Hello,

I am looking for advice on how to correct the problem. We just had our floors professionally redone. Upon returning to the house, we saw that the baseboards have polyurethane stains all over, especially bad is the area around the staircase. The baseboards were in good condition and did not need to be repainted before. What should we do now. The floors have been covered with 3 coats of oil-based polyurethane. The baseboards were painted with water-based latex.
What is the best plan of action from here?
We would appreciate any input and advice.

Poly-urethane on painted base boards is just sloppy workmanship. The need to cut-in with a brush will be very apparent after one coat since poly will amber.
Someone will need to scuff the poly and apply a coat of your latex paint, being careful not to leave paint drips or spatters on the wood floor.
If it is normal for your contractor to use the base as a back stop for the applicator pad, then it should have been discussed before the work started so a painter could be scheduled to do all the touch-ups before the furniture is moved back.
Latex paint will stick to poly-urethane. Scuffing with a fine sandpaper will give some tooth so the latex paint will not chip.

Pete,

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I just want to make sure I understand it correctly.

1.Will scuffing with a fine sandpaper eliminate the potential problem of poly showing amber tone through the paint and chipping?

2. Do you think a poly remover can be used to soften and just wipe off the poly? Probably there is a reason that it cannot ...

3. How many coats of latex paint need to be applied?

4. The steps of the staircase were not taped before applying stain, as a result there are substantial stain drips / marks on the white baseboard. What should be done in this case to correct the problem?

Again, Pete, thank you very much for your help.

Once the poly has dried and hardened you could scrape it off with a sharp scraper without damaging the enamel if you are very careful.
The stain may be removed with #2 steel wool with firm pressure if it has not completely hardened.
Scuffing with 150 grit to smooth any spots before painting may cover with one coat, but everything will look better if you just touch up the yellow spot, then go over the full length of each board that is affected.

Pete,

Thank you very much for all your help.