Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Several reviewers have commented on the noisy fan. The fan on my Frigidaire FAD504DWD Energy Star 50-pint Dehumidifier, unlike my Whirlpool e-Humidifier (which sounds like a prop plane on a windy day) is muted, and cannot be heard from 2 rooms down - and this is with the fan setting on HIGH. The Frigidaire FAD504DWD Energy Star 50-pint Dehumidifier arrived well packed (Styrofoam), battened down, with taped-to-body bucket, and did not need any assembly, other than removing the tape, moving it on its gliiiding casters (great handle on top too -- I had to pick this up and it is not lightweight-- the handle withstood the tugging and the hefting). It is handsomely designed, looks more-than-just-utilitarian, is pleasing to look at. There is a drain in the back, for continuous use. A beeper lets you know that the bucket needs to be looked at (full, or not all the way tucked back into the body). The bucket has a handle -- oh joy!! I had to be so careful with the Whirlpool's bucket-- using one hand on each side of the bucket as I slooowly removed it from the body to keep things from splashing. Now all I have to do with the Frigidaire is pull the bucket forward, boldly pick up the bucket by the handle, and go to the balcony to water my plants with the excess water. I have found that adding a tiny bit of bleach to the water in the bucket, in-between bucket removal, helps to keep mold and mildew at bay (a lesson I learned from a former Dehumidifier that had to be Put To Sleep way before its time, as the green and black 3-D mold and mildew had crawled their way into inaccessible areas of the unit). The controls are EZ to read and use - no buttons, just a touch pad. The Instructional booklet in English, Spanish and French, was easy to understand and is quite thorough, including a page's worth of trouble-shooting advice. Just keep things clean, wash the filter, replace it when indicated, and of course keep dumping the bucket, or draining the water (the drain outlet looks well-built and up to the task. I have not used the timer-function but it will come in handy when I need it. The lack of noise is wonderful-- my old Whirlpool De-Humidifier was so noisy that although I was pretty sure my downstairs neighbors don't sleep in their livingroom/dinette, the noise from the Whirlpool was floor-rattling. I live in a climate with three seasons -- Spring/Summer (summer is hot hot hot, with humidity that almost rolls thru the air), Autumn (with sometimes very rainy Septembers) and Winter (usually dry, but sometimes host to a Mega Snowstorm). So this Frigidaire FAD504DWD Energy Star 50-pint Dehumidifier has arrived at just the right time - as soon as Spring affirms its dainty-sweet existence, Summer will be leapfrogging over it to assert its dominance, with at-times scorching heat and mega humidity. I look forward to using this Frigidaire Dehumidifier for six months of almost-constant use. Yes I have A/C in all rooms except kitchen and bathroom, but when the AC is on in the brutish part of the summer, you would not know it. The Whirlpool? Will be relegated to the kitchen -- where so much of my food can be prone to spoiling because there is no heat or air-conditioning in the kitchen. UPDATE-- I can't believe how quickly the bucket fills-- even on "just" a humid day in April--- Zounds! this is a great dehumidifier!UPDATE 2 -- May 2013 -- I can't believe how quickly and how much water this takes out of the air!! I have to drain the bucket (which does not lend itself totally well to the act of draining, since water wants to spill out from mor e than one area while draning into the sink -- but I'm getting the hang of it) at least once a day -- I'd like to add a hose to the drain so it drains automatically but there is simply no place to drain this automatically in my apartment-- unless I want the water to go over the balcony -- and I don't think my downstairs neighbors will be amused by that. PS-- My Westinghouse Dehumidifier is now in the kitchen where it makes a lot of noise and does its job slowly. UPDATE.......May 2015 -- this thing ain't a-workin' anymore-- it runs but does NOT collect any water in its bucker-- or anywhere else for that matter -- In contrast, another dehumidifier that I bought 2 yrs before I got this one-- works, pulls out so much water that I have PLENTY of water for my outside garden every day. Since I do not want to send this Frigidaire in for service (budget, budget) I fear that its glory days are over.