Unfinished basement.

At first the humidity was... Fine, ish, down there. Around 55, not great, but it came down to 50 when the AC ran. Upstairs was similar.

But the last few weeks have been much cooler outside, and more humid. Even though we keep the windows closed when the humidity is high, the AC still hasn't been running much. Especially since we keep it set pretty warm to save energy.
The basement got to 73 degrees at 71% humidity! Yikes!

I knew I needed a dehumidifier, I had looked a few times before, but the options all suck, and everyone complains that they don't last long anymore.

They say if it lasts 6 months or a year, that's not uncommon. If it lasts 2 years, you lucked into a good one. If it lasts 3 or more years, go buy a lotto.

People are out there buying ones and returning them on warranty if they die early enough. And doing it over and over again, every couple years.

Very disheartening.

You get slightly more success if you pay a premium.
But then comes the next problem: most these units are all computerized now, with buttons to turn them on. And not all of them will turn back on after a power outage. And I definitely don't want to sign up for another online account to access features that should be free.

So, I started looking for industrial models.
They're VERY very expensive.
Again, disheartening.

But then I found the alorair HD35P, which was only slightly more expensive than the fancy consumer ones with the fancy control panels etc etc. But with no tank to take up space, and auto power recovery. Plus a built in condensate pump to pump the water away to a drain. And a 6 year warranty.
I almost bought this, but then I found its little brother.

I bought the HS35 instead.

It's the same unit, but just with a knob instead of a control panel. And no condensate pump (but people were having trouble with the screen clogging on that pump anyway).

I do lose granular control of the exact humidity I want. And I lose GPP mode, but I probably didn't want that anyway?

Who knows. We'll see. I'll try to report back if it dies on me.

In the meantime, my basement is now down to 49% humidity.
I thought about going to 30, but we have wood floors upstairs, so I'm worried getting it too dry down there will do bad stuff.

On the other hand, I should probably get it extra dry for awhile and check my stuff for mold 😖

New homes need Home Assistant.

Yea, I have never had a dehumidifier last more than a year in my basement. I am on my second HD35P, actually.

Hm might want to watch this technology connections video if you want a bit more insight into what to look for in a dehumidifier!

https://youtu.be/j_QfX0SYCE8

My crawlspace developed some mold after many years, so I had a borate treatment done. After that, I had a dehumidifier installed in the crawlspace. It's been there since July of 2024. The company that installed it comes out and checks it once a year and changes the filter. So far it's had no problems, fingers crossed. I have two Govee temp & humidity sensors in a couple of places in the crawlspace so I can check it from the phone app.

Edit: I should add that the dehumidifier only came with a 1 year warranty.

That's foreboding, but I appreciate it

Get a humidity sensor and a smart plug and Homeassistant and you can get it dialled right in!

Classic, thanks

Smart!

I already have the smart plugs, I was initially gonna set it so it doesn't run during my energy company's peak hours.
No reason I can't do both though.

I need to do that for the AC too, actually. But that rate ends at the end of the month, it's really a next years problem.

I did similar and bought this https://amazon.com/dp/B07M7S8QX4 BaseAire commercial dehumidifier with no tank. Tanks were always failure for me where it triggers as full even though it's using a drain hose and empty. I am over a year now and still working well.

Awesome! Hopefully that keeps working!

Yeah I hope so commercial units for anything is starting to feel the way to go unfortunately for BFL products. I wanted commercial washer and dryer too but I didn't fight hard enough for it haha.

I do this with both a humidifier and a dehumidifier - for different seasons obviously.

Highly recommended, keeps everything where it needs to be. Make sure to think about sensor position too.

I also went really lazy and used some WiFi outlets that I could drop tasmota on, which pairs perfectly with a knob option. I like the basic units better, they last longer in my experience. Just leave it to the level that works, and control the power - another reason I prefer the basic mechanical controls.

Agree!

I used Home Assistant for a situation similar to OP's in our last house. I installed a smart plug for the dehumidifier and a humidity sensor for the basement.

Then I used Home Assistant to turn on the dehumidifier 2x/day in winter and 1x/day in summer (less humidity problem then and didn't want excess heat in the basement). Turn it off when humidity reached the target.

This saved a lot on both electricity and wear & tear not running the dehumidifier fan all the time when the humidity is below the unit's setpoint. Ours was an LG model that is smart, but recalls its setting when the power is cut manually. Plumbed its hose output to a drain.

This setup worked for about 5 years with no interruptions until I sold the house and the dehumidifier went with it.

On both of mine, the float seized up, causing it to not trigger the pump, which caused it to overflow and leak water all over the basement floor. I now use moisture sensors all over the basement to catch this kind of thing if it happens again.

Oh, well that's not so bad. I mean it's bad, but, not for me.

Mine doesn't have the pump, so I'm just draining it directly into a floor drain.

I do have a moisture sensor under my 35 year old water heater though 😬