Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I live in Coastal North Carolina where high heat and humidity is a problem that can cause mold and lots of other issues. Starting in the late Spring, humidity levels tend to be 80-90% everyday until it turns cooler in November or so. The lowest floor of my home isn't air-conditioned and so I've learned the hard way that during the summer months, it's important to keep a dehumidifier running almost non-stop to keep humidity levels under control. There are two choices people here make. One choice is to use rugged, heavy-duty commercial-grade dehumidifiers that cost about ten times what this Midea unit costs. The other choice is small, consumer-grade dehumidifiers with the understanding that when run continually, they probably won't last very long. Until recently, I had a reasonably good experience with a 70-pint Frigidaire dehumidifier. It was fairly easy to setup and ran well for about four years before just suddenly stopping one day. The Midea unit is fairly well made for the price. Compared to the Frigidaire it replaces, it's slightly larger physically, but somewhat lighter in weight. It's slightly quieter overall, but somewhat higher pitched versus the Frigidaire's low-pitched rumble. The controls are basic, but since I pretty much just need "ON" and "OFF", I have no issues. I monitor humidity levels carefully, and from what I can tell, it removes about the same amount of water from my home as the previous 70-pint unit did. When purchasing a dehumidifier, it's important to understand energy usage if you intend to run it a lot since different brands can be all over the map with energy efficiency. Also, depending on where you intend to use it, your home just might not have ample electrical capacity if you need to put the unit on a circuit that's already loaded with other things. I'm happy to say that the Midea is one of the more energy-efficient dehumidifiers out there, drawing just under 700 watts when operating. That's about 50 watts less than the Frigidaire unit I replaced, and it was one of the lowest energy users available when I bought it in 2015. To be clear, this is still a lot of energy...a 700-watt load running 24x7 consumes roughly 500 KWH per month. If you're like me and pay $0.12 per KWH for electricity, this dehumidifier uses about $60 a month for electricity. In other words, it pays to spend a bit more for an energy efficient unit if you intend to use it a lot. The built-in condensate bucket is similar to what I've seen on other units, but in my opinion, emptying it is no fun - you'll want to connect it to a drain or other outside solution. In my case, I ran a short length of hose to a small condensation pump, and then through some plastic tubing outside of the house. In the right setting where it's draining downhill, you might be able to skip the pump, but I like the extra safety-net it provides. Like most dehumidifiers, if the drain hose gets kinked or otherwise blocked, the built-in condensate bucket fills up - and when it fills to the top, the unit shuts off. About the only thing I don't like about this Midea unit is that it doesn't seem to come back on automatically after a power failure. This is no big deal normally, but if I'm away from home for some reason and there's a power outage, I'd like it to switch back on automatically when the power is restored. I'm sure there's a way to achieve this, so I'll keep looking. Overall, the Midea is a great dehumidifier for the price. It's quiet, energy-efficient and gets the job done while being easy to use. Although I've only had mine a short time, I'd have no trouble recommending it based on what I've seen so far - it's definitely worth a look!