De-humidifiers (how much, house, buying)

[wCat]

I need some recommendations for a portable de-humidifier.....and where to get one.

My home is split level and the lower level is much more damp and musty from all the humidity this spring/summer. We have to crank down the ac at night just to be able to breath and we wake up with condensation on the windows.

Walmart has a several models, but I don't have a clue to how large or small of a unit. The specs don't say much about that. This lower level area is about 600 sq feet and one large room.

Bed Bath and Beyond only carries "humidifiers"....duh....wonder where that store manager is from??? definitely not TEXAS!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[di_is_in_tx]

wCat...funny you should mention a dehumidifier. I was in the process of looking for one. I myself live in an older home an have a small bathroom with no ventilation. I'm constantly battling mold issues which of course is the ultimate horror story. It gets a bit tiring cleaning it constantly. I didn't even know they existed until I read it in an article on the net. I will be anxiously awaiting other replies to your post.

[missmypfc]

We have a portable de-humidifier from Sears. I have taken it all across the country with me and it runs perfect-- the only state we didn't use it in was Colorado.
This is only the second one we have bought in 22 yrs, so I feel they are dependable. It holds about a gallon and a half of water and since it's kind of noisy we turn it on at 9 p.m (right before we go to bed) and it runs until 6 a.m. Every single night it fills up! We are considering getting another one for our upstairs.

[wCat]

I'll have to check out Sears! Missmy.....are they expensive at Sears? I've seen them from $139 to $300 and up! Walmart shows them online, but they don't carry them in the store. Home Depot had one online that was almost $300! Lowes has four models, but I don't if they have them in the store yet.

With all the problems with mold ....and this extra wet and humid season I'm finding it surprising that they are hard to find!

[ohannahbanana]

We have a home built in 1924, in Michigan, and the basement is a nightmare! The walls and floors are always wet, and the mold and musty smell is terrible! We ended up buying a unit from Sears- around 300 bucks, and within a couple days, we had a 100% improvement. I figure you get what you pay for, and I wasn't willing to play games. I just wanted a dry basement! Talk to someone at a hardware store about size, or check online to see if manufacturer's will give you any info. They're well worth it!

[wCat]

I never did make it to Sears......but I did find an affordable Whirlpool de-humidifier at Lowes. This one was about $150 including tax! I have to say it's the BEST money I've spent in ages! Only one part of the house is problematic with humidity.....and cranking the AC down just made it cold damp and humid! UGH!

This dehumidfier will collect up to 25 pints of water. It will shut off automatically when the bucket is filled. When we plugged it in, I could feel the difference within just a couple of hours! Right now, with the current humidity and excess rain, it's collecting 4 gallons in about 15 hours. That's almost 8 gallons of water in the air a DAY!!!! If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe it!

Major THUMBS UP on this one!!!! Wow!

[shenane]

Did the dehumidifier allow y'all to use your air conditioner a lot less? I don't mind being hot, but I want my dogs to be comfortable and I don't like having the AC on all the time (I get cold). I just brought some celing fans and I was wondering if I should compliment them with a dehumidifier before the energy star tax free weekend is over.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by missmypfc

We have a portable de-humidifier from Sears. I have taken it all across the country with me and it runs perfect-- the only state we didn't use it in was Colorado.
This is only the second one we have bought in 22 yrs, so I feel they are dependable. It holds about a gallon and a half of water and since it's kind of noisy we turn it on at 9 p.m (right before we go to bed) and it runs until 6 a.m. Every single night it fills up! We are considering getting another one for our upstairs.

Originally Posted by ohannahbanana

We have a home built in 1924, in Michigan, and the basement is a nightmare! The walls and floors are always wet, and the mold and musty smell is terrible! We ended up buying a unit from Sears- around 300 bucks, and within a couple days, we had a 100% improvement. I figure you get what you pay for, and I wasn't willing to play games. I just wanted a dry basement! Talk to someone at a hardware store about size, or check online to see if manufacturer's will give you any info. They're well worth it!

Originally Posted by wCat

I never did make it to Sears......but I did find an affordable Whirlpool de-humidifier at Lowes. This one was about $150 including tax! I have to say it's the BEST money I've spent in ages! Only one part of the house is problematic with humidity.....and cranking the AC down just made it cold damp and humid! UGH!

This dehumidfier will collect up to 25 pints of water. It will shut off automatically when the bucket is filled. When we plugged it in, I could feel the difference within just a couple of hours! Right now, with the current humidity and excess rain, it's collecting 4 gallons in about 15 hours. That's almost 8 gallons of water in the air a DAY!!!! If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe it!

Major THUMBS UP on this one!!!! Wow!

[Paka]

Originally Posted by wCat

I never did make it to Sears......but I did find an affordable Whirlpool de-humidifier at Lowes. This one was about $150 including tax! I have to say it's the BEST money I've spent in ages! Only one part of the house is problematic with humidity.....and cranking the AC down just made it cold damp and humid! UGH!

This dehumidfier will collect up to 25 pints of water. It will shut off automatically when the bucket is filled. When we plugged it in, I could feel the difference within just a couple of hours! Right now, with the current humidity and excess rain, it's collecting 4 gallons in about 15 hours. That's almost 8 gallons of water in the air a DAY!!!! If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe it!

Major THUMBS UP on this one!!!! Wow!

Here is a hint for having it run when you have such a humid area...get one of those 5 gal plastic jugs that you buy drinking water in and run the hose that most of them have to attach to a "drainage" system to it...and let it go all day and night only having to empty once and not worrying about it getting full and shutting down when you are not home...works like a CHARM!!! (years of living in the Philippines and Okinawa taught me that one!)

We use to sit the dehumidifier on a end table, and have the jug hidden behind it with the hose draining down...only drawback is the dehumidifier had to be higher than the jug to drain.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by shenane

Did the dehumidifier allow y'all to use your air conditioner a lot less? I don't mind being hot, but I want my dogs to be comfortable and I don't like having the AC on all the time (I get cold). I just brought some celing fans and I was wondering if I should compliment them with a dehumidifier before the energy star tax free weekend is over.
Thanks!

We don't use our dehumidifier much anymore now that we have central a/c (and can't open many windows yet ), but when it's been cooler yet humid - e.g., low 80s/high 70s inside but high humidity, we do run it for a bit. It really helps dry out the air w/o having to turn on the a/c, which is usually set to 80F.

We used to use it in our old house all the time which had no a/c, and it was quite tolerable.

[scuba steve]

Hey, how much water does the dehumidifier pull out of the air? I'm thinking about getting one to stick in the garage for two reasons. Making the place tolerable to be in, and I need the water. I'm bringing a bunch of plants from over here that need lower soil PH to grow in and tap water might not work too well.