Bamboo rugs and bamboo floor mats are a stylish decor choice for people who are looking for a way to lessen their carbon footprint while still optimizing the attractiveness of home and business environments.
What Is Bamboo?
Although some bamboo plants have woody stems and grow to great heights, bamboo is not a tree at all but a species of grass with a hard, hollow stem connected to an underground stem called a rhizome. There are over 1,400 species of bamboo around the world, and the plant is indigenous to all continents except Europe and Antarctica. Human beings have been using the bamboo plant for thousands of years in everything from construction projects to holistic medicine. Bamboo is one of the most commonly used materials across the globe for natural fiber rugs and floor coverings.
What Is a Bamboo Rug?
There are two types of bamboo flooring. Traditional bamboo floor mats incorporate untreated bamboo canes into their design. More recently, manufacturers have been extracting bamboo cellulose from the woody material and using those cellulose fibers in a variety of textile products including carpet. Bamboo cellulose fibers behave a lot like rayon although they don’t flatten underfoot quite as quickly and are less susceptible to molds and mildews.
Bamboo area rugs made from bamboo cane can give any room an Asian flair. A cane bamboo mat is typically square or rectangular in shape, and is usually backed with non-skid materials such as latex or felt. Often bamboo mats are manufactured with a cotton border. The canes can be treated to show off a range of beautiful hues from straw yellow to burnt sienna.
What Are the Benefits of Buying a Bamboo Rug?
Bamboo area rugs are eco friendly rugs. Bamboo grows quickly: Most commercial bamboo is ready for harvesting two years after it is planted. Harvesting bamboo doesn’t kill the host plant either; the underground rhizome will produce another crop of bamboo canes the following year and for many years to come. An acre of bamboo produces far more oxygen than a comparable acre of hardwood trees, and bamboo requires far less water than hardwood. Bamboo is also entirely biodegradable: It decomposes relatively rapidly into a nutrient-rich compost.
Bamboo mats are great for defining specific areas of the rooms they’re in and for protecting the carpeting or other flooring underneath them. They make slick, strong surfaces underneath an office chair, for example, so that the wheels of the chair don’t damage underlying rugs or hardwood floors. Felt casters should be used under furniture legs so that the bamboo slats aren’t scratched by the furniture.
Bamboo isn’t damaged by moisture. If you spill something on a bamboo area rug, you can wipe it right up without worrying about damaging the mat. Unlike natural area rugs made of sisal or seagrass, a bamboo rug is a perfect addition to a bathroom, kitchen or other room in your house with high humidity however bamboo will fade if it’s exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods. Either place your bamboo area rugs away from the sunny parts of your house, or rotate the rugs regularly to avoid sun damage.
Bamboo is a natural floor covering that is as versatile and inexpensive as carpets and other floor coverings made from synthetic fibers but is far more environmentally friendly.
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