How to Maintain Prefinished Maple Wood Floors

A maple hardwood floor has a smooth and attractive, natural appearance with plenty of color contrast to showcase the elegance of the wood even from a distance. Many maple floor manufacturers prefinish their flooring to protect it from dirt, moisture and scratches, and to provide an appealing gloss, but even a prefinished floor requires regular maintenance. Be careful though, the wrong kind of maintenance can cause permanent damage to your prefinished maple floor.


Sweep your maple floor each day with a dry dust mop. When the floor receives a lot of traffic during the day, you may need to sweep it multiple times to keep it free of dirt and dust.


Clean up spills and messes as soon as they occur. If you spill water or some other liquid, wipe it up immediately. Maple wood is extremely sensitive to moisture, and even finished maple can absorb spills. If you need to clean up a sticky mess, use a lightly dampened cloth quickly dry the area to prevent water spotting.


Clean large stains using a cleaning solution approved by your flooring manufacturer. They may have their own products, or they may recommend specific commercial brands. Avoid using all-purpose chemical cleaning products and acids. These products can ruin the finish. Makers of prefinished floors typically have their own products.


Place floor coverings on any areas that receive high traffic. For instance, a strategically-placed rug near the room entrance or beneath a sink can spare the finish and the wood from the abuse of constant foot traffic.


Check your humidity level regularly. You can monitor your indoor humidity by hanging a hygrometer on the wall. Try to keep your humidity in the room between 35 and 50 percent. Too much or too little humidity can warp the wood. Use humidifiers or dehumidifiers to regulate the humidity level if humidity becomes a problem.