7Fisher

Did you know that we lose a million acres of forest every single week? Most people don’t, and when they find out, it’s an upsetting realization. That’s what’s causing so many of us to rethink the paper and wood we buy for home use on a regular basis.

A tree harvested at sixty feet long may take a half century or more to be replaced by a new one, and wood is being harvested far more quickly than that. Bamboo, by comparison, takes only about sixty days to replace a stalk of the same length, making it one of the world’s fastest growing plants. Bamboo is a great choice in many of the same uses we currently require wood for.

Bamboo can be as strong as steel under the right conditions, and is used to hold up concrete in place of rebar in some Asian countries. It also makes excellent flooring, and saves many trees that might otherwise have been converted into hardwood and laminate floors.

Bamboo flooring feels a lot like wood, is just as easy to clean, and has the same low tendency to harbor allergens. It’s just as easy to install, and has a warm and natural look. Bamboo flooring is a lot more environmentally friendly and sustainable, however, with a particular look to it that’s like nothing else available.

A lot of the bamboo flooring on the market is compressed bamboo – solid planks of bamboo pressed together – though you can also find bamboo laminated around pressboard, just like hardwood laminate flooring. There are lots of options for installation, and bamboo flooring is almost always pre-finished. Just be sure you know what it is you’re buying and what’s required for installation.

Make sure you learn a little bit about the flooring you buy, since not all bamboo is as sustainable as it could be. When bamboo is grown properly, it doesn’t need much in the way of chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Not every grower takes the time and effort to grow it the right way, however.

Manufacturing processes can affect the quality of bamboo flooring, as well. Products made with low quality bamboo, monocultured materials, or toxic glues, can be unsustainable and unhealthy to have in your home. This is why it’s important to talk to the producer if you can.

If you’d like to have a new floor in your home, and you want to make sure you do as little damage to the environment as you can, bamboo is a real possibility. When it’s grown the right way, it pulls carbon dioxide out of the air, decreases erosion, and can even clean up contaminated soils. Add in its fast growth, and bamboo is a viable alternative to wood.

Many different colors and styles area available, according to how the bamboo is treated and how the flooring is made. That means that you’ll be able to find the color and look that fits best with your home. Remember that darker bamboo isn’t as tough as lighter bamboo, since the heat treating used to color it also softens the material.

If you want a great new floor that offers everything wood can, plus some real environmental benefits, it’s time to take a long look at bamboo. It’s beautiful, easy, nice to look at and environmentally friendly, too.

Visit Bamboozle.com.au – WA’s home of quality bamboo floor. You’ll learn about our most common questions, and get a look at our full range of Premium Bamboo flooring.