I putchased this unit as it was specified as having three features I wanted in a basement unattended dehumidifier a) auto restart on power failure b) continous gravity drain and c) automatic defrost. When I received the unit and hooked up the continous drain hose the unit continued to fill up its bucket and auto stop when the bucket filled up. I checked several times to make sure I had hooked up the auto drain as per istructions which were very straight forward. Finally convinced I had hooked up the hose correctly I called Danby customer care in Toronto. Got through to them very quickly. The person I spoke with explained that, yes, this model was having " manufacturing problems" and many units were not auto draining, but they were working on a "fix". He offered to take my name and mail me the fix as soon as it was out. When I asked him how long the fix has been worked on and when it would be available , he responded " for several months" and " any week now". Well not willing to wait for the "fix" I asked and got my money back from the reseller I had bought the unit from. So before I would buy this unit ( which appeared quite solid) if the continous drain feature is important to you I would check and make sure the "fix" is in.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Warning. I purchased a Danby dehumidifier after excellent consumer report reviews and research. It worked GREAT for one summer. But by fall I noticed this thing wasn't working as good. I saw less water being drawn out. I thought it was because temperatures were dropping in Chicago, so I packed it up for the winter. Well spring comes and it didn't work at all. I called Danby and they stated to send it to a local shop. I searched for days to find a shop. Most companies stated it just takes too long to get parts from Danby and they stopped doing repairs. After calling Danby again, I found a shop in North Chicago area, I live in the south suburbs. So I packed this heavy piece of machinery, yes it weighs about 80 pounds, in my CUV and fought traffic on the Dan Ryan. Got a call back a few days later stating the warranty wasn't valid and it would cost around $150 to repair. Luckily the owner was legit and stated that these things never last long. He gets many complaints and he recommended I purchase a new dehumidifier instead. Don't buy a Danby in the US. It is too tough to get parts and their warranty is a joke, 6 months. I noticed now they are 1 year, but Whirlpool units have up to 5 years. If you buy this unit get an extended warranty, I didn't and regret it. I would just stay away from Danby dehumidifiers.
I just purchased a Frigidaire unit from Amazon with a 3 year warranty. So far it is working like a champ and it is MUCH LESS noisy. Now I am realizing I made a huge mistake buying a Danby. I thought all dehumidifiers were noisy, my whirlpool I replaced was loud and the Danby was even louder. The Frigidaire unit makes so much less noise. So another reason to stay away from Danby.
Best Deals for Danby 70 Pint Dehumidifier - DDR7009REE - Energy Star Compliant
I spent a lot of time doing research about dehumidifiers online, and also reading articles about many brands.
I ultimately settled on this Danby 70 pint unit, and that was most certainly the right decision.
I have a 2400 sq ft Cape Cod style home with a full basement.
Although we live higher up on a hillside, there are some minor hydraulic water problems in the soil immediately surrounding the concrete foundation.
When there is a considerable amount of rain, we occasionally get small damp spots, or in the case of a rainstorm, puddles coming up from the floor, as well as a musty odor.
My old, heavy dehumidifier worked well enough, but was somewhat costly to run from an energy standpoint.
This unit was well thought out, extremely well designed, works perfectly, is fairly quiet (my old unit sounded like a B737 at takeoff) and has the best overall reputation.
This unit is light enough to maneuver around, and has a handy see through tank level indicator that makes checking it easy.
It can be set up to collect the water in its tank, or, as I am planning to do, duct it with a short length of hose right into a drain into the laundry drain tub.
Its controls and instructions are most easy to understand and make absolute sense.
Haven't received the new electric bill yet, but this Danby unit is doing a 100% job of removing the moisture and mustiness in the air in the entire basement.
I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, and seriously endorse the unit as one that will do what is needed for 99% of applications.
I had originally thought that a larger unit would use more electricity, but actually, the larger units collect the moisture more quickly and shut themselves off in a lot less time, therefore saving energy.
I have friends how have used competitor's brands for about the same money, and have had far poorer results.
One borrowed my Danby and after trying it, has decided to return his Frigidare unit and buy one like mine.
Buy the Danby....you won't be sorry!!
Honest reviews on Danby 70 Pint Dehumidifier - DDR7009REE - Energy Star Compliant
I've had this dehumidifier for about 2 days now. Was shipped in 4 buisness days, box-in-box(the product box was placed in another box) and filled with what looks like shredded newspaper. The outer box looked a bit roughed up, but the product box looked perfect. Very simple to set up and get working, came with remote and proper size batteries, and constant drain hose(about 4 feet long). Plugged it in and turned it on, not too loud at all. Sounds like any other medium sized house fan on high, a bit quieter on low.
We live in the rainy and wet northwest, in a smaller 2-bedroom apartment that is partially underground. Because the living room, kitchen, and bathroom are underground, the walls and carpet always smell musty(its an old apartment complex that is reaching the end of its lifetime, plans to remodel in 3 years). Borrowed a buddies humidistat one day, and discovered that it was 58% humid outside, and 91% humid in our apartment. Naturally, decided it was time to go shopping.
When we turned the dehumidifier on, temp read 61f and humidistat read 89%. Turned it on high, and set the humidistat for 30%. After 24 hours, humidity was down to 46%, and temp was up to a very comfortable 71f. Only needed to empty the bucket once, very large capacity.
Yesterday morning woke up with a nosebleed from the dry air, so decided to set the humidistat to 50% with fan on low. Also purchased a wall outlet timer(beacuse the fan ONLY turns off automatically when the bucket is full, even if the compressor is off), and have it running 6 hours during the day. Our apartment is now a steady 49%/72f at 3pm, and 65%/65f at 3am. Overall MUCH more comfortable(with no nosebleeds, lol). Be sure that if you intend to use this to dehumidify a living space, that its not set TOO high for the sq/ft. It WILL dry YOU out.
Very very happy with purchase. Lost a star due to the fan only turning off when bucket is full, regardless of compressor state. Its only a minor irritation, would give 4 1/2 stars if i could.
Will update in a week or so when power bill comes to see how much its costs to run(though by my math it should only pull as much power as a medium/high end computer or a midrange AC unit)
UPDATE: Power bill came, and just like i predicted its probobly 2-4 dollars more a month to run constantly. With the timer in place, our bill hasnt changed in any real noticeable way. Its sill running strong, pulling buckets of water out of our air a week. It had to use its automatic defrost once(all it did was turn the compressor off, and turn the fan on high for about 10-15min.), but was over quickly. 3 weeks later, still happy with it. Seems sturdy enough that it will last a long time to come.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Danby 70 Pint Dehumidifier - DDR7009REE - Energy Star Compliant
After spending 2-3 weeks looking at all of the portable dehumidifier options for our finished basement, I chose this for several reasons.
1.) Automatic restart The power frequently goes out on our street, and I don't want to have to go and reset this each time.
2.) Capacity This unit is tested to remove 70 pints of water a day in ideal conditions. I don't know the exact amount that the unit is removing, but there was a noticeable difference in our basement after the first day of use on the high fan setting. I have since turned the unit to low and it maintains the humidity very well.
3.) Continuous drain I certainly do not want to have to go down to the basement and empty this daily or every couple days. The only downside to this models continuous drain feature is that you have to use the included hose, which is pretty short. I bought a 15 foot hose with this unit, but it will not stay on the dehumidifier. The threads on the nipple from the back of the unit are filed down on the top and bottom, which is fine for their hose, but the additional weight of the rubber hose causes it to fall off of the nipple. This causes the unit to use the internal bucket. I just moved the unit closer to the drain and used the included hose.
4.) Warranty This unit has a two year warranty, where others only have a one year. I have read that most portable dehumidifiers die after a little more than a year, so it's kind of nice to know that I have a little more time after that which is covered under warranty.
This unit does produce a little bit of heat like all dehumidifiers do, but it is not excessive. The unit is also very quiet. I have to be in the same room as it to hear it running. The controls are extremely easy to use. A five year old could get this up and running in twenty minutes flat (including unboxing, placement and setting the unit for the desired humidity).
I gave the unit only four stars because I've only owned it for a couple weeks. These types of units typically die after a year. I hope this one lasts a little longer than that.
All in all, it is a great unit. I would recommend this to anyone looking at portable dehumidifiers.
