When you consider your choices in bamboo flooring, you’ll likely come across the term “carbonized.” But what does that term mean? In its most direct explanation, carbonized bamboo flooring describes the coloring of your final flooring product. Carbonization involves the boiling of the bamboo’s natural sugars in the same way that caramel is made: the longer you boil the sugar, the darker the color you get.

With bamboo carbonization, the strips of bamboo are boiled, which will alter the color of the bamboo because of the reactions incurred by the natural sugars. The standard color of bamboo is a straw-like color. Many people would like more options with their flooring, thus why they may be drawn to a carbonized bamboo flooring. Rather than just straw, consumers can enjoy a wide range of colors including colors as dark and rich as mahogany.

One side-effect of carbonization (aside, of course, from the coloring) is that the bamboo loses strength. Depending on how long the strips are boiled, the bamboo can lose up to one-third of its original strength. Even with this loss of strength, however, you don’t have to be concerned that your floor will become softer than a pillow. Bamboo still is a ridiculously strong hardwood, and your flooring will include aluminum oxide finishing, which will add great strength to the planks.

If you do use carbonized flooring, you should factor that into where your flooring should be used. Avoid installing this type of flooring in high-traffic areas, so that it can retain its beauty for many years. Also, if you have strand-woven bamboo, then the loss of strength as a result of carbonization isn’t as dramatic, because of how unbelievably strong the strand-woven product was to begin with.

Carbonization will provide you with a great range of colors to choose from for your bamboo flooring. But all consumers should know it does come with a side-effect – the loss of strength. When it’s all said and done, however, this should not stop you from choosing bamboo for your next project.

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