safe hardwood floor finish....

[sammysmammy]

I know I've seen this topic discussed here before,but can anyone recommend a product or method for varnishing hardwood floors?All the top coat we applied when we bought the house in 2000(esp. in the kitchen)has worn off,so my mom was going to do a light sanding and re-varnish again for me.We can't find a product that doesn't have a zillion toxic warnings,and I just keep thinking surely there's an alternative!Thanks ahead....

[jcw]

I don't know the answer, but we are about to do the same thing to our floors. So, if you do find something out, would you please post it here? I would be grateful!

[amcal]

Looks like there are alternatives to polyeurathane - this ad says they either do a poly coat or a non toxic water based top coat. Might be worth calling them.
http://www.homeimprover.com/jpg_ads/ny/5star.jpg

[Silliest]

try these links.

We will probably shellac ours when we get around to putting them in ;->
I've seen the wax over shellac look that is mentioned in the article, and it's *gorgeous*. Totally different from varnish or urethane.

Even when it's in need of a wax-coat, it still looks good, but when it's buffed up for a special occasoin, it's incredible. I also find waxed floors easier to clean an awful lot of kid-type spills off of than many other flooring surfaces, like vinyl, linoleum, wood laminate, etc.

I know waxed floors seem horribly anti-progress, but seriously. Shellac is approved by the FDA for use in *food*, and wax is well, *wax*, so it's hard to get much safer. You might find newer products that claim to be safe because no one has *noticed* yet that they are not, but shellac has been around an awfully long time.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/a.../shellac2.shtm

that site has lots of other good non-toxic hints, too, if the shellac idea doesn't really grab you ;->

[Shenjall]

Thank you sammysmammy for asking and thank you silliest for answering!

We were wondering what to do with our floors - they need to be redone but we dont want to leave (or have anywhere to go) for 48 hours.

Thank you!