfectly and laminated tightly together, with no room for movement

It is best to go for 6-ft length planks rather than 3-ft ones. These are the two sizes available with most manufacturers, and they use straighter, thicker material for the 6-ft planks

Whether your flooring is polyurethane-finished or finished with aluminum oxide-enriched acrylated urethane could mean a difference between a floor that retains its gloss and one that looks like a football team in cleats has been all over it

Most processed bamboo is ‘smoked' to darken its color to the rich earth tones that make bamboo floors such a hit. However, ‘smoking' or ‘carbonizing' softens the bamboo, which may make it unsuitable if your home has children or large pets.

Make the beauty last

Bamboo flooring is typically described as a high-performance product, but it also requires proper care, as do other hardwood floors. A basic maintenance routine protects it from damaging elements could ensure decades of use.

So here's how…

Bamboo flooring needs to be kept free of dirt and dust because even minute particles can cause tiny scratches. A good daily sweep with a soft broom and add-ons like wipe mats ensure that the grit from your shoe soles is not transferred to the floor.

Speaking of shoes, walking all over the floor on stilettos and similar high heels is not a good idea. If you persist, dents will almost inevitably materialize.

If you lovingly drape a protective rug over your floor, make sure it isn't a rubber-backed one. Bamboo needs to breathe to retain its color and such rugs obstruct that process.

The ends of chairs, tables, beds and other furniture need to be blunted with padding. It may seem like a big overhaul, but it pays in the end. And please, please do not drag very heavy furniture across the floor. ‘Lift it' is the operative phrase here.

Tiring but effective – if you can change the position of the your furniture every now and then, the floor reflects the natural change of color evenly.

Usually, your warranty will specify the cleaning products that you can use on your floor. For best results, and to avoid an invalid warranty, stick to those instructions.

If parts of the floor receive more sunlight than others, it would be a good idea to use sunscreens or curtains as a shield and to avoid excess fading. In other words, keep it cool.

Don't leave liquid spills lying around for too long if you don't want to risk irremovable stains.