Can bamboo flooring really help save the worlds' environment?
Probably not on its own, but its an excellent example of how
consumers can vote with their buying dollars to sway market
demand to bring more environmentally friendly products into the
marketplace.
Bamboo flooring is a rising trend in home flooring and a great
alternative to traditional hardwood floors. It is the most
environmentally friendly natural hardwood flooring alternative
you can select for your home, it is a renewable resource, is
stronger than steel, and has a greater resistance to expansion
and contraction problems associated with temperature and
humidity changes.
The bamboo grass is one of the fasted growing plants on the
planet, only takes 5 years to grow to maturity, and can provide
25 times the bio mass of a comparable stand of trees. Bamboo is
harvested every 5 years, and starts to re-grow immediately with
new shoots when harvested. Bamboo is also strong and has a
tensile strength exceeding mild steel. It can withstand up to
50,000 pounds of pressure per square inch versus some steels
50,000 psi ratings.
Bamboo flooring is also become a very trendy interior design
statement with its rich and beautiful golden earth tones. It is
important to shop around for a quality bamboo flooring product
that contains no formaldehydes in its binding compounds. Many
offshore brands use cheaper binding agents that may contain
formaldehydes, and this can cause indoor air pollution problems
down the road as all chemical compounds will slowly release
their toxins into the air.
So why look to bamboo to save the environment? Bamboo is an
excellent replacement product for much of the hardwood species
that are being harvested in our global equatorial rainforests.
Once harvested, these hardwood species often never grow back due
to the thin layers of soil and lack of sunlight under the jungle
canopies, and if they do grow back it can take up to 200 years!
Our global rainforests are the lungs of our planet and provide a
significant contribution to our global oxygen production, second
only to the ocean.
By selecting bamboo flooring you reduce the consumption demand
for rainforest hardwood materials, and in the process help save
to the environment for our future generations. For more
information and tips on bamboo flooring visit:
http://www.laminateflooringzone.com/bamboo-flooring.htm