Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I recently moved into a house in the middle of summer and found myself in need of a dehumidifier. The walls and pipes in the basement dripped of condensation and because I plan on using this area for storage I would like it to have relatively low humidity. I ordered this unit along with an independent hygrometer. The hygrometer ranged from 85%- 95% relative humidity. I was in desperate need of something to get the water out of the air. My main worries were that the dehumidifier would run constantly and spike my electric bill, so I wanted one with a humidistat. I was still afraid a traditional dehumidifier, with a compressor, would contribute to unwanted heat to my home. I knew since my basement is only a partial and a mere 1,800 cubic feet a smaller unit would be fine. With all of this in mind I went to Amazon and found this unit. It uses Peltier technology instead of a compressor, has a humidistat, and can condition up to 2,200 cubic feet while getting 25 oz of water per day. With the three reviews it had at the time I was hesitant because they all seemed to be given instead of purchased and I'm always wary of buying more pricey electronics and appliances without excellent reviews. It seemed perfect! When I got it, it did seem very small, but considering it didn't have a compressor, it didn't have to be so big so I looked past the size. The cord has a converter for it, like a laptop. I plugged it in and turned it on. The first thing I notice is how quiet it is. In a dead silent room, it can be heard, but it is very quiet. The second thing I noticed was the barely noticeable, minute amount of air it was actually moving through the unit. When I put a piece of paper up to it, the paper sways slightly, but that could have been me breathing. I will give it this, it has two vents on the side the air comes out from, so the air passing through it is actually divided up. The third thing I noticed was there is no sort of filter on this device. If there is a filter, it can't be serviced. I just set it up in my basement and the meter on the unit read 85 and the hygrometer read 89%. I went back upstairs and took another look at the box and it said it could extract 20.5 oz of water out of the air. This is just poor advertising and reviews on most other reviewer's part. Most reviews are just repeating what the description on here is saying. Most didn't even notice this misprint on Amazon. I let the unit run for a day and went to check on it. The reservoir had a little under two cups in it, about 15oz. So in reality, it is a third less productive than the Amazon description is claiming. After almost a month this has done little to help with the moisture in the air. It ranges from 80-90% relative humidity now, but isn't even close to enough to prevent mold or excessive condensation. It's a shame there wasn't a larger fan, because I feel this is the bottle neck of the unit. I think it just needs more air to go through to so it can process more. It is what it is. It still only takes about two cups of water out of the air, but still isn't enough, nor is it what it claims to take out of the air. I wouldn't suggest this for anyone. It lacks basic features like a hose attachment and a filter. It doesn't stay up to par with what it claims it can do and just seems poorly designed. Pros: Small, Quiet, Doesn't Produce Much Heat Cons: Overpriced for performance, Under performed, No Filter, No Hose Attachment Option, Doesn't Move Enough Air ##Update## After 2.5 months this unit will no longer accurately measure humidity. After heavy rains and a very damp basement floor I really needed this unit to pull its weight. Not only did it fail the simple task of staying on and trying its best to keep humidity out of the air, it has been reading the RH as 40 - 45% RH. Because the lowest setting on this unit is 40% it is toggling on and off constantly while doing absolutely nothing to keep moisture out of the air. I have a suspicion the sensor is covered with dust, another issue arising from no filter, and I might open it up myself and clean it out. Marketing this for a very generalized purpose wasn't a good idea. This only moves and conditions enough air, in my opinion, for a very small area with little to no new moisture entering the area. Because it has no screen, it shouldn't be used in areas where dust build-up might occur. Perhaps its use could be for sealed crawl spaces, closets, and maybe a small bathroom where venting is not an option. I only say this would be helpful for the bathroom because a full sized dehumidifier is unreasonably large for most bathrooms. I still have an issue with the price of this, as it does not squeeze the amount of water out of the air as it promises. It reminds me of a knock-off, overpriced specialty tool that is only good for so much and not very good at doing it. In most of these cases there are more productive and economical ways to fix excessive moisture where constant maintenance of emptying a bucket in tight areas isn't easy. I purchased this unit at $114.99 and would only consider buying this again, if I had a use for it in a closet, crawl space or something similar and if the price dropped to below $50. Perhaps buying used or on Amazon Warehouse Deals