The Frigidaire FAD704TDP 70 Pint Dehumidifier is one of the best dehumidifiers for basements among the many portable dehumidifiers on the market today. While no dehumidifier is flawless, the Frigidaire 70 Pint Dehumidifier is one of the best all round performers, is competitively priced and very well thought of by the many consumers who have written dehumidifier reviews of the FAD704TDP.
The most common reason for buying a portable dehumidifier in the USA is for use in a basement. For this reason the majority of portable dehumidifier purchases are of larger capacity units, in the 50 to 70 pint range. Smaller dehumidifiers are less popular and their use is confined mainly to small areas of the home, with an isolated humidity problem, and areas outside the home, such as garages, workshops, vehicles (particularly RV's) and boats.
A large capacity portable dehumidifier is a perfectly good choice for use in a basement provided two important conditions are met. First, the basement must be small enough for the dehumidifier to control the humidity without having to run continuously; second, and even more important, the air temperature in the basement must remain at a minimum of 60F degrees (15-16C) at all, or almost all, times.
Let us take these two conditions in turn. If the area of your basement is too large for a 70 pint dehumidifier it will run all the time and struggle to maintain relative humidity at 50% or less, the level necessary to prevent mold and mildew and to restrict the dust mite population. The dehumidifier will be costly to run, will wear out within a year or two and will neither protect your property adequately nor control allergens to the level needed to safeguard those who are sensitive.
If you consider buying two portable dehumidifiers for a larger basement my advice to you is don't. A purpose-built basement dehumidifier will always be less expensive in the longer term despite having a much higher ticket price.
If your basement temperature falls below 60F degrees and stays there for weeks and months at a time a portable dehumidifier is a very poor investment. Although portable dehumidifiers have an "auto-defrost" function this does not make them suitable for operation in low temperatures, it merely protects the appliance from damage. Once again you will get far better service and value for money from a basement dehumidifier which is designed and built to be effective at cooler temperatures.
So, if you have a reasonably warm basement that is not too large why should you consider a Frigidaire FAD704TDP 70 Pint Dehumidifier? It has all the features you would expect it to have; Energy Star certification, an adjustable humidistat, continuous drainage capability, 24 hour timer, easy to use electronic controls, an anti-microbial filter, a digital humidity read-out and, of course, auto-defrost. The only thing missing is auto-restart, so if the power fails you will have to restart it manually.
None of these features is exceptional in a room dehumidifier but all are necessary or desirable. The FAD704TDP is also reasonably quiet, more reliable than most and an acceptable weight. All in all it is a well balanced appliance and is available from some retailers at under 0. This represents excellent value for money which is the principal reason why I recommend this dehumidifier.
If you wish to consider alternative brands I would recommend the Danby DDR7009REE 70 Pint Dehumidifier, about which I could make much the same remarks. It is available at a similar price and does include auto-restart. Of the foreign imports my favorite is the Winix 70 Pint Dehumidifier. This unit is in a similar class to the two US made models but is rather more expensive. It justifies its higher price by the inclusion of an integral condensate pump with a 15 foot vertical lift capacity so if you do not have a convenient, floor level drain you may wish to consider this dehumidifier; in my opinion among the best dehumidifier imports on the market.
The other alternative is to go for the less powerful Frigidaire FAD504TDD 50 Pint Dehumidifier. Unless you have a fairly small basement I would advise caution here. While the 50 pint model is as sound as its "big brother" the modest saving on the ticket price is likely to be wiped out by higher energy costs.
Smaller dehumidifiers use less energy per hour but are less energy efficient than larger units. This is true regardless of the manufacturer. The Energy factor of the Frigidaire 50 Pint Dehumidifier is 1.6 litres (of water) per kilowatt hour. The 70 pint model has an energy factor of 1.8L/kw hr (figures from Energy Star). This means that the 70 pint unit extracts 12.5% more water per kw hr than the 50 pint model. In any basement the 50 pint dehumidifier will run for more hours per day than the 70 pint unit. Unless your basement is comfortably within the size range with which a 50 pint dehumidifier can deal easily it will be more effective, and cheaper, to buy the FAD704TDP.
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