I actually do not have one of the machines you mentioned but I do have a Bissell Powersteamer. It is a large upright machine which is very good at cleaning my carpet. The house that we moved into had oldish carpeting in a sort of ginger color. I have a hairy, large-footed dog who carries in a lot of dirt. I also have a husband who always expresses amazement when I point out that he has just made big muddy tracks across the rug. To be fair, I have to admit that I spill a lot of coffee and wine. Since I also do not like to clean, the stains usually don't get cleaned up right away, as they should. They still come out! I don't know how this machine compares with the Hoover machine in cleaning power. I am thinking of getting a Little Green Steam Machine because it is somewhat of a chore to drag the big machine down to clean up recent spots. I would be interested in hearing how the Little Green Steam Machine compares to any larger, upright model. Arlene M.

Doing some searching, I found this on a site with a FAQ section. _____________ Q: If the pads last 2 years, why would I need to get extras. Can't I just wash these and reuse them? A This depends on the size of your house. Your mop will work most effectively if you keep moving on to clean and dry pads. When you see streaks of either water or dirt, then your pads are either too dirty or wet and need changing. This is particularly important if your floor is water sensitive or, in the case of some ceramic tiles, highly polished. So if you have a larger house you may need more than one pad to do the whole house in one sitting. Also, you may like to keep spares in case your pad/s are in with the dirty laundry at the time you want to use it. ___________________ Ok, I get the too dirty but too wet? What the heck? It's a steam cleaner it's going to get wet. My goal isn't to use this everyday so when I do... I don't know. It's not going to be worth it if I have to spend twice as long going over the floors. I'm thinking I should take it back. Of course, you can make the handle shorter and use it to steam all kinds of other stuff too. Still trying to figure out if it's worth the money.

Well, gee. I didn't get any emails and didn't know I was getting replies. I'm surprised by the replies that seem to have gotten something out of my post that wasn't there. For example -- I'm not trying to find room to recess a fridge and am not sure where that came from. I'd tried to be concise but clear, and it's really hard to do. Online text has it's limitations. Sorry. So, to try to clarify -- my kitchen has already been done and couldn't change any walls. The utility room is also fixed as far as the size of the room goes. Two walls are brink on the front and driveway side of our home and there is a front porch in front of it. The other two walls back to the already redone kitchen and the dining room. The dining room wall is load bearing and cannot move. Although it is the interior wall, it holds up the second level on our story and a half. As I said above, you cannot see the laundry room from teh entry or the living areas. The foyer comes back from the front door to the living room. In front of the living room, it runs into the one hall across the middle of the first floor, running from the master bedroom and powder room on one end to the kitchen and utility on the other -- like a T. The ends of the top of the T are closed behind walls of the various rooms, so you can only see the laundry as wou walk from the master to the kitchen or if you are crossing into the living room and look over to the side. There is currently a full interior door, but that will have to change to a pocket door or split doors like the ones between our kitchen and dining room to allow room for front loaders to open fully -- the room is about 10 feet long, but narrow. I realize a lot of folks may not want or need a second fridge, but it is expected in this neighborhood, and with 2 teen boys and all 4 of us cooking, we really use it. We spend more time cooking and entertaining than doing laundry, so I think keeping the fridge is important. Making it a built-in would give us six inches of usable, moveable space in the narrow part of the room. It is just changin something that is there already -- it doesn't replace a washer or dryer. The Askos definitely get the best looking laundry award. Bosch and Meile also make smaller units that could be clased behind counter tops and doors. However, DH says no to going any smaller on the machines, and I have to say the thought of having to haul king and queen bedding, sleeping bags or other large or bulky things to the cleaners (no laundromats here) or doing twice as many loads of beach towels and laundry in general doesn't appeal to me either. And I know who'd be doing the hauling. I took a basket of towels to the store to see how I felt loading them into the stacked pair. I'm tall enough that pedestals don't really make the washer and dryer high enough for me, and then the tops become too high to really use as a work surface. Stash a laundry basket, maybe -- but no real work space. Stacking makes one better and makes one a bit worse. The floor beneath them regardless of what we do is a concrete slab -- definitely strong enough for a stacked W&D. We currently fold from the sofa or the bed, and that may not change. More important that folding though is having a place other than the laundry and or front hall floors to sort laundry. It drives me nuts to be stepping on or over laundry all the time. The onnly thing I know for sure is that the builder would have madethe kitchen, family room and the utility room a whole lot easier to work with and in if he'd made this side of the house 6 inches to a foot wider.

UPDATE: I made a purchase. Purchased from Overstock, (2) 45 piece sets so service for 16 and 10 serving pieces, had a 10% off coupon code courtesy of another GW'er so my total came to $152. Apparently since I paid with Paypal I will be getting 15% cash back which would bring the cost down to $129. The set is Cassidy by Hampton Forge. I was a little concerned with the quality of Hampton Forge, but I had lunch in a nice local restaurant yesterday and this is the pattern they have. It reminds me of the Kate Spade with the dots (pattern doesn't show up much on the picture), but obviously a lot less money (I'd be able to get 3 placesettings of the Kate Spade for what I paid for 16 plus serving pieces of the Hampton). Maybe not quite the panache, but on a budget just fine. Plus as you mentioned I can return it if dissatisfied, but I have going to the restaurant for years and he has always had the same flatware so if it is holding up under those circumstances I am sure it will be good enough for me. Thank you all for your input!!