Frigidaire - 70-Pint Dehumidifier - White

My bedroom is in a 308 sq ft basement.. Last summer the humidity got so bad mold began to grow on my shoes that I had packed away! And it effected my breathing. So this year I invested in this dehumidifier. Best thing I could’ve done! No musty smell and no mold. Awesome auto shut off when desired humidity is reached and or collecting bucket is full. I can have it run while I’m at work and not have to worry. Although I could’ve purchased the 50 pint according to the square footage I don’t have a drain to discard water.. so to avoid having to hall the bucket upstairs constantly I opted for the 70 pint, which was also suggested by the Best Buy employee that helped me out. I can have it going for about 2-3 days constantly before having to dump the water. It also keeps it relatively cooler than the rest of the house.

This is our second Frigidaire dehumidifier. The first one was damaged by a power surge from a lightning strike. It was the best unit I have ever owned. We were going through units every two years prior to the Frigidaire unit. After the lightning I tore the damaged unit apart to review the internal components. The unit looked like new except for the electrics. This was after five years of service in daily use. No corrosion in the unit. Well built. Good design.

Running continuously in my basement. It is pulling three buckets of water a day from the air. Keeping the humidity level below 50%.

Great on maintenance and works as advertised! Easy to clean filter.

Pro: I'm amazed at how much water this dehumidifier draws out of the air in my basement. I can't use the hose, so I just empty the bucket twice day into my potted plants. Con: The collection bucket of my new unit grew mold/mildew after < two weeks of use. It is very difficult to take the top apart to clean it. Feels like you'll break the plastic parts, but that is what Frigidaire recommended. They had no ideas for mold prevention.

This unit was a replacement for a similar 70 pint Frigidaire unit that conked out after only two years of service. I bought the 4 year extended on the old unit knowing I would need it, and I did. I’ve never had a dehumidifier of any brand last more than 2-3 years. I loved the old unit until it quit working. I suspect the sealed, non- serviceable compressor/refrigeration unit was low or out of Freon. Anyhow, Best Buy replaced the old dehumidifier with this unit. I purchased another 4 year warranty knowing full well I will need to use it. The new unit runs fairly quiet, but I wouldn’t want it upstairs where I had to listen to it constantly. When I set it up, the humidity in my basement was 70% according to the digital readout on the dehumidifier. Within approximately 3 days, it had the humidity level down to 45%. At that point, it would cycle on and off to keep the humidity at 45%, just where I set it. The refrigeration system did not freeze up or frost over, even though the basement temperature was about 60°-65°. I hooked the hose from my old unit up to the new one, ran it to a floor drain, and just let it do it’s thing. So far (about 2 weeks), it has properly dehumidified my basement with no additional inputs from me. Set it and forget it. My basement is unfinished and approximately 1200 sq. ft. in size. There is also approximately 1200 sq. ft. of crawl space opening to the basement. So in essence, the unit is dehumidifying 2400 sq. ft. and doing it well enough that it does not run 100% of the time. I would recommend the purchase of this dehumidifier. I absolutely NEVER purchase extended warranties on anything except dehumidifiers, so I suggest you get on on this unit if you decide to buy it. Will be $65+/- well spent.

This is the 3rd Fridigaire dehumidifier I've owned within the past 10-12 years. When they work correctly they are very useful in controlling in-the-home humidity in the springtime (when it's not chilly enough outside to need to run the furnace but neither is it hot enough outside to run a home's air conditioner). (some background) From what I've been able to learn there are relatively few companies that actually manufacture dehumidifiers - a handful make most but they are sold under several different names in the United States. The reason that this is the 3rd dehumidifier I've owned is that the first two failed within a few years - the 1st quit working within a couple of years and it was replaced under warranty. The 2nd unit worked well for several years but then it almost started-a-fire (do a search for 'overheating dehumidifier'). (a slightly technical discussion) This dehumidifier is basically a freon-based air-conditioner in-which the same air that is blown through the condenser coil (to remove the heat from the freon) also goes through the evaporator coil (in a regular air conditioner this is what chills the air inside a house). The evaporator coil doesn't quite remove all the heat that the air picked-up when it went through the condensor and so the air coming out of the dehumidifier is slightly warmer than when it went in. The 'magic' of the dehumidifier (why it works) is that some of the moisture in the air gets condensed-out when it goes through the condensor (the cold coil) and sent to a storage resevoir in the lower part of the unit (unless the 'garden hose' drain fitting on the back has been connected to a permanent drain). There are more efficient types of dehumidifiers (search for 'whole house dehumidifier') but they cost about three times as much and there can be significant installation costs. (conclusion) This portable dehumidifier is very useful but I suggest that an extended warranty be purchased. (From what I can tell no one fixes this sort of appliance - once it fails that's the end-of-it.)

We recently purchased a new old house. I love the house it is old built-in 1900. The house has had many renovations over the years. We have struggled a bit with small intermittent patches of mold but just enough to be noticeable. We have had the roof checked and some plumbing looked at but nothing to explain the problem. I bought this machine in September I keep it in the kitchen a few steps from the sink which also happens to be a large room with 2 big windows. The bucket is easy to dump it even has a handle to help limit any spilling. It is not very heavy. I just tend to empty it when I am near the machine. We do believe that we have figured out the cause of the high humidity. Rain and hurricane season and a house built with no real insulation in the walls. The attic is insulated well and was hiding the secrets behind the walls. I am happy to say with this dehumidifier my house stays at about 40-45% humidity now that it is cooler. I have not once been unhappy with this little machine's performance. The machine does its job well and has not caused much extra work from me. I was concerned about it not having its own pump and although It can be hooked to a hose to drain on its own the reviews of others having mold and water retaining issues in the machine was not an issue I wanted. I had enough water and mold. I did even buy a 6-foot hose but I didn't really want to see and deal with a hose in my kitchen. I decided I would dump the bucket manual as a test to see how big of an issue no automatic drain would cause. I am thankful I did. Manually dumping the bucket is not changed or affected my day and the dehumidifier is working as and when rarely idle because the bucket is full. It is a little noisy but I have a teenage son and three fur babies and it is just loud enough that I notice it is off when I am in the kitchen. It is really a small hum. I think this machine is great and would recommend it to anyone who needed one. I am considering purchasing another one for the back master bathroom and laundry room. I have not seen mold back in that area but some reason or another the dogs or the kids keep that area damp use. Sorry, I know this was a little long this is my first time ever writing a review. But I felt it had really done the job I needed it to do and it deserved the effort from me. Hope this information is helpful