Dehumidifiers

[stevew]

Anybody have any experience buying one of these? I know their life cycle isn't supposed to be indefinite, but I am trying to avoid a lemon if possible. Any feedback would be great, primarily this will be going in the basement, and I believe I want to get a 70 pint unit most likely.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by stevew

Anybody have any experience buying one of these? I know their life cycle isn't supposed to be indefinite, but I am trying to avoid a lemon if possible. Any feedback would be great, primarily this will be going in the basement, and I believe I want to get a 70 pint unit most likely.

I'm not sure what the humidity is like up that way, but I know we purchased one to be used in the summer in a basement in Georgia, and it was one that needed to be emptied by hand. It filled up so quickly that we had to empty it every day. That was a pain. Point being, make sure you ask some folks in your neck of the woods regarding what size will work for you.

[stevew]

Yeah re: the draining. I was looking at a Kenmore with a drain hose(there is a drain i could run it to) so that I would be able to avoid having to dump it daily. However the personal reviews on the sears.com site are absolutely awful for it. Which kind of sucks cause I work for sears right now and get a discount on all their shit.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by stevew

Yeah re: the draining. I was looking at a Kenmore with a drain hose(there is a drain i could run it to) so that I would be able to avoid having to dump it daily. However the personal reviews on the sears.com site are absolutely awful for it. Which kind of sucks cause I work for sears right now and get a discount on all their shit.

Are you in your basement every day? If so, it probably wouldn't be a huge deal. However, if you're not down there a lot, it is fairly likely that you'll just give up on emptying it if you have to do it every day.

[Kodos]

I like to place a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room, then let them battle it out for supremacy.

[Butter]

Who usually wins?

[Kodos]

Humidifier usually cheats by catching on fire and setting off the sprinklers.

[mauchow]

stevew -

I would recommend you look up 'Basement Systems' on the internet and see if there is a branch of this company in your area. Chances are there is.. they'll offer you a great machine. It'll control the humidity in your basement to whatever you want, normally you want it around 50% to stop mold and bacteria and dustmites. The piece of equipment is "Sanidry". You won't be disappointed with this machine as it drains into your sump or into a floor drain you might have.. and it'll pump out over 100 pints of moisture in a day if there was that much moisture!

[Bonegavel]

I have a model that requires my intervention and I have to do it every day or so. It sucks but it's worth it since the alternative is to have a damp and moldy basement.

I couldn't find a decent dehum that had a large capacity tank. I shopped around and the selection was wretched.

My parents still have a dehum that they bought in the 60's and it is running like a champ. I'm on my second in 11 years.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Bonegavel

My parents still have a dehum that they bought in the 60's and it is running like a champ. I'm on my second in 11 years.

Seems to be a common theme from what i've been reading. People's previous units lasted 15 years or more, and their current ones break in 3-4 years(if not sooner). Ideally I'm looking at running the dehumidifier for the short term, and in the long term moving towards some sort of more permanent sealing of the walls and floor.

[Anthony]

i only put my unit on after it rains. my basement as rated as exceptionally dry (although that doesn't mean it doesn't gather moisture, it's a basement, afterall).