Bought a cheap dehumidifier for my basement and it turned into a swamp

I got a $40 off brand dehumidifier from an online sale to fix the damp smell in my basement. After two days, it leaked water all over the concrete floor and I came home to standing puddles near the wall. Turns out the drip tray cracked because the plastic was too thin and couldn't handle the humidity in my area near Atlanta. I should have just saved up for a Frigidaire or checked reviews on build quality first. Has anyone else had luck with those small compact ones or are they all junk?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_cooper7d ago

Tbh this is just how it goes with anything cheap these days, not just dehumidifiers. I bought a $25 shower curtain liner from a random brand on Amazon and it started peeling after like a week because the plastic was basically cling wrap. Same thing with a little space heater I grabbed for my garage - worked fine for three days then just stopped. It's like companies figured out they can sell junk that barely survives the return window and people will just buy another one instead of fighting for a refund. The real cost is your time and the mess, not just the money.

lopez.karen7d ago

Yeah that Atlanta humidity will wreck cheap plastic fast... I tried a little Eva-Dry one in my laundry room and it lasted maybe three weeks before the fan started rattling like crazy. The thin plastic on those budget ones just can't handle the constant moisture cycling down here. Frigidaire is the way to go honestly, I got a used one off Facebook for $60 and it's been running nonstop for two years with zero issues. Save yourself the puddles and skip the no-name brands.