with water-resistant coatings. Water spills aren't a problem if they're wiped up quickly, and not allowed to sit for a prolonged period of time. Adhesive felt pads are often placed on the feet of furniture on laminate floors to prevent scratching. Inferior glueless laminate floors may gradually become separated, creating visible gaps between planks. It is important to "tap" the planks back together using the appropriate tool as gaps are noticed in order to prevent dirt filling the gaps, thus making it more difficult to put into place. Quality glueless laminate floors use joining mechanisms which hold the planks together under constant tension which prevent dirt entering the joints and do not need "tapping" back together periodically. Advocacy The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) is a trade association of laminate flooring manufacturers and laminate flooring manufacturer suppliers in the United States and Canada. It is a standards developing organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary consensus standards for laminate flooring materials, and it has established testing and performance criteria that are used in North America. NALFA issues a certification mark named the NALFA Certification Seal which signifies that the product has passed 10 performance tests, has been proven to meet these standards by an independent, third-party testing lab, and has been manufactured in North America. The certification review includes: Static Load – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist residual indentation resulting from a static load. Thickness Swell – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist increase in thickness after being exposed to water. Light Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to retain its color when exposed to a light source having a frequency range approximating sunlight through window glass. It is not intended to show the resistance to continuous exposure to outdoor weathering conditions. Cleanability and Stain Resistance – Measures both the ease of cleanability and stain resistance of laminate flooring to common household substances. Large Ball Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist fracture due to impact by a large diameter ball. Small Ball Resistance – Measures the ability of laminate flooring to resist fracture due to impact by a small diameter ball. Water Resistance – Measures the ability of the surface of laminate flooring to resist abrasive wear through the décor layer. Dimension Tolerance – Measures the dimensional variance between tiles of laminate flooring