Every summer I think about buying a dehumidifier for the lower level of my house. The house is built into a hill, so the front (west) of the lower level is above ground, while the back wall (east side) is underground, like a regular basement. The front room was intended to be a family room, but I use it as the living room. The back half contains the laundry room/bathroom and an open area I use for an office. The rest of the lower level is taken up by a heated/air-conditioned tuck-under garage.
Anyway...the humidity level is always a little high down here during the summer, and with my asthma/allergies running at full-tilt this summer, I finally purchased a dehumidifier online from Amazon.
It's a Frigidaire, model FAD704DWD with an Energy Star rating, so I'll get $25 back from my local utility. It's been on for 8 hours and the bucket is nearly 3/4 full. The instructions suggest to run it in the "Continuous" mode for 3-4 days, then select the humidity level you want (35%-85%). The fan will then cycle on/off with the compressor.
Seems to be doing its job; the lower level (where I spend a lot of time since the TV, sofa, office, and laundry are all down here) is noticeably drier already. I have both stairway doors to the main level closed, so it's effectively sealed off.
This was the top-rated model at Consumer Reports, but many user reviews at both Amazon and Frigidaire.com say the same thing: It works great but has a short life. Many complained the compressor gave out in 2-3 years.
User reviews for other brands complained of the same thing, so decided to go with the Frigidaire. Hope it lasts longer than 2 years! The list price is $349, and I got it for $250 at Amazon, with free shipping (via UPS).
(Aside: I used an iPad app called FrameArtist With Photo Templates Pro to get two photos into one post. You can make frames with up to 56 photos in them. There are many other templates to create interesting photo projects. It's free today at Apple's App Store. Easy to use! I've always wanted to be able to get more than one photo into a post.
[this post was last edited: 7/16/2013-23:44]
Anyway...the humidity level is always a little high down here during the summer, and with my asthma/allergies running at full-tilt this summer, I finally purchased a dehumidifier online from Amazon.
It's a Frigidaire, model FAD704DWD with an Energy Star rating, so I'll get $25 back from my local utility. It's been on for 8 hours and the bucket is nearly 3/4 full. The instructions suggest to run it in the "Continuous" mode for 3-4 days, then select the humidity level you want (35%-85%). The fan will then cycle on/off with the compressor.
Seems to be doing its job; the lower level (where I spend a lot of time since the TV, sofa, office, and laundry are all down here) is noticeably drier already. I have both stairway doors to the main level closed, so it's effectively sealed off.
This was the top-rated model at Consumer Reports, but many user reviews at both Amazon and Frigidaire.com say the same thing: It works great but has a short life. Many complained the compressor gave out in 2-3 years.
User reviews for other brands complained of the same thing, so decided to go with the Frigidaire. Hope it lasts longer than 2 years! The list price is $349, and I got it for $250 at Amazon, with free shipping (via UPS).
(Aside: I used an iPad app called FrameArtist With Photo Templates Pro to get two photos into one post. You can make frames with up to 56 photos in them. There are many other templates to create interesting photo projects. It's free today at Apple's App Store. Easy to use! I've always wanted to be able to get more than one photo into a post.
[this post was last edited: 7/16/2013-23:44]
