Most US residential households have 120V center-tapped two phase service (some big apartment buildings are different). Most European systems are 220V (confusingly called 230V) three phase service in a Wye configuration. The nominal difference between 220V and 240V is negligible in practice. All modern electric equipment is built to handle these small differences. If in doubt, check the appliance's documentation. Sometimes, you have to change a configuration option for optimal performance. Also, the difference between 50 Hz (Europe) and 60 Hz (US) is generally fine. You can in principle get away with smaller-size built-in transformers when using a European appliance in the US; and on the other hand, you'll drive any frequency synchronized equipment 20% too fast. It's unlikely this would affect your stove. And in fact, I'd expect the ratings plate to show you that the equipment is compatible with a range of frequencies. Some American 240V appliances use the center tap to drive a subset of the electronics at 120V and the rest at 240V. This is not really doable in Europe, and thus they don't require a 120V input. That's why you don't expect to see two hot wires and one neutral wire on these appliances, whereas American appliances frequently have that. Instead, you'll have one hot and one neutral. When you connect the appliance in the US, you'll instead connect it as if it had two hot wires. The neutral on the appliance becomes the second hot wire. This is not what the manufacturer expected, but it doesn't really matter much in practice. European equipment doesn't rely on polarized plugs (there is no such thing). So, it is always designed to be compatible with two hots, even if it never would be connected that way in Europe. The reason this sounds scary is that really old US equipment didn't distinguish between ground and neutral. In Europe, whole-house GFCI has been a standard for more than half a century. So, this was never an option. Neutral would never be connected to the chassis. So, even if the appliance has something that is labelled as neutral, it is fully interchangeable with the hot wire. This is all really basic physics. But electricians are frequently trained to memorize regulations instead of understanding the underlying principles. This makes it difficult for them to transfer knowledge from one domain to another one. My best suggestion is to find a different electrician who is more comfortable with cross-referencing both physics and local regulations. I can try to explain the physics, but you obviously need a trained electrician to figure out how to apply all of this so that it results in a safe and approved configuration. If your electrician regularly works with commercial equipment, he might be more comfortable with how electrical systems can be configured.

No idea how much to suggest for you to use, but we salted our pool and used water softner pellets by just throwing them in and playing in the pool. Took about half an hour for them to dissolve. Just be sure that your salt source has nothing in it but salt. Some softner salts have other "stuff" in them.

Listerine is a readily available home remedy which may be used on orchids. The original (gold colored) Listerine has anti-fungal, and probably anti-bacterial qualities. The high alcohol content makes it also effective against bugs. Since it is fairly weak, it is largely used by the growers on this site as a preventative, particularly when potting, or as something in a pinch until you can get something better. It is used full strength as a spray on, and should not be used for prolonged periods because the alcohol may have drying effects on your plants. Using it for 2 3 days consecutively is not a problem.

OK... here are some pictures of stumps/logs used in our garden. We had a dead pine and a dying pussy willow taken down last fall. Here is the 'Wolf Eyes' dogwood we planted this spring by the pine stump. I would have liked to plant it closer to the stump but the dogwood tree - assuming this one lives longer that the first one we planted! - would block the paths in that area if we planted it closer to the stump. Hopefully it is close enough for the roots to get the benefit of moisture and nutrients held in the stump. And here is 'Empress Wu' hosta by the willow stump. With the willow gone, this area has now become quite sunny. It is in the 'wet corner' area so is quite moist in spring but dries out in summer. Hopefully the stump will keep the hosta supplied with moisture longer and help it cope with the sunnier conditions. The white trilliums here really seem to thrive with the trunk of a dead apple tree providing shelter. In May: Yesterday: The red trilliums in a nearby bed were not doing as well as the white ones so I added a small cedar log in May this year: Yesterday: I also use pine logs as edging in some areas - useful to make a somewhat raised bed. They last about 10 years before they need replacing. A few examples: (Beside the shed.) (In the north alley - the snails have been partying on the astilboides!) (This log helps direct surface run-off past the shed and towards the 'wet corner') Stumps and deadwood are very useful things!