DeLonghi DE400 40-Pint Dehumidifier

I've owned this product for a month now and have been very pleased with both features and performance. As previously mentioned, the water reservoir is rather small. I have a sump nearby to allow for constant drainage but have not yet hooked up. Before doing that, I wanted to "eyeball" how much water it was collecting. So far, I've been emptying just about everyday. Pulling out the reservoir is not particularly easy and could use a design improvement. However, if you are worried about dampness or can't remember to empty it, you should definitely attach a hose to it. I'll do this prior to vacation later this month.

Our basement is rather damp. So damp in fact that it probably should never have been built, nearly below the water table. About half of our basement is finished and half unfinished. I've taken a number of steps to keep it dry including a three-quarter horsepower sump pump with battery backup. The DeLonghi unit replaces a 10 year old Home Depot purchased dehumidifier that stopped working. I choose the DeLonghi unit due in part to the Energy Start rating. What I like most about the unit is the ability view current humidity levels and set it to the desired amount. In reading up on "healthy" humidity levels, it seems the 45-50% range is best. By default, the unit is programmed for 60%. To reduce the level, one simply presses the "minus" button to reach the desired level, i.e. 60%, 55%, 50%, 45%, etc... That's really it. Nothing more to do. The impact is noticeable and is a big improvement over my previous unit. I can't say for sure just yet, but I think we're actually saving money on the central AC cost. We have a fairly small 3 bedroom 3 story home and we've been able to set the AC at 75 rather then 72 or 73 since purchasing the DeLonghi unit. This seems to be because there is less humidity in the entire house. Truth will be told with the next utility bill. Better yet, the entire basement no longer has that musty smell associated with dampness.

Set it, (empty it if not connected to drain) and forget it. That's it. Easy to start. Easy to operate. A buy.

So far so good! The dehumidifier has been running non-stop since I purchased it, about a month ago. It's doing a terrific job of airing out my musty old basement. I love it. The water tank is easy to remove(I empty it twice a day) and the alarm tells me when it is full. The machine is on wheels making it easy to move around and is very quiet. I can now leave the basement door open and with the machine at the bottom of the stairs, it helps to dehumidify upstairs, too! I will eventually hook it up to a separate pump and let it drain out my washing machine drain pipe (I don't have a sink in the basement yet)and let it run continuously. I wish I had done this sooner! P.S. if you don't have a basement sink or floor drain, but do have a washing machine in the basement, as I do, empty the dehumidifier's water into the washing machine (don't worry - it's clean distilled water) then run the last rinse cycle to expel it. Works great! And is much easier than carrying the water tank upstairs or outside to empty it. I highly recommend this machine.

So far the dehumidifier has been a success for us. When it arrived it had a broken wheel. We called and was called back immediately. We could have sent it back or had a percentage off, but my husband was able to purchase a wheel at the hardware store to fix it for a minimal cost. It has been running well, and we like the way it beeps when full, which our other one did not. It has not been warm very long, but so far all is well. Thanks.

I have read the other reviews and do not agree. The unit is relatively quiet for a dehumidifier. It has a fan and a compressor that is needed to be able to take water from the air--that in itself, would make some noise, but it is not a disturbing sound. The room's temperature is shown in the control panel window. You set the humidity that you want, and the machine will run until that humidity is reached. There are 3 fan settings and an automatic defrost. Dehumidifiers are usually used when the air is warmer and humid. In this situation, there is no need for defrosting. However, when the air temperature cools, dehumidifiers tend to freeze up. This one automatically warms slightly to defrost the coils that would normally be used to condense the moisture in the air. Apparently one of the previous reviewers has not recently been in the market for a dehumidifier. They are sold as a capacity quantity machine. The amount of water listed is the water removed in a 24-hour period of time. A machine that removes 40 pints would do that in 24 hours. If the machine was to hold 40 pints of water, it would need a water container that would be the size of a 5-gallon spackle bucket. It has a smaller drawer on the side if you want to empty the water on your own. This machine also has a great pump system. You put the included hose into a hole in the front of the dehumidifier and put the other end of the hose in a drain, out a tiny space by a window, through a little hole by a door edge, etc. You never have to remember to empty the bucket. The dehumidifier in the pump mode can pump the water up 13 feet. The hose is about 16 feet long which for my use is plenty long enough. It can pump up to a sink or up to a basement window. You can go on vacation and not come home to a musty smelling area. The machine is attractive with very plain curved edges. It has casters that roll easily on a carpet as well as a smooth floor. It also has a turbo switch which, when pressed, allows the dehumidifier to run all of the time and continue to remove moisture from the air without regard to the humidity that you set manually. I would recommend this machine without any reservations. It does what a dehumidifier is supposed to do and more.

This unit is working well so far. Time will tell, but it doesn't ice up even during continuous operation. This is used in a basement to reduce moisture in the summer months. I had to by a longer drain hose at the local home improvement store to run the water to a floor drain. A plug is included for the collection bucket, which is nice, as I move this unit from room to room and the floor drain is not always accessible. I really don't use any of the electronic features, I just set it to continuous run and let it go. What I'm really looking for is for it to LAST. The previous unit I had (a Kenmore) only lasted 1.5 years.