I think you're saying that if I don't free an object manually, there are circumstances where it might not be freed by the VBA editor as the macro comes to an end. I don't think I ever knew that (or if I did, I forgot). That does make a difference, especially because I tend to leave my laptop on for a week or three at a time and Excel is unlikely to be closed at any time during that period. Run macros again and again, and this could get to be a problem.

Well, I don't know that I'll change my habits overnight. But at least I'm sure to be suspicious if things slow down suddenly, in the near future; I may discover that I'm well advised to do the same as you.