How to Clean Bamboo Floors

How to clean bamboo floors is part of the process of reviewing your options, buying, and installing new flooring, or something you need to know once the flooring has been installed.

You have most likely spent a considerable amount of time deciding which floor will be suit your interior decoration, followed by making a substantial investment in something you want to last for a long time and retain value for your property.

Once your beautiful bamboo floor has been installed and you have finished admiring it, do take the extra time to find out how best to care for and clean the flooring to ensure it's longevity!

Don't just expect it to look after itself!

Flooring Maintenance

When you purchase your new flooring don't forget to ask the supplier for the maintenance instructions for the type of floor. You should be provided with instructions on how to clean bamboo floors from either the supplier or the installer. Nobody should sell you a new floor without also providing advice and instructions on care and cleaning.

If you were not supplied with care and maintenance recommendations, your best option would be to contact them directly and ask their advice for the care of that particular type of flooring.

The supplier is the most qualified person to give you this after sales and product information, or at the very least tell you how to care for your flooring. If not, it will be the company who designed, manufactured, or installed it that you should inquire with.

Best Practice Floor Care and Cleaning Guide

If you should be unlucky enough to not be able to get any information from your supplier, manufacturer or installation builder, or for some reason are happier if you do your own research, the following provides a useful guide to general practice in how to clean bamboo flooring. The correct care and maintenance will go a longway towards achieving a long life for your flooring.

To maximise the beauty and durability of your floor, following these practices will help you.

• To prevent sand, grit, and moisture from having an impact on your floor, only lay non-abrasive rugs or mats at entrances to the rooms.
• Place colourfast and non-scratch carpeting in areas of high traffic.
• Check with manufacturers to ensure carpeting will not chemically react with the flooring.
• To prevent the dragging of grit and dust across the surface of the floor use soft accessories when you mop, dust, or vacuum. Dust and grit may scratch your flooring surface.
• Learning how to clean bamboo floors includes learning not to use harsh detergents, chemicals, and abrasives. This flooring can be cleaned adequately with a generic hardwood floor cleaner.
• An alternative cleaner can be made by mixing 1/4 cup of white vinegar with one quart of water. Working on small areas and drying each area before continuing is the best practice.
• To prevent spills of excessive water penetrating the surface of your flooring in kitchens and bathrooms, try to use mats where possible. If you are not using mats or don't want to, getting into the habit of cleaning up and spills as soon as possible with a clean dry cloth is good practice to help maintain this type of flooring.
• Do not leave potted plants on the naked surface of your floor. It is better to place a tray under the potted plants and even better if the tray is raised off the surface of the floor so that air can circulate underneath the pot.
• As with other types of wooden floor, high heels and furniture legs can damage it. It is therefore advised to take off high heels and use felt or rubber pads under furniture legs to protect the floor from damage.
• Do not drag or push furniture across your floor. To prevent damaging the floor always carry it if you want to move it.
• Pets claws can sometimes cause damage so keep their nails trimmed!
• UV rays can cause fading to all floor surfaces, particularly where the sun streams in through a window. Using curtains, blinds, or tinting the windows in areas of prolonged high sunlight will prevent uneven fading of the colour.

Try to buy the highest quality flooring you can afford. Cheap flooring will inevitably be of lower quality and therefore be more likely to suffer damage.

As recommended above, do ask your supplier or manufacturing their advice and instructions on how to clean your bamboo floors first, it is their responsibility to give you the best advice.