When waiting for a water damaged floor to dry out, the finish on the floor can slow the process down. The problem with sanding the finish off to let the floor dry faster is that you only sand off the high edge peaks of the flooring, which only somewhat helps the moisture to escape, and can also cause future crowning.
If finish removal is necessary, you may find better success cross-grain sanding the floor with a fine-grit belt, allowing the drum to “ride the waves,” thus reducing the amount of material that is removed from the flooring. This also allows the drum to remove finish from the lower-lying areas of each board, providing more surface for the internal moisture to escape.
After moisture testing validates that the floor and subfloor have thoroughly dried, the entire floor may be resanded and finished.