Re: dehumidifiers are junk

[Green Horn]

I installed a Honeywell 95 whole house dehumidifier to my furnace. My house ran about 70% water on all the windows in the winter. The Honeywell has it down to 41%. Build house to tight 11 years ago put the best windows in but that wasn't enough.

 

[Mike M]

Right now I have a pretty old one that still works. Would like to find some more of the old ones that work for spares.
I am sick and tired of spending $200.00 only to get a year more or less out of the JUNK ones they sell today ! Some don't even work correctly out of the box. Look in at the compressors and they are marked made in china. This is a lot of the problem.
Last summer I got a small used window A/C unit off craigslist for $ 10.00 and stuck it in my building to try. It seemed to keep the humidity down but then it did also seem to get colder in there than needed too.
The small cheapo window A/C units seem to hold up and last I don't really know why the dehumidifiers don't ?

 

[W_B]

Junk? Yes they are, have had several and none of them lasted very long.

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

I don't quite understand what you mean - do you not have an air exchanger? Tight tight houses need a way to get rid of humidity.

A double pane window is a double pane window, barely any difference in the convective r-value at the glass part. Only option to prevent water is dry the house down below dew point at glass or triple pane but even they will condense at low outside temp and high humidity inside.

In winter a heat exchanger will easily control humidity with little heat loss. Its code up here now due to mold/water issues.

 

[tractorguy2]

You can't use hard water in them. My dad and
sister each have one. Don't know what brand they
are. Got them at the Pamida store. have to be at
least ten years old.

Here we have to use soft water or they will lime
up and not work.

 

[Dieselbreath]

I have a frigidaire, ordered from Amazon that I have been using for a month with good results. A basement here in the northwest can get pretty damp.
After reading all the negative comments about the GE models that Home Depot carries I decided not to go with them. Don't know if they are all made in the same factory in China.
I also paid for the extended warranty, decided it was good insurance, since they don't have the best record.

 

[Mike M]

I think you have a Humidifier confused with a DEhumidifier ?
Yes a humidifier puts water into the air you would want the cleanest water you can get in them or else they plug up.

The dehumidifier pulls water from the air. And actually the water is pretty clean they collect. Might even be equal to distilled ?

 

[gab]

Don't remember what brand it is, bought it for $25. at a garage sale close to 20 years ago, looked like new, summer in the basement it runs constantly.

 

[ss55]

Is the dehumidifier tank not filling up? If the tank is filling properly you may have a moisture entry problem: damp basement walls, clothes dryer not vented, etc?

If your outside temperatures are above freezing, a central air conditioner is one of the best dehumidifiers you can find.