Monday, September 7, 2009

How to Treat Bamboo Furniture.

Step 1
Stain your unfinished bamboo furniture with wax or liquid stain.

Sand the surface lightly and then remove all of the sanding debris with a tacky cloth.

Apply stain for color or a clear coat of polyurethane to protect the natural look of the wood.

Select a stain/polyurethane combination to both color and protect in one easy step.

You may need more than one coat of clear polyurethane or stain/polyurethane to achieve the color and shine that you like.

Always let the stain or polyurethane dry before applying another coat.



Step 2
Dust your finished bamboo furniture often to protect it from possible scratches.

A soft cloth or a Swiffer duster will work to keep your bamboo dust-free.

You can also treat your bamboo furniture to a monthly cleaning with lemon oil and a weekly polishing with spray or liquid furniture polish.

Regular polishing or oil treatments allow the wood to absorb moisture from the oil and keep it nourished without cracking or drying.


Step 3
Remove stains and other dirt from bamboo furniture with warm, soapy water and a firm brush or sponge, depending on the stain.

As with other wood furniture, you should not allow your bamboo to stay wet for very long.

Place it in the sun or a breezeway, or dry it with a cool hair dryer to keep the water from settling into the wood.

If the stain is set in, you may need to sand and refinish the area with the spot, or the entire piece.water.

Treat your bamboo furniture with respect and you will enjoy it for years to come.

Cleaning Bamboo Furniture

About Bamboo Surface
Bamboo furniture is sturdy and very strong.
However, the bamboo wood is not identical to hardwoods.

In fact, bamboo is not a wood at all. It is technically a grass and it contains many small cells which give it strength and flexibility.
It does have a surface layer where the cells are smaller and packed closer together.
This surface can still be cleaned like any other hardwood, and additional stains, waxes and other polishes or finishes are usually applied.

When you clean, be aware of the finish on your bamboo furniture, because this dictates the type of cleaner you can use.


Stained Bamboo Furniture
Bamboo furniture that has been stained should be cleaned using general household wood cleaners like Pledge.

Spray the cleaner onto the surface as you would on a hardwood table and wipe clean with a cloth or rag.

Do this as much as necessary.

The cleaner will remove dirt and apply a thin layer or coating that returns shine to the bamboo.

If this shine does not appear, you should consider using a harder wax or refinishing the bamboo with another type of stain with more sheen.


Unfinished Bamboo Furniture

Clean unfinished bamboo furniture with mild soap and water.

This removes dirt and some grease.
It is also a wise choice to dust the furniture frequently because dirt will build up on the arms and legs, and this can scratch the surface.

Scratches can be buffed away with a lightly abrasive cloth or high-grit sandpaper; however, this will remove the bamboo's natural finish.

Using Windex or another low-acid cleaner is fine for natural bamboo, but it should not be used on it every day.

A dust rag is fine for weekly cleaning. Clear waxes or polishes should be applied every six months to a year.

Bamboo Flooring

If you are planning on a total make-over for your house and in the process changing its flooring, you can have a lot of options to choose from.

You can completely change the material of your existing tile or you may just change the color of your tiles only. But then, you might think of trying bamboo flooring instead.

Bamboo floors are so far the highly recommended material in today’s home furnishing industry. They are created out of a bamboo plant and the product has originated from some parts of Asia, but most often, they come from China.

“Moso” is the common specie of bamboo that is used for flooring.

Bamboo floorings are of different forms and depending on its variety will be the corresponding bamboo flooring prices.

Each of the bamboo flooring varies in terms of its manufacturing process.
Aside from this, they may also differ primarily on where and how it is being marketed.

Bamboo flooring prices is totally dependent on its origin, as well as the quality of the bamboo itself.

In the Southeast Asia, the bamboo flooring comes from thin bamboo stems which are cut into a flat form.

The bamboos are cut as flat as possible and they are cut into uniform lengths.

This type of bamboo flooring can be used as is, with its natural color, or it may also be stained, dyed or varnished.

The bamboo flooring of this type is usually nailed to bigger bamboo stems or to wooden beams, resulting in more spaces in between the bamboo flooring.
This is recommended for use on stilted houses, for a better circulation of air, especially for warm summers.

In the North America, a different processing technique is used for bamboo flooring.
This is to complement the weather of the countries in this part also.

The manufactured products are highly processed. The bamboo stems used comes from bigger bamboo stems. They are split into uniform width and lengths, and then they are flattened.

Further processing is done, by drying it and then laminating it with the use of layers of glue in high pressure.

From the process itself, you will now have an idea how much the bamboo flooring prices will be. The longer and finer the processing will be, the higher will be its price range, notwithstanding the quality of the product, too.

Bamboo floorings are also available depending on its grain orientation.
The pieces of woods may be either in horizontal or in vertical.

Horizontal bamboo flooring contains slats that are horizontally arranged on its widest edge.

They are then joined on its sides with adjoining pieces with the aid of a laminate system coupled with a high pressure.

The finished look of the bamboo flooring is one where the bamboo nodes are not that visible.

For bamboo flooring with vertical grain orientation, each piece is laminated side to side on its narrowest edge.
The overall effect of this type is a uniform look right to the surface of the finished bamboo flooring.

Bamboo flooring prices will again depend on its installation procedure.

Installing locking bamboo flooring is easier since each piece has an interlocking joint that can simply be fixed in place.

If installation is fast and easy, then there is no need for a highly equipped installer.
The bamboo flooring prices will then be lower.

Bamboo Furniture

This article describes the properties and uses of bamboo as a furniture material.
Although bamboo furniture is fast becoming fashionable in some parts of the Western world, particularly as an environmentally friendly building material, it has a longer history of use elsewhere in the world.

Description
Furniture and decorations made from bamboo come in myriad forms---from chairs and tables to picture frames and knickknacks.
Pieces made from bamboo are generally sturdy in construction and often have a natural, rustic appearance.


Benefits

Bamboo BenchBamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, and thus is an excellent source of renewable building materials.
It can be planted, cultivated and harvested much more quickly than wood.
Because of its growth rate and relative plenitude it is often cheap.
In places where the demand for building materials is great, bamboo is an affordable, sustainable option that has a lower impact on the environment. In terms of home décor, bamboo furniture has a somewhat exotic appearance and is neutral enough to be integrated into established settings.


Geography
Bamboo furniture can be found all over the world.
The bamboo plant primarily thrives in warm and tropical climates and can be found across Asia and parts of Africa and the Americas.
It is especially common in East Asia, where bamboo furniture has been popular for quite some time.
Because bamboo is not native to Europe, its use as furniture there is less prevalent.
Price


Bamboo Decorative NicknackDue to its quick growth and general abundance, bamboo furniture is usually cheaper than its wooden counterparts.
However, its growing popularity has lead to price increases in some areas.
Designer furniture made of bamboo sometimes fetches higher prices than its wooden counterparts.

Availability
Bamboo furniture can be found all over the world. It's most common in regions where bamboo grows naturally, although it can be found almost anywhere.