Winix WDH871 70 Pint Dehumidifier with Built-In Pump White with Charcoal Grill

Very well constructed, fairly quiet, December 5, 2010

By 

Surgery100 "ADJ" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

  

This unit is identical to the WDH851 with the difference that one is rated 70 pints and one 50. The first thing to clarify about that rating, and this applies to all dehumidifiers, is that it refers to the maximum amount of water it can remove in 24 hours, not to the size of the tank (which is a fairly standard 2 gallons).

I live in DC and have a beach house in Puerto Rico, which remains closed for 2-3 months at a time so keeping humidity in check becomes a regular chore. I've had and/or tested around 10 dehumidifiers in the last few years. In general they all do the job, clear the air of excess humidity, and they do this fairly effectively. The differences come in how they do this:

1) how many speed settings they have,

2) can the unit be set to run automatically to maintain a certain humidity percent,

3) how noisy are they (notice I don't say how quiet are they, all of them make noise),

4) how are they drained: bucket vs. gravity drain vs. pump

5) how sturdy are they

6) how easily can they be moved from one room to the next (not all wheels are the same)

This unit has 2 fan speed settings. At the high speed this is fairly loud. I'm not talking Rolling Thunder loud, but not quiet enough to keep in a bedroom or to have a quiet conversation next to it. I use this setting for when I'm out of the house. The low setting makes a comfortable background white noise similar to an area fan.

One of the things I like best about this unit is that it has 3 ways to drain the water: 1) manually by carrying a bucket (very solid construction), 2) gravity drain, and 3) it has an included pump that can drain the water up to 15 feet vertically.

The unit has an automatic on and off (or sleep mode) depending on the pre-set humidity level.

The wheels in this unit work very well. In other units (the Danby 60 pint and the Kenmore 70 pint) the wheels either broke or sagged so much that they were worthless after a few months.

Compared to the Frigidaire 70-Pint Dehumidifier (FAD704TDP), the Winix is far better.

1) it is better constructed, the wheels are bigger and easier to roll and the bucket handle feels stronger,

2) it includes a water pump (pump and hose for the Frigidaire add about -100)

3) it is quieter, particularly at the low fan setting

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 Comment (1)

Does Not Work, June 9, 2011

I ordered this product and it arrived promptly. However, it has been on for two days and has not drawn a single drop of water. The fan runs constantly and is loud. I have tried numerous times to reset the machine and run it all the different modes and drain types. I called customer service three times and had to leave a message that has yet to be returned. Meanwhile it is 90 degrees here and my basement feels like a rain forest. Very poor experience.

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