And the saga continues.... After the service tech came out last week and said the rattling sound from the non-return valve is "normal" and ordered me a new one, I called Miele service in NJ and talked to them about. The guy put me on hold for several minutes so he could ask other people there about it, and came back saying that it should not be doing this rattling sound. He said that once I get the new non-return valve the tech ordered, for me to go on in install it, but he scheduled me for a new service call next month with a different person (but still a Miele tech) as I told them that the guy that came out last week seemed to have a attitude. They are going to send this other tech another non-return valve and a pump for the unit, as he said the pump is really the only other moving part that is involved with the drainage. On Tuesday I recieved the new non-return valve that was ordered by the tech last week. I took the old one out, and use the turkey baster to suction all the water out, and used a towel to make sure it as all dry. Once again I got a flashlight and looked down there where the propeller blades are to make sure there was nothing "stuck" in the area, but like before there wasn't any particles there. I installed the new (now the 2nd) non-return valve and tried the dishwasher on the express cycle. It did 3 fills and drains, all with non rattling sound. About 2 hours later I tried it again, the first drain was silent, but the two following drains did make the rattling sound. That night I ran the Normal wash mode, and once again it was rattling on all 4 of the drains. Wednesday night I ran the Pots/Pans mode, and the first two drains it was silent, but the two final rinse drains it rattled. So as of now it's back to doing the same time it was before. I guess at this point all I can do is wait for the different Miele tech to come out in a few weeks and see what he thinks of it - if he says its "normal" or not. I still find it weird that from the end of April last year when the dishwasher was installed, until Feb of this year, it was silent, then started the rattling in the non-return valve. It's been replaced twice now, and it hasn't solved the issue. The only way for it not to rattle is to use the one where I removed the metal ball from, as it is silent when it drains. The only bad part is that the ball is not it place to prevent some drain water from returning back into the bottom sump area. At least I did purchase the 4-year extended Miele warranty ($250).

sf3707: To add to what MizLizzie said, you might have a look at the link below to Bosch's specs page for the 300. It says the front left heating element (the 9" one) is rated to 2.2 kW (2200 watts) and can be boosted to 3.3 kW. The right rear (11" burner) is rated for 2.4 kW and boosts to 3.6 kW. The two 6" burners are rated for 1.4 kW and boost to 1.8 kW. You might also want to download and read the User's Manual for the 300 series induction cooktops. Go to this page: https://portal.bsh-partner.com/portalbD1kZSZjPTAwOQ==/PORTALFRAME.HTM and download the second item (the one with the biggest file size). As for using a 12-inch frying pan on the 11" burner, there should be no problem. As MizLizzie says, there shouldn't be any problem with using a pan large than the burner diameter. When MizLizzie pointed out that her Cuisnart pan was more than 12" across the base take that as a significant point. For induction burners, the important measurement is the diameter across base of the pan, not the ultimate diameter at across the top. Most 12" frying pans are measured across the top, but it is the size of the magnetic base that the burner's "pot sense" function will "see." The bases of many stainless steel 12" skillets will actually be about 9 inches or less. My cast iron 12" skillet is bit larger -- roughly 10" by my measurement and use on induction. Anything over 7.5" should be fine on an 11" induction burner. No problem with using the 9" burner, either. The one caveat is that, depending on how the pan is made and the amount of preheating you give it, and the kind of cooking you do, you might (or might not find) with a digital thermometer gun and a pan whose base is more than 12" across that the very outer edges (the parts beyond 12") might register a little cooler than the parts within the 12" area. This is very much a YMMV thing. For me, it has never been noticeable for what I cook, and does not seem to be one for MizLizzie, either, but other folks have, from time to time, seen this as an issue for their cooking. Here is a link that might be useful: Bosch 300 specs page This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Aug 15, 13 at 11:05

Not to burst your bubble, but don't take this squirrel lightly. I live in an apartment building that was INFESTED with squirrels in the attic. I, too, would bang on the ceiling in a desperate attempt to get them to stop. My landlord refused to take any action until I threatened him with LEGAL action. Then he called an exterminator who trapped and boarded up the holes with hardware cloth. Where you find one, you'll find more and they are very destructive. They leave behind an odor that attracts more squirrels....and so on, and so on, and so on. The ones who live in houses are rogue squirrels and are far different from the cute little ones you see outside in the park. My advice to you (and your mom) is to either call an exterminator or start trapping them yourself. You can read all about it at this site. Here is a link that might be useful: United Exterminating Company

I may be off-base here, because I can't inspect your floor, but I think the tar paper moisture retarder may be the cause of the noise problem. My guess is that the back of the flooring is momentarily sticking to the tacky surface of the tar paper. I had seen the same phenomenon with 3/4" solid flooring nailed through tar paper. The noise did reduce over time with the solids. I have no idea if the noise will resolve in the case of an engineered product nailed or stapled over asphalt saturated felt. Who specified the tar paper? As for the squeaks...anyone's guess. That all depends upon construction of the floor assembly itself, how the subfloor and the flooring were fastened and with what kind of fasteners. No wood floor will be absolutely silent; squeaks which you notice now may disappear as the weather changes and different ones may appear. Wood expands and contracts continually. Don't take this response as 'gospel'...just trying to give you a clue as to the possible reason for the snap, crackle and pop.