I found this 40" hood, for my 36" Bertazzoni cooktop. I'm a bit concerned about posting about it, in case I get accused of spamming, because I've mentioned it before, but I assure you I have NO connection with the company. The brand was recommended to me by my sister, in London, who has one of theirs - they're a popular brand in Europe. They really are made in Italy (not 'designed' there but made in China) and I've been very pleased with the quality and low noise. My GC liked it and was happy with the venting arrangements, and installed it easily. The website is the only US source as far as I can see: they're a regular store in Brooklyn NY, and their shipping was great plus the price is a great one. Here is a link that might be useful: 40

I have a Frigidaire Affinity so maybe I can help too. 1) Am I supposed to be seeing suds? How many suds are too many? What should I do - cut down on the amt of detergent until I don't see suds anymore? It is okay to see some suds during the wash cycle. You should only be seeing a trickle amount at the very bottom of the door. No more than a very small handful of suds. 2) Can I still pretreat stains with shout or lestoil? Will either of those cause suds or damage the machine? As long as you do not use too much you should be okay. However, if you are concerned you can mix up your own in a spray bottle with the HE detergent you are using and water. (I recommend an HE detergent with enzymes for this.) For instance, you would put the maximum amount of measured detergent into a 32 oz spray bottle and fill the rest of the way with water. 3) If I want to use oxiclean, where do I put it? (Frigidiare Affinity with no prewash dispenser) I usually add oxi clean to the detergent dispenser. If I am using powder detergent I just put it with the detergent, if washing with hot water. If I am using liquid I disolve it in a bowl or cup first and then put it in. 4) Is it ok to use vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser? This was a habit I got into with my last machine, which didn't clean or rinse worth a darn. I felt that the vinegar gave the rinsing a boost but I'm not sure whether it's necessary in the new machine. I add vinegar all the time. I usually put it in the bleach dispenser and the fab dispenser if needed. I have had no probs. 5) What kind of detergent is better, liquid or powder? If it matters, I have a whole-house water softener and generally do most of my washes in ATC cold (65 degrees, I believe). I do not normally use bleach or fabric softener but do put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser (unless you all say I shouldn't). I've always used liquid, but am thinking that if I'm using such small amounts, it might be easier to just keep a canister of powder out on the machine and measure by the tablespoon. I prefer powder, but I have found I have to predissolve it in warm water if doing a cold or warm water wash. Otherwise the powder doesn't seem to be fully dissolved until right before the rinse kicks in. I am going to eventually switch to liquids once my powder is gone to prevent the hassle. 6) When I was doing the research, I read something about Frigemore machines having an issue with powder detergent (I think they indicated that powdered HE detergent contributed to the bearing failure) - is this true? If any washing machine has aluminum parts, powder detergents can cause problems. Most powder detergents have sodium carbonate and that will slowly eat away aluminum. 7) Is there a particular brand of HE detergent that works better in softened well water, especially for cold-water washes? I have always used Tide before this but read some bad reviews on the Tide HE liquid, so that's why I bought the sears stuff (plus it was on sale for half price, LOL!) I know a lot of this has to do with your individual water chemistry, but if you've had experiences (good/bad) with any detergent, I'd love to hear them. Please only stuff that is available fairly easily in the US - my husband would probably have me locked up if I told him I wanted to mail-order detergent from the UK. I was one of those who complained about the Tide Liquid HE. I have hard water, about 8 to 10 grains to be exact. It didn't over suds, but it would never completely rinse out either. No matter what, I would see suds develope during the final spin cycle on the door window and my clothes got harder and harder with each wash if I didn't use fab softener. I also had to make sure I put my washer through a wash/maitenence cycle once a week to get rid of detergent build up. It isn't the detergents fault really except for the fact P&G has not caught up with these new "Add A Garment" HE machines. They use even way less water than traditional HE machines. So far the detergents that I have tried that seem to be okay as far as sudsing and rinsing go are.... 1)Tide HE powder cut back to smaller amounts(draw back is the sodium carbonate and the pre disolving) 2)Sears Powder HE (drawback is the predisolving and sodium carbonate) 3)Charlie's Soap Powder (drawback predissolving, but they do offer a liquid version. It also has sodium carbonate, but the amount used is really minimal) 4)Mela Power HE liquid (drawback is you have to go to melaleuca.com and become a member to order it) 5)Homemade liquid detergent minus or with reduced sodium carbonate(washing soda). In the homemade recipe I cut the amount of washing soda in half and then made up for it in borax. Borax is a natural anti redepositing agent and you need more of that than the other due to the low water usage. 6)All Free and Clear HE liquid(drawback is it still leaves a little suds but no where near as bad as Tide and what is left behind doesn't irritate the skin. However, pretreatment of stains is definitely needed. At least you can find it at any store which is a plus. In the end, if the Sears HE liquid is working for you and you can still get it, why change. No sense in fixing what isn't broke. Otherwise it will be trial and error as different people's needs determine ultimately what they will like from a detergent. I hope this helped at least a little. :)

First of all, I heartily apologize for not responding earlier - just got a little busy and you've all given me wonderful links to pursue. Some of those glass sinks are really cool but stand on a base that's a bit too big, darn it - bigger than necessary, it would seem. penfolddt, I'd seen that sink before and it's on my list of possibilities. It just seems strange to me that my sink actually looks "normal" sized to me but still projects from the wall less than any "mini" sink I've seen online. Sacrificing width might do the trick though. I haven't found one sink that has the diagonally edged corners that mine has; it's the only reason the sink currently works in this room. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow of the sink/bathroom. I hadn't considered re-glazing it, though maybe I should. But then I'd also need new faucets for it. The hot water leaks now and the sink is seriously stained from years of leaking AND has a crack in it. I'd really rather get a new one if possible than pay for re-glazing, and trying to find the vertical faucets for it. I am probably going to get my upstairs bathtub reglazed though, so if anyone has any experience with that, I'd love to hear if you were satisfied. That bathroom isn't much bigger than this one and I don't think I could get a new bathtub in there without breaking down a wall. I don't really have a corner I could mount a corner sink in without totally configuring the bathroom. One corner has a pipe going up to the second floor, the toilet is pretty much against the other corner and of course the door rules out the front two corners. I know lots of people with older houses with very small bathrooms; the difference with this one is that the bathroom isn't as deep as some of those, and that the toilet and the sink are on opposite walls. Behind the bathroom is a laundry/utility closet with a double door that opens onto the kitchen so there is SOME possibility for renovation, but no gain in width. Anyway it's not something I'm looking to do unless I hit the lottery or something, LOL. The upstairs bathroom badly needs updating as well and since it's the main bathroom, that would come first! Never thought about swinging the door out at all, interesting idea! I don't have a clue how to go about that, LOL. It would be pretty awkward since the bathroom is opposite the basement door between the LR and kitchen; I guess it's no more awkward than the bathroom as it currently exists though!

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