8 Different Ways To Treat Bamboo

Unsure about how to treat bamboo so that it will last? You can pressure treat it, soak it, heat it, but which way is the best way?
In this video I cover 8 different ways to treat bamboo so that it will last decades. Not only that, Iʻll tell you when to use one way and when to use another.
Interested in learning more, then check out the video!!
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[@storyteller3243]

Fire treatment looking the easiest of all

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

It’s easy but see other comment

[@byronfoster3276]

Brother, I’ll hit that like button every time! You explain it like a scientist, one who’s cool, right on bro

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks for saying that. I appreciate it

[@krzysztofbaraniow]

Thanks am used some methods do build e bike from bamboo

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Good luck with your project!!

[@reshanchithrasena3339]

Another point that we concern is what season and which time we cut down the Bamboo trees. Best season is 7 days after full moon day, and the time is morning about 8.00a.m to 10.00a.m.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks for sharing that. I’ll make sure to bump this comment up so others see it!

[@bislong365]

Kuch bhi...?

[@Fusterclucked00]

The best season is after a full moon day? That doesn't make any sense. A season is Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

[@marymalko5105]

@@Fusterclucked00 he just means time of the month. The sap flows differently according to the moon cycles

[@Nowun_Toospecial]

You forgot the part about only using stalks that are at least 2 years old for structural use. Younger ones have thinner walls, they are brittle, prone to splitting and snapping at the nodes.

[@hg2.]

Thank you! This just what I was looking for. I watch a lot of videos about the Philippines, and heard about ”short lived" bamboo structures. This is the place to start. 👍

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Just need to treat them and ensure they have a good foundation and good roof

[@davidschoenoff4262]

thank you

[@magno.kelvin]

Enjoyed your video! Looking forward to learning more.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

I'm going to be coming out with more bamboo videos REAL soon

[@H3NDR1X485]

This is very useful, we just bought a house this spring, and after about 3 months we noticed some bamboo stalks (which we actual don't want there) growing on the side of our dining room window. I proposed we could probably use the bamboo for something

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

There's a lot you can use bamboo for, have fun with it.

[@marathonrunner715]

if its on the house and u have underground drains the roots will destroy the pipes as they search for water

[@pbspbs84]

The best source for all about bamnoo. Thank you very much.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thank you

[@michaelbalad4386]

I was listening intently when I noticed your shirt was inside out 😆but it's all good man. thank you for your videos. I'm binging them right now because I'm planning on a bamboo structure project. 👍👍👍

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Sorry! Sometimes I don't even notice, out working in the yard all day

[@michaelbalad4386]

@@HomesteadinHawaii It's all good! do you think it makes a difference if I split the bamboo first before soaking it in the solution compared to soaking it unsplit?

[@Kanotoa]

Great video! I'm gonna try this. Bamboo panels, are expensive at home depot but we have free bamboo herein Hawaii

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Perfect. That was the point of these videos. To get people in Hawaii using what already grows

[@homesteadhiker]

Great video and very informative. I have 5 different kinds of bamboo and need to start thinning the stands and using it so this was helpful.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks. I’m glad it was helpful

[@mistyn380]

Your video is the best on here!

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thank you

[@bong_fuu4895]

thanks a lot sir for this wonderful vedio

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks for watching!

[@carlogonzales5364]

thank you!

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thank you for watching

[@gopalkshetry4320]

Thank you for your information ! What process will be good for exterior use such as for fencing?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

That’s a lot of bamboo. I’d do the cold soak immersion process I highlighted in my latest video

[@kanikimcnicholas2077]

This video couldn't have come at a better time, I am currently in negotiations with an individual about the purchase of bamboo here in the Puna district. I will be using a combo of building mediums and will be using the bamboo as framing and roofing materials, so I am devouring any and all info about how to treat it to make it last. Having said that, can you tell me what the optimum diameter would be for this application? Mahalo Sean

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Depends on its use. Imagine building with dimensional lumber. 4x4 for structural and 1x3 for roof purlin. Same for bamboo. But you can always bundle a few together to make it stronger.

[@luanasantana3840]

Thaaaaaaaaaaank u man

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

I tried the bucket method with borax in pink RV antifreeze and some food coloring. It went a good 6 feet up but I'm not sure how much was absorbed. I didn't have a way to pierce the nodes. The advantage of glycols are that borax dissolves well in them and they might aid cellular transfer. Propylene glycol is non toxic unlike ethylene glycol (green car antifreeze). Thanks so much. This bamboo info is priceless.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to try out some tests

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

@@HomesteadinHawaii I will also be doing some, and let you know what I find. Thanks for those efforts you've already made in this amazing material.

[@SharpnessSword]

Thank you man! So helpful, great production quality as well. I will be trying the soak immersion method because I have to leave it at a friend's house due to lack of space, this way it will not take as much management. I just want to make a didgeridoo. I hope the black bamboo stays black.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Look up my video on treating bamboo with the vsd method. It’s better than soak for one piece of bamboo

[@SharpnessSword]

​@@HomesteadinHawaiiI'm submerging in the solution, but it's in a larger pvc pipe so it can soak for a while

[@SharpnessSword]

I hope it doesn't expand too much 💀

[@zachariahstillwater]

I'm a new subscriber! Thank you for putting this together. I'm in the next best place in america for tropical living - Florida! I was given bamboo from a friend who cut down his patch. It dried out in the sun for a couple months. I cut it into straight sections for use as a fence. I'm wondering what the best way to protect it now, is. Oil based products seem expensive and not sustainable. I'm looking into this fire curing method, the video you referenced I also saw here. She said 3 years in the outdoor shower looked good still. She recommended doing it with fresh bamboo. So since mine is dried already, what should I do? Do I try the fire/torch method? Mahalo !

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Bamboo needs to be fresh to treat. At this point all you can do is try varnish it to make it last

[@nevisstkitts8264]

Excellent video! In a previous method you added dye to the pressure treat solution, and it provided positive indication of solution soak thru. Have you tried dye with the bucket method? Also, have you tried the bucket method with bamboo cut to length?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Bucket method is least reliable, soak immersion or vsd is best

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

I had some positive results with adding food coloring to my bucket soak. I used pink non toxic RV antifreeze and borax. There was some evidence at the nodes but it wasn't foolproof. More research needs to be done. Theoretically should work but depends entirely on capillary action over a long distance.

[@harishchepuri5160]

Hi Sean...Thanks a lot for the helpful information...Will the Cold/Hot soak diffusion method work for Bamboo that was cut 1-2 months back? Or does it have to be freshly cut bamboo?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Freshly cut

[@SulcataGrove]

Great video! The bucket method didn’t work great for us with fresh cut bamboo. Our poles rotted within 18 months. Do you put bamboo directly in the ground as support beams? I wondered if that led to the quick rotting. Woodpeckers were also super destructive to the pergola we built with bamboo.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Treating bamboo helps with the bugs eating it, but to keep it lasting long it needs to be off the ground on a good foundation and covered from the elements. Rain will make it rot, sun will degrade the outer skin layer. You need to manage all of those things to have long lasting bamboo. The bucket method is not the most reliable.

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

For ground contact you can try copper napthenate but its not non toxic. The woodpeckers were looking for bug larvae. So it sounds like insufficient borate was absorbed by your bamboo.

[@valarmorghulis8139]

1:54 That's kumander daot(Anselm) when Kyle's bamboo beach house was under construction

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Ha! You know the place?

[@kanikimcnicholas2077]

Sean, just watched the video and have decided I will use the cold soak method, could you please give me an idea of what materials I will need to build the soak tank using the 4X4's and plastic I saw in your video? After curing in the soak tub, how should these culms be stored for drying? will they have to be turned periodically until dry?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

I am in the middle of producing that video that will answer all of those questions. Give me a week or two and it should be out.

[@kanikimcnicholas2077]

@@HomesteadinHawaii Mahalo Sean, I'll be watching for it!

[@ktcadd]

Hey man, thanks for the great informative video. I have a question for you, I have a structure built a couple years ago of boron treated bamboo, but in the winter months it does get some sun exposure, would you recommend any type of oil to rub on the poles that get exposed to the sun?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Here you go www.homesteadinhawaii.com/protecting-and-maintaining-bamboo/

[@ktcadd]

@@HomesteadinHawaii My new project is about 70 percent cured. I suppose I should wait a month or so to treat it with the TWP...My older project is a year and a half, I'll hit that one asap. Thanks again!

[@jpsongwriting3646]

What about putting sump oil in both ends of the bamboo? Would that stop ze bugs?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

No

[@TheAcerpalmatum]

I saw a video filmed in the tropics where they used boric acid under pressure similar to what you showed. The green sugars just flowed right out filling the clum with insect proof boric acid. I remember seeing big cylinders of compressed air how they did it I don't know do you have any insights

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Made a video on it already How to Preserve Bamboo: Including DIY Boucheire Method kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5jLl2egbtGsbqM

[@spaceexploration4169]

The first and second method was good becuase it was a free tactic to treat bamboo. You dont have to buy boric acid and placing the bamboo in a flowing water I think is the better way to go.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Not everyone has access to flowing water

[@lifesmysteriousjourney]

Have you ever tried using rocksalt in your water solution?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

No, but could be like saltwater

[@lifesmysteriousjourney]

@@HomesteadinHawaii Yes

[@tanyapunyo2074]

Hello. Can we do this treatment to bamboo tiles??

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Yes. Soak immersion is best. Just has to be fresh. 24 to 48 hrs old

[@humwawa3468]

Thanks for the video. That is just what I had been looking for. I got a bucket full borax, but it doesn't say at what ratio I have to dilute it with water. It's in solid form. Any ideas? I had been thinking about using the vertical soaking method, but I didn't know how well it would work. So, it's good to know that it has been successfully used. Thanks again! PS: Is it possible to use the solution again after draining it from the first batch? PPS: Any advice on straightening bamboo over heat?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

I have a video showing the making of the borax solution you can find under the bamboo playlist. And I showed vsd and am about to drop one on cold soak immersion

[@nicholasgeorge7825]

You can only dissolve so much borax in water. Any more will drop to the bottom. I'm not sure about the bucket method because it relies on natural capillary action which could be impeded by pH or chemistry of the solution. But in general its hard to get too much borate into the cells.

[@humwawa3468]

@@nicholasgeorge7825 Thanks!

[@cavyguy6287]

If I were to construct a frame and use a tarp or pond liner (as you did here) for a "Soak Immersion" process, how do I determine how much Borax and Boric Acid to put into the water? Will I need to measure the number of gallons of water used? Thanks!

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Exactly, you could put a guage on the end of the hose then use a 5 gallon bucket to measure your borax

[@jararacca]

2,5 kg of borax + 2,5 kg of boric acid to 100 liters of water

[@th3rescue]

Can we apply heat treatment after vertical soap diffusion? This should take care of both interior and exterior.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

There's no need realy, they are both doing the same thing. You need varnish to protect from the sun

[@Jizzlewobbwtfcus]

I'm building a birdhouse for my dad and doing some detailing at the moment. Last year I bought some long stick bamboo because I thought I might use it. For a year it has been gathering dust until I had a eureka moment to give the house a traditional Japanese architechtural aesthetic. But it seems people at the garden centre where I bought it from have no clue if it's treated or not (label says nothing either). I can't wait any longer as winter is practically here so is there a way to treat narrow stick bamboo? Will I have to sand it etc?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

It's to late to treat anything you buy. Just treat it with varathane and reapply every 6 months or so

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

TWP Wood Protector is a good protectant for bamboo www.amazon.com/AMTECO-TWP-100-1-Gallon-Clear-Extension/dp/B001H1NFT4?crid=3QPR8YFYSO4SG&keywords=twp+wood+preservative&qid=1701066393&sprefix=twp+wood%2Caps%2C233&sr=8-5&linkCode=ll1&tag=homesteadi0cb-20&linkId=75221adb150fc97bfc61aaa0069c2614&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

[@Jizzlewobbwtfcus]

Ty for the tip : ]@@HomesteadinHawaii

[@senmcglinn]

Why not set up an "intravenous drip" to drip-feed a preservative solution into the living bamboo, before harvest? I plan to do this on a very large culm that is just reaching the yellowing stage (it is now midsummer). The preservative (copper sulphate, perhaps with borax?) goes in a 10L water carrier with a tap fitting for 1/2" garden hose. I will drill a hole in the culm for a hard plastic fitting that matches the hose, but stiff and sharp enough for a tight push fit in the culm. Then fiddle with the height difference, to get some pressure but without leaking preservative.

[@jararacca]

You’re going to kill your bamboo culm and its root system. Plus copper sulfate is highly toxic and unnecessary when using borax and boric acid solution.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Agree with the other comment, you can harm the rest of your clump doing it this way.

[@Fusterclucked00]

Do these methods allow the bamboo to turn brown sooner than 6-12 weeks? I'm trying to find a good way to speed up the browning process.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Nope. You still have to dry them

[@Fusterclucked00]

@@HomesteadinHawaii how long after they're harvested can I still condition them with fire?

[@marymalko5105]

@@Fusterclucked00 within 72 hrs is best

[@phamdien1236]

Trong hồ đó ngâm hóa chất gì và thời gian ngâm bao lâu?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Boric acid and borax, let it sit 2 weeks

[@nicovandeventer2754]

Good day.is there any way to treat bamboo after it was harvested after nearly a year/would appreciate if someone have a answer. Regards Nico

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

No, that is too old, 72hrs max

[@nicovandeventer2754]

@@HomesteadinHawaii thank you for your reply. Greetings from South Africa/ Mozambique

[@alexedgar6539]

What about for a bamboo overhang roof, though??

[@alexedgar6539]

Oh yes. See same queries below. Water soaking. Off to find it...

[@storyteller3243]

Is fire treatment good for 1 month opd bamboo??

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Fire treatment should happen on fresh bamboo. It is not 100% reliable though. You can burn too much and hinder integrity. You can do it too little and not get enough protection

[@bislong365]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@thematrixcentre]

How about cutting down the bamboo at the right time/season?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

I highlight that in another video but that helps. I let wet season, it draws up more of the treatment solution

[@je-fq7ve]

put some colored dye in the solution to see how well they work.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

I did that for the pressure treating videotaping

[@countryboyhouchin571]

What about using bamboo as fence posts?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Fencing, sure, fence posts, no, they will rot quick!!

[@senmcglinn]

@@HomesteadinHawaii : I use untreated dry bamboo poles for fence posts in a swamp. The poles are just pushed into the soil tip first, about 2 metres in the mud, with 1 metre in the air. The part in the water does not rot. I put a jar or other container over the top to stop rain water filling the pole. The poles last about 4 years, but my cycle is to put new ones in alongside the old, every second or third year. The mesh fence is adequate to keep geese in and dogs out. It would not stand up to cattle leaning on it. This is in subtropical New Zealand.

[@theodorosboukas5181]

Your videow are great. A question: In one video you talk about boric acid and in another about combination with borax 40/60 After all what does it do better? Thank you very much

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

5% borax, 5% boric acid, 90% water

[@theodorosboukas5181]

@@HomesteadinHawaiiThank you a lot, and greetings to your beautiful island form my island Corfu.

[@sandeepabandara6341]

Wow your video is full of knowledge ❤❤❤ but I have a very big question ? Still no answer 😢😢 In hot HOT SORK IMMERSION method please give me the ratio of boric & borax for 100 Liter water in kilograms/grams ...🙏 hope you reply me...

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJSaeGibg5mBack

[@sandeepabandara6341]

Thanks for repling sir but still ? What do u mean by boic 4% borax 6% water 90% Is it equal to 4kg boric, 6kg borax, 100 Liters of water. Thats what I want to know I saw your all videos but...😢 cant figured this ratio...

[@marymalko5105]

Take a 5 gallon bucket. 1/2 gallon is 10% of that. Do 1/4 gallon borax. 1/4 boric acid. Fill the rest with water

[@guardianfarm]

what about borax and bees?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Bees aren't trying to pollinate bamboo stalks

[@icared4338]

I prefer salt as traditional method

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Tests have proven it is not as successful as borax

[@GumDropProductions]

How to get rid of the itchy fibers from bamboo? Is it borax treatment?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

How are you trying to use it? But I’d say sandpaper

[@Djanck000]

Borax is VERY expensive where i live and a controled substance.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Bummers. Salt water then for you

[@gopalkshetry4320]

How to apply CCB for outdoor use of Bamboo? I request you to make youtube!

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

See my other comment, I cannot get CCB in Hawaii

[@Sarah_Sarcasm05]

Borax is bad for the environment tho?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

It is one of the least toxic things you can use

[@Sarah_Sarcasm05]

@Homesteadin' Hawai'i oh OK I thought you meant not toxic at all so I was confused🤷‍♀️

[@jacksparrowarrrr]

Apple who? I’m building a computer using this method

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

With bamboo??

[@justkeepfishingt]

We're I live you can not cut bamboo trees there protected. The only way to cut them If there a danger to your home or if they fall on your land. You get a permission they come to see it take pictures and then you cut them.

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Where do you live?

[@justkeepfishingt]

Puerto rico

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

@@justkeepfishingt wow! I would've thought that Puerto Rico would have more freedoms

[@justkeepfishingt]

@@HomesteadinHawaii No. and not only bamboo there are other trees protected too. 🙄

[@shadetreehandyman]

your last method there was not very well explained... Are you using the borax solution in it... what's the purpose of the compressor... you don't even mention it

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Try watching the full version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5jLl2egbtGsbqM

[@richardwhite3521]

Thank you for the video. But you’re telling me that roaches killer isn’t harmful to the environment?

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

It's LESS toxic than other methods of treatment.

[@AdrianRodriguezWebDevelopment]

thank you

[@HomesteadinHawaii]

Thanks for watching