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TAKING CARE OF YOUR MFMA MAPLE SPORTS FLOOR

Wood is naturally porous and can absorb and release moisture. If the humidity in your facility rises, your wood floor will absorb that moisture, causing it to expand. If the humidity fall, your wood floor will release moisture, causing it to shrink.

Many installations include expansion voids around the perimeter and around columns or floor inserts, plus expansion joints built into the floor surface. These features permit natural, normal expansion and contraction without damage to the floor. Too much moisture causes abnormal expansion, which can lead to cupping or buckling of your floor. In abnormally dry conditions, the wood will shrink, leaving separations between flooring strips.

Five Steps For Proper Daily Maintenance:

1. Sweep the floor daily with a properly treated dust mop. If the floor is used heavily, sweep it up to three times per day.
2. Wipe up spills and any moisture on the floor.
3. Remove heel marks using an approved floor cleaner applied with a soft cloth or dusting mop. Contact your floor finish manufacturer for approved cleaning products.
4. Make sure the heating/ventilating/air conditioning system is functioning properly, and set to maintain indoor relative humidities between 35 percent and 50 percent year round. In areas of consistently high or low outside humidity, a 15 percent fluctuation will not adversely affect the maple.
5. Inspect floor for tightening or shrinkage. During wet weather, check for water leakage around doors and windows. Remove debris from expansion voids.

Never Do the Following:

1. NEVER shut down the ventilating system in your facility for a prolonged period of time.
2. NEVER use household cleaning products or procedures. They can be harmful to the floor finish and to the wood and may also leave floors sticky or slippery, and potentially harmful to athletes. Your MFMA contractor will recommend the right cleaning and maintenance materials for your MFMA sports floor.
3. NEVER clean your MFMA floor using scrubbing machinery or power scrubbers which use water. Water is your floor's worst enemy!
4. NEVER attempt to modify or repair your MFMA sports floor without first consulting your MFMA contractor.

Direct all questions about your MFMA maple sports floor to your MFMA contractor:

MAPLE FLOORING MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
111 Deer Lake Road
Suite 100
Deerfield, IL 60015 U.S.A.
847/480-9138
FAX 847/480-9282
www.maplefloor.org
Email: mfma@maplefloor.org

© Copyright 1998-2005, MAPLE FLOORING MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
All rights reserved.

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