Bill, I am more familiar with the Moss-Magnuson Act then you could imagine and have been involved in legal cases regarding that act. I suggest you READ my post... "While in warranty I never use anything other than OEM filters" Anywhere in that statement that I said that I thought I had to? It is MY choice to ALWAYS use OEM parts except in circumstances where I decide that a third party part is superior to OEM or provides a feature that I decide I want. By using OEM filters I eliminate any warranty delays if warranty is denied. If you'd rather pay a lawyer to litigate denied warranty coverage with a manufacturer and wait till that is adjudicated then that is your choice and I support your right to make it. I've held positions where my job was to evaluate third party parts and you wouldn't believe how often third party parts fail to meet the OEM specifications regardless that the packaging says meets or exceeds manufacturer specifications. Third partiy manufacturers(?) are not privy to the OEM manufacturer's specifications or designs and they may use materials that are inferior or different than the OEM uses. They reverse engineer(?) the part, blister pack it, and put it on the shelf. Patents? We don't need no stinkin' patents... the Chinese are infamous for counterfeiting anything and everything regardless of any legal protection that exists for the original manufacturer. There are lots of people who want to pay less for something and that's fine... unless when you pay less and get less and don't know it and suffer for doing it. When people unilaterally recommend doing or buying something that less knowledgeable people might blindly follow it does everyone a disservice and so does you assuming what anyone on a forum knows or doesn't know. A dollar's worth for a dollar is still the best deal there is. Those who want to pay fifty cents and get a dollar's worth usually end up paying seventy five cents and getting fifty cents worth. Was true when my Dad told me that for the first time in the 50's, it's still true today, and it will always be true. So you save your buck or two on oil filters and I'll pay a couple bucks more for an OEM filter I need once a year and revel in my piece of mind. This post was edited by justalurker on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 0:18

I mentioned allergies (I know you hadn't) because that is by and far the NUMBER ONE complaint of people who either have lived here for a number of years or who have just moved here. If they did a survey of antihistimine and steroid usage for the treatment of allergies in the USA, I am certain FL would rank #1 easily. And it seems to go on forever, every year, as things bloom, blossom and blow around in waves. When one thing finishes (pine pollen) another starts (oak pollen) and then the rains start (mold, etc) and other trees start throwing pollen out. Its not jincapacitating AFFLICTION for many folks here. My daughter and I are both affected, my husband is not. Let me see if I can put this in some sort of "realtime" perspective for you. Some of you may be able to relate to this, some probably won't. I am a distance runner for laffs grins and exercise. I have been for years, I started when we lived in California in the 1980's. My husband is a marathoner, he's originally from Dallas which is way hotter than Florida in summer. California had almost perfect outdoor exercise weather, warm not hot, dry dry dry. Until now my top distance has been the half marathon (13.1 miles). I am training for my first marathon, at the age of 48, which will be the Outer Banks in NC in early November. I am running 35-45 miles a week, outdoors (no treadmill training). On August 3rd I went out for a 16 mile training run. It was in the mid-70's when I started my run at 7:30 AM. My pre-run weight was 127 pounds. I was foolish and only took 8 oz of water with me to start because I was in a rush to beat the heat. I also forgot my Powergel. I had to stop at the grocery store at mile 13 and refill my water bottle. This was at about 9:15 AM At mile 13 1/2 I developed the early signs of heat prostration (visual disturbances, paresthesias (needles and pins, crawly sensation) in my arms and legs, buzzing fingers and hands, nausea, shortness of breath, sweat cessation followed by uncontrollable sweating). I didn't have my phone (stupid me). I was 2 1/2 miles from home and I started to walk. At about 3/4-1/2 mile from my house I couldn't walk anymore. I knew I was going to pass out. So I sat down by the side of the road and hoped someone would happen by to aid me. I was in luck and a member of the Florida Cycle Club who had been out on a 50 mile ride came by and saw I was in distress. He had an extra Sport Gel and a phone. He tried to call my husband but we couldn't get him so he called his wife. She came in an SUV with 24 oz of water and took me home. After cooling down in a cool tub and rehydration with over 64 oz of fluids, a banana, and a bagel, my weight was still only 122 lbs. Still a full FIVE POUNDS down from my pre-run weight. Which means I was probably somewhere around 115-116 lbs at the height of my distress from sweat loss, and had not had a molecule of salt left in my body. I felt terrible all that day and half the next. You may say, "Wow what a story!" but my point is...you don't have to be out running 16 miles in FL to have the same thing happen to you at any time in summer. People who work outdoors are ALWAYS in danger of heat prostration or heat stroke here...the phone guys, cable installers, roofers and other construction workers, lawn crews....the freaking Florida Gator football team at practise...those people have to work out in the heat and its dangerous. THAT'S how serious the heat issue can be here. We do have heat pumps, since our house is a little over 4000 sq ft we have 2, one for each end of the house. My electric bill for cooling is only under $200 a month in early Spring...February and March. From April through November-December it can be anywhere from $250-550 a month. Like I said, this is not the climate for someone who is looking to relocate for ANY kind of health issue unless you are planning to sit inside most of the time. I wish you luck though...if I had been lucky enough to actually get to Costa Rica, I would have NEVER in a million years come back to the US.

Google is great for stuff like this. City-data forums and Google maps are great for researching areas. I have often Googled an address of a place I am interested in and find out lots of information that was left out of the real estate ad. My parents spend a good part of the winter in Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, which is right near the GA/FL border. It really doesn't get Florida warm (upper 70's) until April but it is still a great improvement over upstate NY winters. Because it is a little cooler, the winter rates are lower than most of Florida.

It is really not my intent to be defensive. I think I do get a little urked when LG is the "ONLY" washer w/service issues. I did extensive research on all the washers I was interested in buying and they "ALL" had their issues! And for folks to say I might add in a condescending way that they "didnt even consider a particular brand" because of service issues is in my opinion disparaging. I have found as much on this site about Whirlpools/Kenmores smelling, Bosch running marathons (vibrating) and all kinds of software errors. GE's and Fridgidaires w/multiple mechanical and workmanship problems. Maytags...I wont even go there, not to mention the LG stuff. On the other hand there have been several testimonies by owners of these brands that would buy it again. I have not seen that much on Miele or Asko; simply because they are not purchased as much as the ones above. Being that LG's sells are so hot I understand they have the "Microsoft" affect on folks and they have become somewhat disingenuous with regard to the brand, but c'mon!! OK...maybe I have become a bit defensive (lol). The best way to sum it up is like this; I am an iPod user, I know folks that are trying to decide between an iPod and the new Zune. Naturally I am very familiar w/my product being that I own it and I have read several reviews on the Zune. Should I go around saying the Zune is inferior to the iPod because it cant do this or that and it only has this amount of space etc, etc. when at the end of the day they both hold huge amounts of music and the person is simply sitting down and listening to music on one player as the other is.... I said all that to say that until LG or any other brand comes out with a machine that sorts clothes, moves them from the hamper upstairs and folds and put them away after the wash....stop touting one washer as being far superior to the other! As far as the Miele heater thing goes most folks will use only one cycle the majority of the time, and it is a farce when the heater does not run on the cycle that is used the most. This site has been extremely helpful and is full of useful info, but the superior attitudes of owners of FL's over TL's and owners of certain brands is getting old.