I use polyurethane (low density) cubes for lettuce. I score the top of each sheet in a grid pattern using a circular sewing pattern knife (looks like a pizza cutter). I put the foam in a flat storage tote containing an inch water that has been sitting out overnight to de-gas the chlorine. I squeeze the air out the foam to get it thoroughly wet, sprinkle the seeds on top, then cover the tote with it's white translucent lid to keep the seeds moist. Every 24 hrs I open the lid, mist the seeds, close the lid again. For lettuce,I also leave a daylight CFL lamp shining on the lid to help it germinate. After 3 days I open the lid and remove the excess standing water. By now the foam retains about 50% of it's maximum capacity, plenty for the lettuce seedling once the roots penetrate that far down (by this point all the seeds have germinated) I continue misting once a day for 4 more days. By then the roots have reached the bottom of the cube, the cotyledons are fully open, and I move the seedling to the half strength recirculating hydo solution tray, which has about 1/2" of solution continuously flowing through it. A week later and the roots are hanging an inch or more out the foam, the first real leaves have opened, and it's ready for transplanting. Different plants will require longer to sprout, and/or may prefer less moisture while germinating. Some need heat, some may need to be kept dark. Lettuce likes it cool, moist, light and airy. The fun is figuring each one out!

For those of you interested in the materials used, manufacture location, etc. for the Novaform (by Sleep Innovations) memory foam & gel-memory foam mattresses, check out this FAQ link. Boy was I glad to find out that the first mattress my husband and I purchased (2 years ago) as newly-weds, the gel memory foam, is free of PDBF/Formaldehyde and it is made in the USA. The reason we purchased this mattress was because it helps alleviate pressure-points which was crucial for us to have considering that my husband had recently underwent back surgery. In the two years we have had this mattress, he is still pleased with this purchase; and needless to say, so am I. I understand that comfort is a personalized type of thing, and being that I myself prefer a "in-between/medium" support (not too hard, not too soft), this was a great buy. We live at an altitude of about 5K, so in the 2 years we've had this mattress, the gel portion of the mattress is a bit more stiff when not in use during the winter, then eventually softens up with the applied body-heat; and during the passer-by summers, it is continually soft. Just a heads up! ;-) http://www.sleepinnovations.com/support/faqs/#1

This post has some misleading comments regarding ecocork. I am investigating underlayment for vinyl plank. If you look at the actual test results from NGC testing services for the delta IIC of quietwalk LV, floormuffler lvt encore, and ecocork, they are all tested using the same 6 inch concrete slab (not 8 inches). The IIC and STC have other included materials in the test like insulation, gypsum ceiling, etc. But the delta IIC has only the concrete slab and measures the difference in sound dampening with and without the concrete slab in place telling you the true dampening of the underlayment itself. By this measure the quietwalk comes out on top with a delta IIC of 28, ecocork at 23 and floormuffler at 22. If you look at the frequencies, you can see that the quietwalk is the only material that has some degree of dampening of the lowest 100 hz tested around 5 db. The testing is slightly different in that the quietwalk was tested with a 5 mm vinyl plank on top whereas the ecocork was tested with a layer of engineered wood on top. The thickness of the engineered wood was not given. Floormuffler does not have a link for the actual test results. This article has a helpful explanation: https://arcacoustics.com/2016/08/23/stc-iic-delta-iicwhats-this-all-about/

I don't have area rugs with fringe so the Roomba handles them pretty well, I pick up the smaller ones by the door that I use to keep the dogs from tracking in from the yard. Low pile is fine - I don't let it run on one rug that I have that has long loops, I'm sure it would stall. I understand if you have black rugs or rugs with dark edges the Roomba won't go over them because it thinks it's a drop (like a step). It uses a sensor to watch for stairs and such and will stop when it gets to them. To elaborate on the Scooba a bit more for those who are curious, yes, it does a wash more than the Braava which only pushes around a damp cloth. You set it up to clean a "small room" or a "large room". It has a water reservoir to which you add cleaner. The cleaner is not sold in my area so I buy off Amazon. BestBuy is supposed to carry it but not my local store. iRobot also has it on their web site. It doesn't take much cleaner - I only add a small amount to the water. The I set up my lighthouses/virtual walls to keep it in the area I want scrubbed (and obviously not on the area rugs). It runs around a bit to get a feel for the space and then it starts - it lays down a thin film of water as it goes, it vacuums and puts down the water, goes back and forth and in circles, using the brushes I suppose, then it goes back and vacuums up all the left over water. So the floor is pretty dry by the time it shuts off. It's a bit entertaining at the end as it shakes itself off, kind of like a dog. You then dump out the water from the dirty side of the tank, rinse it out and pull out any hair. You can then add more water to the clean tank and top off the cleaner, and recharge it. I found it does need another small area rinsed out or you will get an error code, but easily done. The dirty water is noticeably dirty so it is doing something to clean the floor. As I mentioned, the manufacturer warns against other cleaners. and other users have posted that the unit will fail if caustic cleaners are used, as it will damage the unit. I have sprayed windex on the floor ahead of it with no issues. It's not a perfect solution as you will still need to damp mop your baseboards and tight areas occasionally, but I do like it for my bathroom and I have on occasion used it on my engineered wood, but I follow it with an old towel and wipe up excess water so the wood does not absorb it. If you, or your family members have long hair, I would definitely recommend doing a quick vacuuming or Swiffer run first to pick that up before running the Scooba, as it will pick up hair and then you will be very unhappy pulling it out of the reservoir and brushes. It is also not very quiet so don't think you can run it while you take a nap.