When it comes to your property’s exterior, interior or outdoor decor, do you enjoy a natural, earthy feel? Are you drawn to the unique look of natural materials and how they can make your home or business stand out? Whether you’re aiming for an island aesthetic, tiki-themed or unique, stylish fencing option with a natural feel, bamboo is a material that can add a tropical flair or earthy touch when incorporated into property or interior design.
Whether you’re installing interior bamboo fencing to your building’s walls, yard, around your patio or garden, around your outdoor restaurant or bar area or any other setting, bamboo will add a refreshing, all-natural, attractive vibe and sustainable element to your property.
Jump To Sections:
- How Long Does Bamboo Last?
- Enhancing Your Bamboo Fence’s Natural Color
- How to Apply Bamboo Stain
- Why Seal Your Bamboo?
- Cleaning and Maintaining Your Bamboo
Like all other fencing materials, bamboo does come with its minor maintenance requirements, but with the proper amount of simple care, it will promise you a long, satisfying life of aesthetic enhancement and natural style. A big part of maintaining bamboo fencing is protecting, enhancing and sealing your material with stain.
Not sure where to start or how to stain your bamboo fence? Forever Bamboo has you covered. From maintaining your bamboo fencing to understanding the benefits of sealing bamboo versus the risks of not sealing it, here is everything you need to know about maintaining and staining bamboo for your best properties.
Check out our video: How to Enhance Your Bamboo Fencing With Stain
How Long Does Bamboo Last?
Some fencing options, such as wood and chain-link, will rust, wear down, chip, peel or lose their luster. With bamboo, you’re investing in a material that won’t easily break down, mold, peel or wear. In fact, bamboo is one of the most durable materials in existence, with remarkable resistance to wear and tear, waterproof capabilities and incredible strength. Did you know bamboo’s tensile strength and strength-to-weight ratio are even stronger than steel?
There’s no better material to hold up over time inside or outside your home. When well-maintained, sealed and stained, bamboo fencing can even last as long as 20 years — talk about a high-quality, durable and cost-effective fencing option!
While outdoor bamboo fencing is naturally susceptible to some elemental wear over time, including exposure to wind, weather, sun, extreme heat or cold and storms, it will hold up over a surprisingly extended period if you continue to care for it properly. When you clean and stain every two to three years, you can both reinforce and restore your bamboo fence to look fantastic and perform well for years to come. Because it’s protected from the elements, bamboo fencing installed indoors may last even longer than outdoor fencing — as long as you continue to maintain it with cleaning, staining and sealing every two years or so.
Enhancing Your Bamboo Fence’s Natural Color
Bamboo fencing is an excellent addition to any home or business, and staining your bamboo fence, bamboo poles or panels will enhance the material that enhances your property. How? The stain accentuates the luxurious, natural appearance of your bamboo fence’s original color. Bamboo may fade over time and with the weather, but the stain will keep it fresh and bright while enhancing its natural color and shine.
Bring out the best your bamboo fencing has to offer by staining it with a rich oil-based stain. Stain draws out the color of your bamboo fencing intensely while increasing its lifespan. We recommend using our Bamboo Maintenance Product line to stain your bamboo fencing. Available in a variety of colors, the Bamboo Renevator accentuates the natural bamboo patina and color and penetrates the wood for deep protection.
Choosing the right color for your bamboo fence depends on your personal preference and the existing coloration of your bamboo:
- Light Cedar: For natural colored bamboo fencing, light cedar is a good option. A mellow oil in a pale tan or yellow shade, light cedar enhances and enriches the light to medium shade of natural bamboo colors. Burnt bamboo fencing can also benefit from light cedar, which will both enhance the color of each pole or stalk and accentuate the unique definition of the burnt nodes for a strikingly attractive appearance. Using our light cedar colored stain is not recommended on our black bamboo fencing, as the existing color of this bamboo is too dark for the lighter coloration of this sealant.
- Cedartone: Cedartone colored bamboo fencing stain is a step darker than light cedar. With a bit of a darker undertone, this stain is a great choice for anyone who is looking for the middle ground between the lighter shade and dark oak. Give your bamboo fencing the sophisticated, warn look of cedartone stain to create a tropical oasis that exudes luxury!
- Dark Oak: For natural black bamboo fencing, dark oak is the deep brown stain color that will enhance darker wood and bamboo colors. With its rich shade, dark oak will bring out natural black bamboo fencing’s bright luster and increase its sheen, giving it a healthy, nourished, new look. You may also choose to stain your natural bamboo fencing with dark oak to alter the color to a darker shade of brown.
- Black Walnut: If dark and sophisticated is more your forte, our black walnut bamboo fence stain is the look for you! With more of a cooler, darker tone than our dark oak option, the black walnut color will transform your bamboo fencing for a sensual, luxurious aesthetic.
Although bamboo stains will not dramatically alter the color of your bamboo fencing or change the appearance in an unnatural way, they’re designed to protect and reinforce the bamboo against the elements, restore faded color to a replenished, rich shade and add a slightly different tone. When the stain is applied, you’ll be satisfied with stronger performance and enhanced material along with a natural, aesthetically pleasing look.
How to Apply Bamboo Stain
When it’s that time of year to inspect and seal your bamboo, you’ll want to make sure you thoroughly cleanse your bamboo and apply your stain correctly. Here’s how to prepare and stain your bamboo:
- Prepare your cleaning solution of bleach and water, detergent and water or bamboo fence cleaner by mixing it — if necessary — and pouring it into a spray bottle for application. Spray your bamboo fencing liberally with your cleaner and allow it to soak for about 15 minutes.
- Thoroughly scour and scrub the surface of your bamboo with your nylon bristle brush or another cleaning tool, making sure to remove all dirt, residue or mold. Again, if you find any stubborn mold growth on your bamboo, try using vinegar to make sure every trace is gone.
- Allow your bamboo fencing to air-dry for at least two days before applying any sealant or stain to make sure the material is completely free of any moisture. In addition to letting your bamboo fencing dry after cleaning, make sure outdoor fencing isn’t exposed to any rain or wet weather for a few days before you attempt to seal or stain. Dry fencing allows for proper absorption of the oil stain.
- If your sealants and stains are separate entities and you need to apply them individually, you will need to use the sealant before the stain to ensure your bamboo is protected against elements, UV rays and moisture. Luckily, Bamboo Renovator stain products provide both, so you won’t need to worry about the extra weather-protectant step.
- Before applying, make sure your conditions are ideal for staining. You should not stain bamboo below 50-degree temperatures, in overly humid weather or if you’re expecting rain in the next two days, as the stain must be allowed to dry properly and air out.
- Mix your stain thoroughly before applying. If it’s possible, keep the fencing upright. Using a stain brush or sponge, carefully apply the stain in an up and down motion until you have entirely coated your fencing. Wipe off excess stain with a rag or an old sock. Alternatively, you could hand-stain your fencing using cloths. Make sure to wear old clothing and keep the stain away from other nearby fabrics. You may apply and re-apply your stain in up to three coats, scruffing each layer with your bristle brush between coats to achieve better drying and absorption results.
- Let the stain air-dry for several days, avoiding excess moisture exposure while drying and between applications. The first coat will take about three days to dry thoroughly, and you should allow a day or two between subsequent layers. Again, make sure the fencing is completely dry between each coat.
Why Seal Your Bamboo?
Besides the noticeable aesthetic enhancement, you might be wondering why it’s so important to seal your bamboo fence. To give you an appreciation of stain and sealant, here are the risks of not sealing bamboo versus the benefits of sealing it:
- Weather Resistance: Sealants like our Renovator stain offer a host of protection for your bamboo, including UV resistance, water resistance and general protection from the wind and wear of the outdoor elements. If you neglect to seal your bamboo fencing with a layer of protection, it can become damaged, wear out and appear less appealing.
- Fading: Bamboo will fade over time due to sun exposure and normal wear, but sealant and stain reverse the draining of color and restore your bamboo fencing to an attractive shade while replenishing and nourishing the material. Without stain, your bamboo will become washed-out, and you will run the risk of wasting its natural beauty.
- Longevity: When you care for materials, they last longer — it’s that simple. When you make sealing and staining a part of your cleaning and maintenance routine for your bamboo, you’re investing in better quality and longer life for your bamboo. When you don’t maintain bamboo fencing by sealing, you will have to replace it much sooner, and you will enjoy its lifespan and appearance much less.
- Reinforcement: In addition to resisting elements, sealant protects from regular wear and tear from any exposure. If you don’t seal your bamboo fencing, it has no extra layer to prevent any damage.
Cleaning and Maintaining Your Bamboo
Bamboo fencing is incredibly versatile, easy to install and low maintenance — but even with its easy utilization and care capabilities, there are specific tasks you need to perform periodically to keep both the appearance and quality of your bamboo optimal. To make sure your fencing stays in the best shape, you need to ensure you’re maintaining your bamboo fencing by cleaning it in addition to staining it.
Here are some helpful tips for cleaning bamboo fencing and other ways to maintain it:
- You should perform your first cleaning after a year of your fencing installation. Afterward, clean every two to three years, or as needed depending on the condition of your indoor or outdoor fencing. Fencing will most likely require more maintenance because of its exposure to the elements, while your bamboo fencing should be able to stay cleaner between longer stretches. However, it all depends on what each material experiences on a regular basis and the conditions your bamboo exists in.
- Use a solution composed of three parts water and one part bleach to clean your bamboo fencing. You can also use any environmentally-safe cleaner for fences you can find in a local hardware store.
- For outdoor bamboo fencing, use a nylon bristle scrub brush and power washer to clean and rinse your bamboo fencing and remove any residue, dirt or mold. For indoor bamboo fencing, use either a scrub brush or cloth to clean and a bucket of water and cloth to gently rinse. Apply your cleaning solution with a spray bottle for both materials if you don’t have a power washer available for your fencing.
- To prevent mold developing on the bottom of your bamboo fencing, avoid submerging it or putting it into contact with the wet ground — this is a concern if your property’s yard has a regular sprinkler system or if your area experiences frequent rain. To keep your fencing dry, install a spacer between the ground and the bottom of the bamboo or leave a gap. You should also regularly trim foliage and trim terrain around the bamboo fence’s base.
- While bleach and water or fence cleaner is the ideal solution for thorough cleaning, you may also spot clean small amounts of stains, dirt or debris using water and mild dish detergent. For caked-on debris and mold on your outdoor fencing, a pressurized spray from a power washer will help eliminate anything your scrub brush and cleaner don’t remove.
- If you have any persistent mold growth on your bamboo fencing, a vinegar solution or fungicide spray is the best option for cleansing and making sure the mold is gone, although you should use a fungicide for outdoor purposes only.
- Sealing your fencing is an essential step in bamboo fence maintenance and should be part of your bi- or tri-annual routine. By reinforcing your bamboo against outside influence, sealants protect from the elements and increase your bamboo’s lifespan. When you plan to stain, clean and seal beforehand.
Choose Forever Bamboo For Natural and Stylish Tropical Flair
When it comes to installing, maintaining and staining the best bamboo fencing to boost your property, Forever Bamboo has everything you need. As the nation’s number one provider of tropical décor and the only company of its kind with locations on both the East and West coasts, we provide top-notch bamboo products to those who love the natural look and feel on their properties.
Our beautiful bamboo fencing rolls pair perfectly with our Bamboo Renovator products, the inexpensive sealant alternative we recommend to extend the life, look and longevity of all your bamboo products. Try before you buy with a sample box! Place your order within 45 days of purchasing your samples and get $25 off. This makes your sample box FREE!
Our knowledgeable, friendly professionals are ready and happy to help with all your questions and requests, so explore our high-quality products, place an order, contact us online or give us a call today at (877) 912-2244.