When you say it's a "small step that distracts," do you mean we shouldn't do the small stuff at all, or that it just feels pointless without the bigger fixes? Genuinely curious lol.

Ugh, mine does that when the water gets too low. How old is your machine?

Man, like @abbycraig mentioned, basements are tricky but I read that humidity alone can make carpets buckle real quick. That old guy knew his stuff.

A single missed rust spot inside a panel can lead to a full comeback job, which is just wild. Like @miles958 said, using a boroscope is key to avoiding those nightmares. I once had rust come back in just a few months because I didn't check deep enough. Now I never skip the boroscope check, no matter how sure I am.

That reminds me of my friend whose cousin asked for all granite countertops as a wedding gift. She told him the quote was insane, like her whole savings account, and said maybe look at laminate. He got so offended and stopped talking to her for a month. Where do people get the idea that other folks are just sitting on that kind of cash?