Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Refinishing Dust - Best Way to Clean

My husband and I decided to refinish the hardwood floors in our new home. After days and days of back-breaking sanding, we applied the first coat of polyurethane last night.

We know we have to sand/buff the first coat before applying the second, but are unsure as to how best remove the dust we create -- vacuum (won't it scratch the floor?)? rag with mineral spirits (will it take off too much?)?

Also, we have heard different things about whether or not we need to sand between the second and third coats. We would love not to....but we want to do the job right!

Your thoughts are appreciated!

Vacuum as much dust as you can. A rug vacuum with a ‘beater bar’ will scratch. All you need is a plain vacuum. A shop vac with a ‘clean stream’ Teflon filter works well. A good filter is very important. If the polyurethane cleans up with paint thinner, dampen a rag and wipe it down. The cured finish is not very soluble in paint thinner and you will not remove it. If the polyurethane is water based use a rag dampened with water. I screen between every coat using finer grits for the later coats.