Understanding how to acclimatise your new bamboo floor is essential to the installation process. You should not overlook the acclimatisation process as it could cause your bamboo flooring to become damaged in the coming months.
Bamboo is a natural grass that will absorb and expel moisture depending on its surroundings. As it does this, the bamboo will expand and contract accordingly, which is a completely natural process. However, you need to make sure that your bamboo flooring is acclimatised to its surroundings before it is installed. This will reduce the risk of your floor moving too much once fitted.
Before you purchase your bamboo flooring it has been stored in a few different places – the factory where it was manufactured, a lorry/shipping container, and the warehouse where it is currently stored. All of these venues will have very different temperatures and humidities to your home, which is why you need to let it settle to your environment before you install it.
Understanding the acclimatisation process
It is a simple process, which is easy to follow:
First and foremost, make sure that you are organised; arrange for your new bamboo flooring to be delivered to your home in plenty of time before installation begins. Your bamboo will need to acclimatise to its new surroundings for at least 48 hours.
You should keep the flooring in the original boxes, in the room where it is going to be installed. The room should be completely dry from any plaster, decorating or paint work, and needs to be watertight. If you have a concrete subfloor, you should raise the boxes off the concrete using batons.
Make sure that the room adheres to these conditions:
• a humidity between 45-65%
• an ambient temperature between 17 – 22°C
Do not leave your bamboo flooring near any heat sources like radiators or portable heating devices.
Most importantly, make sure you leave the bamboo flooring to acclimatise for at least 48 hours in these conditions before the installation process begins.
