Bamboo flooring offers a durable, eco-friendly, and attractive flooring option for homeowners. However, like any flooring material, bamboo is not without its potential downsides. Being aware of the most common bamboo flooring problems can help homeowners make an informed decision when choosing floors and properly care for them.
Scratching and Denting
One of the biggest complaints about bamboo floors is that they dent and scratch relatively easily compared to harder wood floors. Bamboo flooring has a Janka hardness rating of around 1,200 to 1,400, while hardwoods like oak often exceed 1,500. This means bamboo can be prone to surface scratches from pet nails, furniture legs, shoes, dropping objects, and other impacts.
To prevent scratches and dents:
- Use furniture pads under chair and table legs
- Keep pet nails trimmed
- Remove shoes when walking on the floor
- Use area rugs in high traffic zones
- Avoid letting hard objects fall on the floor
- Clean with a non-abrasive bamboo floor cleaner
Minor scratches can be reduced by refinishing the floors. However, deep scratches may require replacing planks. Opting for strand woven or carbonized bamboo can provide a harder, more scratch-resistant surface.
Susceptibility to Water Damage
Like other wood floors, bamboo can suffer water damage from spills, pets, dripping appliances, and other excess moisture. Bamboo floors with an aluminum oxide finish tend to be more water-resistant than other finishes like polyurethane. But even then, water should be wiped up immediately to avoid issues.
Signs of water damage on bamboo floors include:
- Cupping or curling planks
- Discoloration or dark water stains
- Mold or mildew growth between planks
- Loose, squeaky, or popping planks
Preventing water damage involves:
- Sealing expansion gaps and perimeters
- Using leak-proof appliances
- Avoiding wet mopping or over-wetting
- Deploying humidity controls
- Quickly wiping spills and pet accidents
Spot repairing water damaged planks is often unsuccessful. In most cases, warped or stained planks need replacement. Homeowners insurance may cover water damage costs if the cause was a pipe burst, appliance leak, or weather event.
Hollow Spots and Popping Sounds
Hollow spots that sink underfoot and make popping or clicking noises are a nuisance issue with some bamboo floors. This happens when poor construction leaves gaps between the bamboo planks and subfloor. The planks can flex down into the void space when stepped on.
Fixing hollow spots and noises requires:
- Identifying if gaps are due to uneven subfloor or inadequate adhesive
- Filling gaps with wood filler or pieces of bamboo to stabilize planks
- Gluing down loose planks again if not adhered properly initially
- Top coating with an adhesive sealer if the floor was a floating click-together installation
Prevention involves carefully inspecting the subfloor for flatness during installation and using flooring adhesives as needed. Strand-woven bamboo is less prone to hollow spots than vertical or horizontal grain bamboos.
Susceptibility to Mold
Like other natural wood floors, bamboo can develop mold growths when exposed to excess moisture. Spores landing on the floor can flourish into mold colonies when plank edges, corners, and seams become wet. Basements, bathrooms, and kitchens are particularly high-risk areas.
Limiting bamboo mold issues requires:
- Maintaining indoor humidity under 45 percent
- Avoiding over-wetting from damp mops, spills, or leaks
- Sealing perimeter gaps to deter moisture ingress
- Using dehumidifiers and fans to dry wet spots immediately
Killing bamboo mold requires a combination of:
- Manual scrubbing with detergent and water
- Applying hydrogen peroxide or vinegar solutions
- Lightly sanding to remove surface mold residue
- Ozone treatments to kill mold roots in plank pores
Preventing re-growth involves addressing the underlying moisture source and improving climate controls. Extreme mold cases may necessitate replacing affected planks.
Fading and Discoloration
When exposed to prolonged sunlight, bamboo floors can suffer fading and changes in color tone. UV radiation break downs the lignin in bamboo, causing ambering color shifts over time. Lighter colored bamboo tends to show fading and discoloration more noticeably.
Limiting light damage:
- Keeping blinds and curtains drawn on sunlit windows
- Installing UV window film to filter sunlight
- Avoiding natural and artificial light reflections on the floor
- Using area rugs to block high traffic spots from light
Rotating area rugs periodically evens out discoloration. Refinishing may be required to sand away faded top layers. Fumed or thermally modified bamboo offers superior color stability over other forms like natural carbonized bamboo.
Difficulty Refinishing
While bamboo can be refinished and resanded like hardwood, it poses some challenges:
- Bamboo has a thin veneer layer, limiting how many times it can be refinished before reaching the ply below
- Bamboo’s density can quickly wear down sandpaper and dull refinishing equipment
- The ray fleck patterns on bamboo fade with sanding, losing visual appeal
- Open grains tend to get filled with dust during sanding, affecting stain absorption
- Carbonized bamboo’s color permeates through, complicating stain color changes
Best practices for refinishing bamboo include:
- Lightly sanding by hand instead of heavy machine sanding
- Vacuuming up dust between sanding steps
- Applying wood filler to open grains prior to staining
- Opting for low-VOC water-based stains and finishes
- Screening floors instead of sanding to preserve flecking
For homeowners that want to repeatedly change up their bamboo floors’ coloring, choosing strand woven options or installing a wood veneer over bamboo cores will provide the most refinishing flexibility.
Off-Gassing Formaldehyde
Some bamboo flooring, especially cheap imports, can off-gas higher levels of formaldehyde. This volatile organic compound (VOC) can cause eye and respiratory irritation for sensitive individuals. Formaldehyde is added during manufacture as an adhesive component.
Shoppers should look for:
- Floors certified by CARB, FloorScore, EcoCert, or Greenguard to limit VOCs
- Brands using safer adhesives like soy, acrylic, or latex
- Products with low microscopic void percentages
- Asking for off-gassing test data from manufacturers
Allowing new bamboo floors to air out fully prior to occupation can help dissipate initial VOC release. Periodically cleaning with low-VOC detergents also keeps gas exposure low for occupants.
Labor-Intensive Installation
Compared to laminates or vinyl plank flooring, bamboo’s installation is more time-consuming and skill-intensive. The planks cannot simply be floated over foam or snapped together.
Proper bamboo flooring installation involves:
- Acclimating the flooring to interior humidity for up to two weeks
- GLUING down planks rather than nailing, due to hardness and brittleness
- Careful attention to compressing expansion gaps and seam stagger
- Utilizing moisture barrier underlayments
Failing to glue planks correctly results in hollow spots, loosening, squeaking, and early failure. Trying to install bamboo like a laminate floating floor nearly guarantees problems. The complexity makes do-it-yourself installation challenging for novices. Hiring a seasoned hardwood flooring contractor is advisable.
Losing Stability Over Heating Systems
Bamboo expands and contracts with humidity changes. But it also expands and shrinks in response to temperature fluctuations. Radiant heating systems that heat flooring directly can gradually cause bamboo planks to shrink, warp, separate, and develop gaps during the winter heating season.
Avoiding issues with bamboo over radiant heat requires:
- Using strand woven bamboo rather than vertical or flat grain varieties
- Keeping the flooring at a stable temperature year-round
- Gradually increasing heat levels over weeks when first turning on the system
- Maintaining indoor humidity between 40-60% to limit sudden plank movement
- Considering installing heat diffusion plates over the heating pipes
Bamboo flooring is not an ideal choice for radiant heating systems compared to very stable options like porcelain tile. But taking precautions can let bamboo perform adequately over radiant systems.
Susceptibility to Indentations
Point loads like stiletto heels, ladder feet, or appliance legs can push indentations into bamboo’s relatively soft surface, compared to harder exotic woods. This becomes more of an issue if flooring is improperly installed over soft subflooring.
Reducing susceptibility to indentations includes:
- Opting for vertically oriented bamboo grain patterns
- Selecting carbonized or compression-milled strand woven bamboo
- Installing over subfloorings like plywood rather than loose OSB or concrete
- Using area rugs to avoid concentrated loads
- Placing floor protectors under furniture legs and other objects
Minor indentations may be reduced by steaming the spot and using weights to flatten the flooring again. But deep craters require plank replacement.
Difficulty Sourcing Responsibly Harvested Bamboo
With bamboo’s surging popularity, some manufacturers have turned to questionable quick-growing and harvesting practices that are environmentally irresponsible. Examples include:
- Clear cutting old growth bamboo groves
- Overusing pesticides and chemical fertilizers
- Mislabeling bamboo species used
- Dangerous worker conditions and unfair wages
- Using harmful binders and glues with high VOCs
Environmentally conscious homeowners should thoroughly research suppliers and favor:
- Bamboo certified by the FSC, SCS, or other eco-groups
- Manufacturers with documented sustainable harvesting
- Fair trade companies that monitor worker welfare
- Local producers that allow site visits and audits
- Options using low-VOC adhesives like soy, acrylic, and latex binders
While bamboo can be eco-friendly, the variations in sourcing and manufacturing practices make careful supplier selection essential for maintaining sustainability.
Prone to Nodes Popping on Strand Woven
On strand woven bamboo, the compressed nodes where bamboo stalks intersect can occasionally loosen and pop up, creating bumps across the floor. This occurs most frequently on lower-quality bamboo using excessive compressive milling stresses to flatten nodes.
Preventing nodes from releasing involves:
- Purchasing strand woven bamboo using mature stalks with denser nodes
- Ensuring the flooring has a smooth, even finish across nodes
- Inspecting flooring closely prior to purchase for node tightness
- Gluing down flooring well onto the subsurface
- Opting for vertical or horizontal grain bamboo construction without nodes
Raised nodes pose tripping hazards and make it harder to clean floors. Sanding and refinishing can shave down loose nodes to smooth planks again. But preventing the issue with quality flooring selection is ideal.
Difficulty Adding New Planks for Repairs
Unlike wood flooring which can be sanded and blended for new plank additions, bamboo flooring repairs face challenges:
- The compressed nodes create a pattern that is hard to match
- Fading and oxidation differences make color-matching difficult
- The solid planks are not designed for partial replacement like engineered wood
- Edge swelling reduces seam tightness over time
- Previous finishes impact stain absorption
Therefore, replacing damaged bamboo planks often ends up being a whole-floor sand and refinish task. The complexity makes DIY spot repairs frustrating. Planning ahead with attic plank stock can simplify replacements.
Not as Hard as Some Exotic Hardwoods
While bamboo has excellent hardness compared to domestic maple, oak, and birch, it cannot rival the Janka ratings of tropical hardwoods like Brazilian walnut, tigerwood, and Patagonian rosewood. This means for homeowners wanting extremely durable and indentation-resistant flooring, some exotic species surpass bamboo. However, sourcing exotic woods raises environmental concerns.
Prone to Seam Failures with Improper Installation
Being a solid plank flooring, bamboo expands and contracts based on moisture changes. When initial seams are not properly compressed or expansion gaps managed, planks can push against each other and cause seam failures. This manifests as seam peaking, gapping, or out-of-square joints.
Preventing installation issues requires:
- Proper acclimation to interior conditions before installation
- Using careful staggered joint patterns between rows
- Correctly setting subfloor flatness and stability
- Applying flexible adhesives when gluing planks rather than rigid ones
- Compressing seams with seam straps during installation
Repairing seam failures necessitates taking up planks and re-installing sections from scratch. Using an experienced installer is the best way to prevent improper initial seam compression and alignment issues over the long term.
Prone to Cupping from Water Exposure
Cupping, or planks curling up at the edges, afflicts bamboo flooring that gets wet from spills, cleaners, or other sources. Moisture permeates unevenly across plank width, causing the edges to swell upward as the center stays stable.
Avoiding cupping requires:
- Swift mopping up of spills and leaks
- Keeping edge gaps and seams sealed against moisture
- Allowing floors to fully dry after cleaning before resealing for occupancy
- Maintaining indoor humidity between 40-60%
Light cases of cupping may be reversed by fully drying the flooring. But severe cupping necessitates replacing planks. Moisture sensors can help monitor relative humidity levels.
Difficult to Restore Original Flatness Once Warped
If bamboo flooring is left wet too long, planks can irreversibly warp and deform out of their original flat shape. Unfortunately, unlike solid hardwoods, it is nearly impossible to sand warped bamboo planks back to level again once the material deforms.
Warping prevention relies on:
- Never wet mopping or soaking bamboo floors
- Addressing moisture sources like leaks immediately
- Wiping spills right away
- Avoiding direct sunlight exposure on floors through windows
Severe warping requires total flooring replacement. Being proactive with water avoidance is key to prevent permanent plank deformation issues.
Prone to Adhesive Breakdown Over Time
Bamboo flooring needs robust construction adhesives to stay bonded to the subsurface, prevent hollow spots, and withstand dimensional changes. However, some adhesives can weaken and deteriorate over time, causing planks to release. This may necessitate re-gluing sections of flooring.
Quality adhesive selection involves:
- Opting for durable hypoxy and polyurethane formulations
- Choosing flexible adhesives to accommodate movement
- Applying adhesive adequately across planks during installation
- Avoiding adhesives that emit high VOCs as they cure
Re-adhering released planks requires removing trim and re-applying fresh adhesive to secure them again. Avoiding initial adhesive failures reduces the need for repairs down the road.
Prone to Finish Scratching and Wear
The aluminum oxide or polyurethane coatings on bamboo add scratch, stain, and moisture resistance. However, these finishes can gradually get compromised by heavy traffic, pets, and furniture movement. This allows the underlying bamboo material to get damaged.
Extending finish durability requires:
- Routinely cleaning floors gently with microfiber mops
- Avoiding abrasive cleaners or scouring pads
- Using rugs and floor protectors under furniture
- Keeping pet nails trimmed down
- Reapplying fresh protective coats annually
Localized finish repairs or full resanding and recoating may be needed approximately every 5-10 years for finish renewal and to refresh bamboo’s appearance.
Prone to Plank Gapping in Dry Conditions
Bamboo naturally shrinks as moisture evaporates out of the material. During the winter in homes with significant indoor humidity loss, bamboo’s dimensions can decrease enough for unsightly gaps to emerge between once tight-fitting planks.
Preventing winter plank gapping requires:
- Using humidification systems to maintain 40-60% indoor humidity
- Sealing room perimeters and floor edges to contain moisture
- Avoiding overheating rooms which dries the air further
- Keeping gap spacing in recommended ranges during installation
For existing gapping issues, using hygrometers can identify issues of low humidity. Refastening loose planks or filling gaps with slivers of bamboo can help reduce visible shrinkage gaps.
Susceptibility to Insect Infestations
Like most wood flooring, bamboo is an organic material susceptible to damage from wood boring beetles, termites, and other pests. However, bamboo contains silica and other compounds that can deter many insects. Proper preventative treatment provides added protection.
Reducing bamboo’s pest risks involves:
- Getting floors professionally treated with borate solutions or similar
- Ensuring exterior perimeter seals stay intact
- Keeping indoor humidity within 40-60% range
- Periodically inspecting for tiny holes or frass dust near seams
Catching infestations promptly is key to limit damage. Insecticide treatment or fumigation may be required in severe cases. Preventative treatments done during installation provide the first line of defense in termite-prone regions.
Prone to Damage from High Heels
The concentrated loads of narrow stiletto or high heels can exert over 1,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. With bamboo’s medium density fiber structure, such point loads drive into floors more readily than into harder exotic woods. This causes ugly indented divots and damage.
Preventing heel indentations and punctures means:
- Enforcing “no shoes” rules inside homes
- Routinely using area rugs in high heel traffic zones
- Maintaining proper interior humidity to keep floors resilient
- Opting for strand woven carbonized bamboo for maximum hardness
Unfortunately, heel damage may require plank replacement once punctures or deep craters form. Wider heels distribute loads more safely. But tall narrow heels remain notorious bamboo floor destroyers.
Susceptibility to UV Light Damage
Sunlight breaking down lignin in bamboo causes ambering, fading, and discoloration, especially with extended exposure. Flooring in sunlit rooms is particularly at risk. Light reflected off floors and large picture windows can exacerbate