On the Somerville Moms email list, there was a lot of talk about floor refinishers and water-based products.

I did a bunch of research, and found an excellent article on oil-based vs. water-based floor finishing products at hardwoodinstaller.com. Their message boards were very helpful in sorting out what products to use. For my floor finishing project, I decided on Bona Seal and Bona Traffic, a high-quality water-based sealer and finish that are apparently much less noxious than oil-based products as well as quicker-drying and equally if not more durable than oil-based products. Bona also has a low-voc finish called Eon 70.