Thanks for your input kaseki. I wish I were an engineer and could give an actual figure on how leaky the house is, best I can say is VERY :). Along with the hole out the roof for the swamp cooler there are also (6) 8"X5" openings to the crawl space. The other gas combustion appliances (boiler and H2O heater) are in the utility room which accesses the crawl space. The utility room is also below the kitchen. As for the source of their make up air I'm unsure... kinda makes me wish I'd asked the tech. who installed the new boiler last year a lot more questions. So, thinking this through if we were to go with the 1200 cfm hood and connected a damper to a fresh air inlet (hole) to the outside and to nothing on the inside (as we have no forced air and therefore no ducting), the damper would open when I used the range vent and let in MUA for the time the range vent was in use, and close when it wasn't. Realistically, how much more air could it be pulling in than the 6 other holes in the crawl space and the one in the roof? hmmm. I'm probably missing something in my logic but it seems silly to have only 1 of 8 openings controlled unless it's absolutely necessary to have that 8th hole and it's in a location that I want to be able to shut is my thinking. Currently I have a non-functioning electric range with OTR MW recirculation hood (the catalyst for the whole remodel). Needless-to-say I'm excited to have proper range ventilation and want to do it right, but I'm starting to think that a damper for additional MAU might not be needed. I do know this, the 3 times a year my DH takes the time to get me a really good fire going, I'm sitting in front of it and am no where near the range. :)

Oh RavenCajun, I'm trying to stay calm but hubby is going to freak if I have to tell him I got Trojans on a practically new computer. *taking deep breaths* You're right (again! lol)....some of these programs seem to automatically download things I didn't want. In the Remove programs area I found things that I knew could be included with other items I downloaded but I never wanted them, but there they were! Examples: Open Office, Google Toolbar, Yahoo Toolbar, Webshots something-or-other, etc. I promise to be much more careful in the future by making sure to inspect for something that is checked as if I want it, but don't. Even though I "Remove Selected" on everything, this info below shows "no action taken". This is the log that Popped Up Automatically when I clicked "Remove Selected": Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.30 Database version: 1328 Windows 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 10/27/2008 12:15:08 PM mbam-log-2008-10-27 (12-14-53).txt Scan type: Quick Scan Objects scanned: 43155 Time elapsed: 4 minute(s), 47 second(s) Memory Processes Infected: 0 Memory Modules Infected: 0 Registry Keys Infected: 4 Registry Values Infected: 6 Registry Data Items Infected: 14 Folders Infected: 1 Files Infected: 9 Memory Processes Infected: (No malicious items detected) Memory Modules Infected: (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys Infected: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\(030a0f33-5b99-482e-83f5-2eeb8457878b) (Trojan.BHO) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\(9034a523-d068-4be8-a284-9df278be776e) (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\(144a6b24-0ebc-4d89-bf09-a06a718e57b5) (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\(daed9266-8c28-4c1c-8b58-5c66eff1d302) (Search.Hijack) -> No action taken. Registry Values Infected: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser\(144a6b24-0ebc-4d89-bf09-a06a718e57b5) (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow\*.securewebinfo.com (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow\*.safetyincludes.com (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\New Windows\Allow\*.securemanaging.com (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\wblogon (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run\start (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. Registry Data Items Infected: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Default_Search_URL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Default_Search_URL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Search Page (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Search Page (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Search Bar (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/ie6.html) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Search Bar (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/ie6.html) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\SearchMigratedDefaultURL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/search?q=(searchTerms)) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\SearchMigratedDefaultURL (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/search?q=(searchTerms)) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search\SearchAssistant (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search\SearchAssistant (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\w\ (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/search?q=%s) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\w\ (Hijack.Search) -> Bad: (http://windiwsfsearch.com/search?q=%s) Good: (http://www.google.com/) -> No action taken. Folders Infected: C:\Windows\System32\675873 (Trojan.BHO) -> No action taken. Files Infected: C:\Users\Lady\My Documents\My Music\My Music.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Lady\My Documents\My Pictures\My Pictures.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Lady\My Documents\My Videos\My Video.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Lady\My Documents\My Documents.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Antivirus Scan.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Online Spyware Test.url (Trojan.Zlob) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Antivirus Scan.url (Rogue.Link) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Online Spyware Test.url (Rogue.Link) -> No action taken. C:\Users\Lady\Favorites\Antivirus Scan.url (Rogue.Link) -> No action taken. Also, before reading your post I hand-copied some things that showed up in my Free AVG when it automatically scanned in the wee hours of this morning. Trojan Fake Alfert - IEBT " Media-Codec " Media-Codec/V4 " SmitFraudVariant/IE Anti-Spyware " Unclassified/ALGG " Unclassified-Packed/Suspicious " Downloader ZLOB_r.DE " " " " DO " " " " DF " Generic7.BDKJ Adware Media-Codec/ZLOB And even though I thought the bad stuff was gone and I've started with a fresh reboot, when I am in IE7, it freezes and I get one of two messages: APPCRASH or APPHANGB1 Of course I went to WebShots and sure 'nuff, there was the big box with the message "This page will not function properly without enabling Java". gggrrrrr!

I have the 4840 Washer & Dryer. I purchased them in February 2008. I LOVE them. I have previously owned a set of Maytag Neptunes....almost as nice. My experience with the rinse was a surprise like everyone else as to how little water these machines use. I use the Persil and/or Tide HE along with a liquid fabric softener (Downy) as you could damage the dryer by using dryer sheets due to static electricity. I use these machines 2 to 3 times a day. We have a large household with lots of dirty clothes. My youngest daughter is a culinary student and when she first started coming home with all kinds of stains including berries, wine & chocolate I was worried. It proved to be for not. Even with my Maytags such stains would still leave "Ghosts". Not only has the Miele erased the stain completely, it does it with care. Her chefs coats still look new (9 months old). Two weeks ago, her teacher and fellow students finally asked her how she keeps her white coats and aprons looking new. They thought that perhaps she had 20 uniforms. She has 5. She told them to "Ask my Mom". lol With that said.....the subject of rinsing. You should also know that I have what's known as "Hyper Smell". I can smell things that most people cannot...unfortunatley somehow related to migraines. To say I am extremely sensitive to smell would be an understatement. I am very particular about laundry. I was told by the technician that installed the Miele's, to use only 1 Tbls. of soap. After a few washes I noticed that there was a musty smell to my laundry. I soon realized that even with the Persil I needed to add more soap. It was the amount of soap (or lack of) that was actually making my laundry seem that it wasn't "Rinsing" properly. I experimented for a while and have found that the 1 Tbls. per load is too good to be true. I now use 3 Tbls. per average load and it has eliminated the musty, not clean odor. They are rinsing beautifully. If clothes do not rinse properly you will notice a build up of some kind. Your clothes will feel tacky or powdery...is that even a word? Ayway, ultimatley with 3 Tbls. of soap my laundry smells fresh and the fabric is light. This tells me that the rinse cycle is performing well. As for the gray coloring of clothes, I have never had that situation. The Master Care "Extra White" setting is AWESOME!!!!! This is what I use on the Chefs clothes. As hot as the water gets with this setting, you would think it would eventually do some damage to her coats and aprons but after 9 months they still look brand new. I hope this helps. Warmest Regards

Update on our floors: we had them sanded and refinished, went with a custom SW wood classics stain, base was "new ebony" tweaked a bit to lighten up and avoid any reddish undertones. See pics below, water popped, stained and one coat of water base finish-they'll be covered with ram board until end of project and then floor guys come back for second coat of finish and any buffing (I think, if necessary), we might do a third coat for extra durability with the dogs. We'll see how the finish lasts over time, but there was barely ANY smell, that Swedish finish from the previous installer was horrific. In the end, the color still didn't turn out quite as dark as I wanted or how I had envisioned, however I think we ended up with a nice warm, deep tone that will be timeless, but still fits within the realm of what I wanted, within reason given the fact that I had envisioned rift and quarter not plain sawn. Regardless, they are sooo much better than the first go around, in my eyes, and well worth the extra cost. I'm sure this is nothing new to those who have already commented, but for anyone going through something similar, take it from me... nothing will ever look exactly like the pictures you use as examples (no matter how many times people warn you), you can get close, but even our new stain looks totally different when you're standing in the room vs. taking a pic, the pics show much more variation and make the floors look lighter, they're more even toned and charcoal in person, pics make them look more brown. And it changes in various light, you can tell from the pics below that it changes depending on where you're standing. These were all taken at the same time of day. Great learning lessons here for anyone installing new hardwoods, be sure you know the ins and outs of the species you are selecting and know that given the variability in the boards, the floors overall will never look exactly like the sample swatch they do on your floor. No matter how many times they tell you that, it doesn't sink in until you see it all finished. If you have your heart set on a consistent color/tone, I would highly recommend pre-finished wood floors based on my experience. As much as I don't like the engineered look (having had it before), you can rest assured that what you select will look exactly the same once installed. Thanks for all the help from folks who weighed in, and if you have any critical comments on the outcome or process-please just keep it to yourself :) I'm exhausted from this ordeal and am ready to move on and what's done is down at this point, just wanted to update folks and say thanks for the earlier feedback. Can't wait to paint lighter colors and get all of our belongings in there to pull it all together!