I had the same problem when we had our floors all sanded and finished with polyurethane. Even though we hung sheets between the rooms, dust got on everything. Use a slightly damp rag and change the cloth frequently. It will be a lot of work. But it will look great when you're done.

Posted at flooring forum, but wanted to see if anyone here has input... At our local True Value store, I found some very nice prefinished solid 3/4" red oak flooring made by Do It Best. The price at the store is $3.89/sq. ft. and I can get it online, shipped to the store, for $3.75/ft. We are looking at the 3 1/4 in. Galveston Oak. We are planning to install ourselves, so this is a hardwood we can fit in our budget, finally! Is it too good to be true? Anyone out there have this floor? Thanks!

Thank you for your responses. The floor guy will be applying three coats of satin finish water based poly. Floors are white oak, if we use Dark Walnut with some small amount of English Chestnut might that give the warmth? Dura Seal makes a coffee brown that looks like it has character? mini wax Jacobean? any thoughts on these stains or other suggestions. I've picked cabinets, fixtures, etc. based on leaving the dark woodwork and when new floor and existing floors are done having something similar to what we have now.

At this point, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do nothing. This is a brand new finish. It will not perform to the level of the old finish for a little bit of time. An old oil finish (lets say 15 years of 'hardening') is going to be much HARDER than a fresh water based finish. You must be patient with this. Whomsoever 'let' you back in on that floor after ONE DAY is the one you need to speak with. Bona MEGA needs 10 days to reach a full cure (that means it is no longer soft enough to peel back with a fingernail). Bona Traffic HD cures in 5 days (again no longer soft enough to peel back with a fingernail). Please respect the youth that is this finish. If it took 15 years for the old finish to perform the way you say it did, you will need to allow this finish the same amount of patience for this new finish. Remember: a floor finish is a floor finish. It's chemical characteristics will not change. The laws of physics and chemistry will not change. The only part of this equation that can 'change' is the human being. Either accept the finish for what it is (super young and needing time and patience) or pay for another finish that will suit YOU.