What do you recommend for a dehumidifier?

[ml2620]

We have a musty basement with a washer and dryer located there, and it's one of the few spaces in the house where we have any storage, so it has to be used. I've noticed a slight mildew on the coats and clothing items we store down there, and just a musty smell that invades the rest of the house.

We are thinking about getting a dehumidifier, Do you have any recommendations for what we should look for in terms of features, prices, etc.

Or if you have a surefire method of beating the musties instead of buying a dehumidifier, I'd love to hear your suggestions!

[lisaflex]

damp rid helps. boxes of baking soda throughout the basement. and, an energy effecient dehumidifier that you can hook up w hose so you dont have to emty it!

[lwlynch]

we just bought a 50pt one at lowes and it is wonderful.. really great.. it was about 200

[Grainlady]

It sounds like you would benefit from a dehumidifier. You may also find placing a fan in the room for better air circulation will also help. "Musty" is a sign of mold growth and you may want to wash all the area down with some type of product that will kill mold spores. Bleach/water solution may be all you need for the task. Check your local hardware store for products.

The humidity level in a home should be between 30-50%. You can purchase a hygrometer so you can see what the humidity level actually is.

1. Get one large enough for the space. It's better to get one that is too large than one that is too small. If they are too small, they run constantly and they aren't exactly cheap to run.

2. Get an Energy Star model. You may even qualify for a tax write-off by purchasing an Energy Star model. We did 3 years ago when we purchased a new Energy Star model - so keep the receipt for tax purposes.

3. If you have a floor drain in your basement, place the dehumidifier so it will automatically drain (hose attachment) into a floor drain. MUCH easier than dumping it a couple times a day.

4. We just turned our dehumidifier off and find we only need it from about April-September. Not all models work well in a cold basement.

5. Make sure the "bucket" is easy to remove from the model.

Here's a link that will give you even more information:
http://www.hometips.com/dehumidifier_buying_guide.html

[pop goes the weasel]

Our neighbor gave us a brand new Whirlpool dehumidifer. She said it was too loud, It is noisy but we keep it downstairs. We tried everything to get rid of the mold and water in our basement. NOthing worked. I even scrubbed with bleach andused that special paint. It still came back. since we've been using the dehumidifier the water and mold are gone. I told dh that either we have a lot of water or it's pulling water fromt he tators down there and we'll have dried tators. we take out about 2 gallons a day and we live in a small 4 room house.

[Pemberleyan]

I see you've already gotten a great answer, but I wanted to say that we've recently bought two of them, one an LG and the other a Frigidaire. I prefer the LG because it's quieter (that probably wouldn't matter in your situation) and the bucket seems sturdier. I'll be glad when we can turn ours off as it gets colder.

[lisaflex]

i still run ours in the winter when i do a lot of laundry. and still get at least 2 buckets full over a wknd

[spyzvixxen]

We bought a Whirlpool when we gutted & fixed up & moved in my parents basement. What a water/mold/must/mildew nightmare!! The Whirlpool was definitely quieter & more efficient than the old clunker my parents had. Though, we still used the old one on their side of the basement "just in case".