Recommend a dehumidifier for my basement.

[alexd]

My basement has been humid since I bought my house many years ago and I figure I should get a dehumidifier to keep the humidity to a lower level. I know nothing about dehumidifiers except what I googled and found from random web searches.

Any recommendations for one I should buy? I would rather trust your recommendations if you have had good experience with a particular brand or model than some random fluffy internet reviews.. I live in a smallish semi in Leslieville so I don't think I need a giant one - perhaps just a midsize one.

• I need one that doesn't use that much electricity.
• Has a hose drain.
• Can be timed so it will run during the cheapest electricity hours (although I don't know if these things use a lot of energy anyway...)

 

[kyfe]

I use a danby, you can get them at home depot, costco etc. cost me about $100.
they do not use a lot of electricity
you cannot program them at way as there is no clock on them
it does have a drain hose .

We live in an old house and it does get a little damp after a big storm, this thing we leave running and empty it frequently. never had an issue with the unit in the 3 years

 

[catilyst]

we leave running and empty it frequently. never had an issue with the unit in the 3 years

Not sure if they're all the same but the instructions for mine stated explicitly to only run when beyond a certain humidity percentage, otherwise it will shorten it's lifespan.

 

[ndrwrld]

you could plug the dehumidifier into an outdoor light timer type thing, they now come digital, to control how long it stays on for per day.

 

[kyfe]

Not sure if they're all the same but the instructions for mine stated explicitly to only run when beyond a certain humidity percentage, otherwise it will shorten it's lifespan.

Its only on when we use it, not 24/7

 

[alexd]

The main thing I am trying to figure out now is capacity... Pints? I wish they would just say how many square feet a unit can cope with instead of how many pints it can do in a day!

 

[alexd]

I found a chart that explains it better. Turns out I don't need a giant dehumidifier.

 

[basketballjones]

use google

 

[alexd]

I ended up getting a 70 pint Garrison from Canadian Tire. It is plugged in and humming away in the basement even now.

 

[catilyst]

I ended up getting a 70 pint Garrison from Canadian Tire. It is plugged in and humming away in the basement even now.

Was gonna say, it's likely the type of purchase that is too bulky to be sought after online, which means ultimately you'd be at the mercy of your local hardware stores selection, which, for a dehumidifier you likely won't have a lot of choice.