HUMIDITY

If you live in a temperate climate humidity is not a problem for your strand woven bamboo flooring. The UK and most parts of Europe don't have high humidity levels. In the southern states of the USA especially Florida and Missouri humidity is more of an issue. If you live in South East Asia, India, the Philippines, southern China or in Darwin Australia humidity could be a potential problem for your strand woven bamboo floor.

Absolute humidity measures the amount of water air can hold at any given temperature. Relative humidity is a percentage of absolute humidity. So if the absolute humidity at 30 degrees centigrade is 30.4 grams of water per cubic meter then at 50% relative humidity at this temperature the air will contain (30.4 divided by 2) 15.2 grams of water per cubic meter.

Many places in Europe have high relative humidities but low absolute humidities so there is very little danger to strand woven bamboo flooring.

If the climate, however, is hot and sweaty than the chances are that you live in an area with high absolute humidity. This means there is a lot of water in the air.  This water is slowly absorbed by bamboo flooring and over time can lead to the flooring swelling and warping. To prevent this use an air conditioner on really sweltering days to suck the moisture out of the air. Or you can buy a dehumidifier to remove the water vapor from the air.

In cold countries where it is necessary to have the heating on for long periods of time the situation is the opposite. Namely, the air contains too little water and as a result strand woven bamboo flooring can dry out, shrink and crack. To prevent this you have to increase the room humidity. This can be done by ventilating the room better, boiling water in a kettle to add steam to the room or by investing in a humidifier to add water vapor into the atmosphere.

Consult your supplier of strand woven bamboo flooring to find out if you live in an area where it is necessary to regulate the humidity in a room.