When you switch2bamboo for any of your clothing, bedding or household items, it’s common to wonder if they need any extra care.
And bamboo flooring is no different.
Being made of, or from, bamboo can have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to cleaning.
So, once you’ve laid your new floor, how do you clean bamboo flooring?
(Looking to buy bamboo floor cleaners? Skip to our favourite sellers here)
How do you clean bamboo flooring?
Bamboo is a great material for making flooring.
Being grass and not wood means that the structure of the material is very different and withstands water much better than wood does.
This makes it perfect for areas in the home usually not suited to a wooden floor, such as your kitchen, bathroom or high-traffic hallway.
Bamboo is also much stronger than wood meaning it does not dent or scratch in the same way that a real wood floor does, and it doesn’t need refinishing as often either!
This makes it a great choice if you have pets too. Moisture resistant, scratch resistant and quieter to walk on than laminate flooring.
Can you steam clean bamboo flooring?
Yes. Bamboo is incredibly moisture resistant but, just as with a wooden floor, you wouldn’t want to allow a steam cleaner to soak it for any length of time.
As long as you don’t allow the steam cleaner to sit in one spot too long it’s perfectly fine to steam clean your bamboo floors.
Bamboo wood is made from strips of bamboo and resin, and these strips act like long straws.
So although very water resistant along the length of the bamboo, the ends of the bamboo wood are to be protected to avoid warping or splitting from water damage.
Daily cleaning
Use a mix of warm water and dish soap in your bucket and use your usual mop to keep it clean and hygienic. It really is that simple.
Deep cleaning
Add 50ml of white vinegar (a cup) with a litre (a quart) of warm water for a deeper, antibacterial clean.
Alternatively, mix one teaspoon of bleach with one litre (a quart) of water for a suitable disinfecting cleaning solution.
Bamboo flooring doesn’t stain or react to bleach in the way that wood does, an added benefit!
Restoration cleaning
Dampen a soft cloth with either lukewarm water on its own or a cleaning solution as mentioned above.
Have a bowl of normal table salt and dab your damp cloth into the bowl.
Use the cloth to really lift the grime taking advantage of the abrasive action of the salt.
Can you wet mop a bamboo floor?
No. Bamboo is incredibly moisture resistant but, just as with a wooden floor, you wouldn’t want to allow water to soak it for any length of time.
Bamboo wood is made from strips of bamboo and resin, and these strips act like long straws.
So although very water resistant along the length of the bamboo, the ends of the bamboo wood are to be protected to avoid warping or splitting from water damage.
How to care for your bamboo bedding and clothing
The washing and drying of bamboo clothing and bedding, including baby items and towels, can be approached in similar ways.
Manufacturers should say whether their fabric is 100% bamboo viscose or rayon, or if it has a mix of fibres it should state this on the label and packaging.
Other bamboo fabrics, such as Lyocell and bamboo linen, have been mechanically ground, pulped with natural enzymes and spun, and are therefore more eco-friendly and a better choice when switching to bamboo.
Lyocell is a soft, semi-synthetic fabric which uses a closed-loop manufacturing process making it more eco-friendly than its distance cousin, Rayon.
It looks and feels soft and will be marketed as bamboo fabric, sometimes mixed with lycra or spandex in order to maintain its shape.
Bamboo linen has the feel of linen. A little rougher around the edges but this is due to the 100% natural, mechanical and chemical-free way it has been processed.
Washing
Bamboo fabric keeps the strength of the bamboo plant and is incredibly durable, outlasting cotton equivalents when cared for properly.
When washing your bamboo items they should be washed in a gentle detergent just as you would wool or other delicate items, on a gentle, cooler cycle of your washing machine.
Washing at a cool temperature or a cold wash helps to maintain the shape of the fabric and reduce possible shrinkage.
Drying
Good
Using a drier on very low heat is okay, but using too high a heat can damage the bamboo fibres or shrink the fabric.
Better
Drying your bamboo items indoors with artificial heat (radiators and air vents) is better but try not to leave them directly on the heat source.
Best
Drying your socks outside is by far the best method. There’s no risk of over-drying which can damage the fibres, the moisture is carried away rather than collecting in your home and you get the added benefit of having that gorgeous outdoors aroma.
The best cleaning solutions for bamboo furniture, floors and household items.
- Household dish soap and lukewarm water make a perfectly suitable solution to wipe down floors, furniture and utensils. Just don’t leave it to soak in and never use the dishwasher for utensils, cutlery or bamboo straws.
- For a deeper clean, mix 50ml of white vinegar (a cup) with a litre (a quart) of warm water and use as above.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of bleach with 1 litre (a quart) of water for a suitable disinfecting cleaning solution for items such as cutting boards or bathroom flooring.
Using a soft-bristled brush in addition to the solutions listed above will not damage your bamboo items and may improve the result, especially on furniture which has been neglected for a while.
For truly ingrained dirt on bamboo furniture try dabbing some normal table salt onto your damp cleaning cloth (along with one of the solutions above) and use the extra abrasive quality of the salt to really lift the grime out.
Looking to switch2bamboo for your flooring?
Shark Steam Cleaner – floor and more!
‘Klik’ to apply the double-sided cleaning pad, then flip the mop head to clean double the floor area. Release the Dirt Grip cleaning pad with the flick of a switch – no need to touch the dirt.
Chemical free steam cleaning from a well known brand.
Vileda Steam Mop
A fast and lightweight way to hygienically clean your floors. Heating up in only 15 seconds you are ready to kill bacteria without using any further cleaning chemicals.
Being lightweight it is also easy to carry around the home.
Suitable for all hard sealed floors, such as tiles, vinyl, wood and laminate, the variable steam setting means you are in total control of the steam strength.
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