As to the statement re: hood loudness: Would I agree that a single measure of an 8db difference would be "louder," from two different sound sources in two different kitchens? No. Wrong measure and flawed methodology. First, decibels don't measure loudness and second no conclusions could be drawn from a single person's report comparing the loudness of two different sound sources in two different settings. Perceived loudness is measured by multiple subjects under highly controlled conditions and is highly variable across individuals. Decibels are a physical measure of sound pressure; loudness is a psychological/perceptual measure of individual judgments. Decibels don't measure loudness for the same reason temperature doesn't measure warmth and weight doesn't measure heaviness. 85F in NOLA and 85F in Phoenix will not be perceived as equally warm because you already know that humidity, wind, clothing and your own individual body's response to these factors will vary. If we were to put a group of people in a controlled room and vary humidity, air circulation and type of clothing while varying temperature and ask them when they perceived a noticeable difference we would find that we would get the same report of perceived warmth at very different temperatures. In this case a decibel is a very similar measure to temperature and loudness is similar to perceived warmth. Depending on different sound pressures (decibels) your perception of loudness will vary significantly by the sound's frequency, if that frequency modulates, if the db level modulates, your proximity to the sound source, how reflective surfaces shape the sound, your individual hearing capability and sensitivities and (unfortunately) your age. If you look at a graph of where subjects perceive different sounds as pretty much equal in loudness while frequency and db levels are varied you'll find that sounds that at least half the group find equal in loudness can vary as much as 10 db or more. Human ears are very frequency sensitive. So, if a single observer's reported that 2 different sound sources were 8 db off in two different environments I don't see how any relative judgments could be made (and most kitchens with tile, polished wood surfaces, relative hard floors and glass windows can be expected to reflect sound in very different ways.) I won't speculate on all the methodological issues present to make a valid comparison of two different hoods' loudness levels in two different kitchens but a decibel meter would be largely irrelevant to the experimental design (you don't care about decibels, you care about perceived loudness). And to add insult to injury, you might well find out that even when you hit the standard that over half of the subjects agreed on the loudness findings you would still find other judges insisting some hoods were louder than others. That's pretty much how perceptual judgments tend to go. . .

Disconnect the power or switch the breaker off first while cleaning in that area. Then try Dawn Power Dissolver. It is a spray but maybe you could apply it with a paint brush. Then try to cover with plastic wrap to keep it from evaporating. let it sit for a few hours. The stuff works pretty good, I'm using it on my grill parts right now. Sounds like you have a difficult area to reach/clean. Good luck. They sure gloss over the cleaning procedure in the *brochure* don't they?

nomorebluekitchen - For oven bacon, I use a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper (easier cleanup) and lay the bacon strips out side by side . I cook at 350 or lower to cut down on shrinkage. This is how we always did it in every restaurant I worked in. Although usually in the restaurants we would partially cook it this way and then finish on the griddle. I cook it this way at home because it generally creates less mess and you don't have to turn it and look after it the same way. caryscott - I'll have to try the Piller's taste Better than Bacon, thanks for the tip.

vampiressrn, It is not hard to use. There are so many attachments too, which I believe are designed for spot cleaning. The container that holds the water is interesting, it's not too big or heavy. The container has a bladder that you fill with hot water, and as the water is pulled back out (which it does a great job doing) it goes into the area that is outside of the bladder. The only negative I read about this machine related to the tank not being big enough. It is so easy to fill and empty it doesn't bother me at all. The cleaner is in a separate tank and it just gets mixed in as you need it, and in the quantity that is required for the level of cleaning you choose--from rinse only up to heavily soiled. It is never attached to the faucet. Here is a link on Costco's website of the exact one I have. It was $199 in the store. Here is a link that might be useful: Bissell ProHeat 2X Turbo Carpet Cleaner with Dry Aire and Microban Technology