You've probably heard about bamboo flooring recently. After all, this interesting type of flooring has been getting a lot of attention.

However, not everyone's sure what's meant by bamboo as a floor covering. Most of us are pretty sure that it's not a round pole floor, but it can be hard to imagine this material if you've never encountered it before.

Unlike sources for hardwood floors like oak, beech and maple, bamboo is a grass. However, it doesn't look or feel much like one.

That's because bamboo is one of the biggest grasses in the world, and can be mistaken for a tree. Some species can grow up to a foot across and a hundred feet high.

Despite its grassy origins, bamboo flooring still has a lot in common with floors made from hardwood. It looks similar and requires similar treatment if you want to maintain it.

Like wooden floors, tile, linoleum and other hard, smooth surfaces, you'll find that bamboo is hypo-allergenic, offering no place for allergens to hide. However, unlike tile and linoleum, it's much warmer feeling, and often more attractive.

Bamboo is also extremely durable - ten percent harder than red oak floors. Installing this kind of flooring can only add to the value of your home.

Bamboo flooring is made through splitting the stalks of the bamboo, then flattening them under immense pressure. These flattened stalks are then laminated together with glue.

What results from the process looks a bit like a hardwood laminate floor - prefinished, multi-layered and with an easy installation method. Some people can even install these even, regular planks on their own.

So what's the fuss about bamboo and the environment? Most of us have heard that bamboo is an extremely ecologically friendly material to use on a floor.

This is because bamboo grows very quickly, and needs little in the way of fertilizers and pesticides. To create a bamboo floor, plants need to grow for only five or six years, and regenerate quickly after they've been harvested.

That's why bamboo is considered a sustainable, renewable flooring option. However, buyers should take care when choosing their floors.

Since bamboo is so popular, some have decided to use unnecessary fertilizers and pesticides in the growing process, and make flooring using lower quality techniques to get a quick sale. Anyone who's worried about how long their floor will last or its environmental impact should avoid using these products.

The good news is that this is easy. Most bamboo flooring manufacturers and distributors want you to know all about their floors and why you'll benefit from installing them - just avoid the cheapest floors or anyone who doesn't want to talk about where their bamboo comes from.

Bamboo flooring makes an excellent investment for your home's beauty and value, and for the environment. Since much of our yearly waste comes from the housing industry, choosing an environmentally friendly floor can make a big difference.

When the time comes to pick your home's new floor covering, think about bamboo. This beautiful natural material will last a long time and it's good for the environment.