http://www.ehow.com/how_2073642_care-bamboo-floors.html

http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com/bamboo_floor_cleaning.html

http://www.bambooflooring.biz/bamboo-flooring-care.htm

The biggest advantage is that the color penetrates the entire thickness of the planks -- when you want to redo them, a light sanding and new polyurethane are all that's needed -- no staining.

Find out the kind of bamboo floors that are installed- are they the floating kind? Nailed in? The realtor should be able to find out easily enough.

We had nailed in strand bamboo installed 2 years ago in our kitchen & dining rooms. The flooring company recommended daily sweeping (esp. since it's a high traffic area) & then either using a microfiber floor cloth or vacuuming as needed. It's fine to damp mop it with hot water/ white vinegar mixture weekly, taking care to dry up any water spots. Basically, treat it just like a hard wood floor.

Congratulations on purchasing your 1st home!

My friend had been assured that bamboo floors are tough, and was disappointed after putting one in her kitchen. Her dog's claws, her own shoes' heels, and the breakfast nook chair legs quickly left permanent scratches and dents in it. I thought it still looked good and gained character with use, although it quickly stopped looking new.

Never, ever wear heels on them.

It scratches like crazy.

sometimes they get sun bleached, depending on the manufacturer!

You'll really be able to tell the difference between the high traffic areas and less used areas. Chair legs can mark them up, in addition to the other things listed by other commenters.

Bamboo floors are incredibly soft - so if you have dogs, kids, wear shoes or move furniture around - they get scratched up pretty fast. on the other hand - if you put those felt floor protectors on everything, don't wear shoes and don't have kids or pets - they can stay pretty nice looking.
for cleaning and maintaining - just clean like you would normal hardwood floors.

I installed carbonized bamboo flooring in my last home and loved it. I put it in the kitchen, bathrooms, entryway,and hallway (other areas had wool carpet).

It does dent if you drop a pot on it. I do wear hight heels and never had a problem with shoes causing damage. It's a natural material and will be affected by light -- light and heat makes the color slightly richer and darker over time. (Carbonizing is the process of heating the bamboo to change its color).

I did use a carpet runner in the hallway and mats in the bathroom and enry ways, so high traffic areas were protected from wear and tear.

The photo sure is gorgeous, but ack! All these comments make the floors seem pretty scary to take care of. I'd love to see a photo of a bamboo floor that has the "well loved" look. Anyone got one?

we have bamboo in an institutional setting and have found that the floors scratch easily and are a little "fussy" to clean.

I had bamboo floors installed in my kitchen (dark fiber strand). They are extremely strong, extremely dent resistant, and incredibly fragile when it comes to scratches. The tiniest bit of grit under your shoe will leave a scratch.

The issue with my floor is not the bamboo itself so much as the "diamond" finish that smith & fong put on it. It is utter rubbish. I've had it for about a year and a half and I expect I'll have to sand the whole thing down and re-do it in another 3 years. I still love the floors, but I expect they won't really come into their own until I re-do the finish with something that isn't just a flimsy coat of plastic on top.

Everyone is right about them scratching easily. Pets nails trimmed and if ever to have a no shoe policy this would be the time. get slippers just for indoor use only.

Dirt should never sit there for any period of time. Use a dust mop and vacuum.

Use a non toxic, environmentally low pH neutral cleaner with damp mop, they do not take to a lot of water.
Be sure not to use a vacuum with a beater bar.
Get a vacuum that is suitable.
The Bona system is the best product to use for cleaning them. Get the one that comes with the dust mop.

I hate to be rude, but why write into AT - google answers that question pretty thoroughly. Perhaps I'm disgruntled because I once sent in a specific design challenge I had and got no response from AT.

They are a nice eco choice, but they do dent and scratch very easily, but they still look nice. Just sweep and damp mop, never leave water on them.

Please see that it is borer treated, although we had ours treated it had still had some borer and you would find powders falling. We had put it just for show in our ceiling instead of wooden rafters all over the house. Finally we had inject some more of the chemical to treat it and finally it has stopped. It can spread to other furnitures too.

there is a huge range of hardnesses in bamboo floors. You need to figure out if you have horizontal or vertical laminations or (if you're lucky) the strand type of bamboo flooring. Vertical laminations are the worst because the expose the softer inner part of the bamboo. Strand is the toughest because it is compressed into very sturdy planks. Carmelized is also slightly softer than natural. Also there is even variations between manufacturers and planks because not all bamboo is created equal. The larger, older pieces tend to be tougher but of course take longer to reach maturity and are more expensive. The best bamboo floor will be much more durable than your average oak floor, but the less expensive stuff can be like finishing your floor with pine. Beware!

Also if your bamboo floor is stained (i.e. not natural or caramelized) that means that any scratches will show a different color underneath.

We bought our townhouse because it had beautiful bamboo floors.
Unlike others, I have to say we have not had any problem with scratches or dents. We didn't install them so I do not know anything about them other then I use BONA cleaner (I was told not to use regular hardwood floor cleaner) and use a microfiber pad for cleaning.

Thank you so much for all your advice! I asked this a little while ago, and all your answers are incredibly helpful =) We moved forward with the house, so I've bookmarked this to keep all your ideas in mind. Thanks again everyone!!!

No-shoes policy, here we come!

And Joey C - I asked this on AT because I wanted to hear current advice from the great home- and house-minded folks that frequent this site! I did google search, but not everything went as in-depth as many of these terrific suggestions. Sorry your question didn't get answered, but AT is a great resource, and many people are willing to help and give some great advice.