Your floppy disk is a fairly rugged animal. However you should take precautions to prevent unnecessary data loss. Several tips are listed below:

1. Never, never, never, let your floppy disk get too hot or too cold. The inside of the disk is made of mylar plastic. If you leave it in your car on a hot day, it could melt. If you leave it in your car in the winter, the plastic could contract just enough so you PC can't read the disk. You should always use your disk at room temperature.
2. Never get your disk next to magnetic sources including TVs, speakers, copiers, and telephone. Since data is recorded magnetically on your disk, another magnetic source could erase it!
3. Never touch the inside surface of the disk. Your fingerprint could prevent the floppy drive from reading the data on your disk.
4. Never set heavy items on top of the disk. The weight could push dust particles into the disk.
5. Never spill coffee or other liquids on the disk.
6. Never smoke around the disk.

A floppy drive will work fine if you treat it right:

1. Never, never, never force a floppy disk into a floppy drive. If it won't easily slide into the drive, the disk is damaged, or you are putting it in wrong. The disk should easily slide into the drive.
2. Keep your floppy drive clean! Occasionally, you should clean the heads on your floppy drive. A VCR has a head cleaning tape, and so does a floppy drive. Go to your local computer store and ask for a floppy drive cleaning kit. Follow the instructions that come with the kit.
3. Never smoke around your PC. The smoke could settle on the heads of your floppy drive and prevent it from working properly.