Soleus Air CFM-25E 25-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat
by Soleus International Inc.
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List Price: Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Soleus Air CFM-25E 25-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat
Customer Review: Quiet, efficient, effective
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this product for a 10'x7' bathroom with a water tank and toilet tank that were sweating and had mold growing on them and nearby surfaces. (Humidity ~90%, temp ~75F.) It is very quiet, and needs to be emtied twice a day if you don't use the drain option (unfortunately I didn't build a drain into this floor). Produces some heat, but less than other models I've seen. There is still a small amount of condensation on the water tank occasionally, but the humidity level is down to ~75-80% even with the bathroom door open when unoccupied + the shower running 4 or 5 times/day. I probably should have bought the bigger model, but overall I'm happy with this product, and with the 3 months/year that we have high humidity here in VT, it should be fine. If I were using it for a larger space, or more humid climate, I'd go with the bigger one.
Pros:
-Very quiet
-Produces very little heat
-Energy efficient
-Has option to attach a drain hose
-Compact, lightweight
-Looks decent
Cons:
-Slightly lower capacity than I need, but that's my fault for going cheap!
-Knockout for drain hose could have been knocked out at the factory and covered with a plug.
-Water bucket is slightly awkward to empty.
-About 10% of the reviews say theirs was DOA and service was terrible. Buy through Amazon or other seller who has a good return policy. (This is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.)
Customer Review: Does the job and quietly, too.
Summary: 5 Stars
For its price, low power consumption and quiet operation, the CFM-25E Dehumidifier is hard to beat. We used to own an old dehumidifier (forgot the brand) but we left it when we moved to this house. It was good at getting water from the air but was annoyingly noisy. Last year my wife noticed mildew forming on some clothes hanging in the basement. So I got this CFM-25E this winter and it started removing water from the air after 2 hours of running until it had a gallon over 2 days. I also got a combination thermometer and hygrometer to monitor temperature and humidity. Before dehumidification, basement temperature was at 70 deg F and humidity was 61%. The basement smelled and felt damp. After running the dehumidifier for 2 days, a gallon of water was removed from the air. The humidity was down to 55% with the temperature still at 70 deg F. Gone were the smell and feel of dampness. I noticed that if the outside temperature dips down to the 40's, hardly any water was removed at all. To conserve power, I turn it off once the hygrometer goes down to 55% or when I see no more water being removed from the air. I wish it had a timer feature or it allowed itself to be controlled by an external timer. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase. Our basement smells fresh and I can see this dehumidifier being used heavily in the spring when the outside temperature goes up and the air turns very humid.
Customer Review: Soleus saved the day
Summary: 5 Stars
I was hesitant to buy this product after it got a slew of bad reviews. There must have been a bad batch from the factory. Before the bad batch, the reviews were excellent, so I decided to try it-I'm glad I did! My situation was sweating walls and moldy closets-not anymore. The soleus 25 pint started working immediately out of the box. I have had it for 3 months w/no problems from the machine. It is very quiet-especially the quiet mode-very happy about that! The other speeds sound just like a regular fan is running. The filter is just a grate w/tiny holes that catch all the dust in the air. It needs to be rinsed off once in awhile. It seems a little bit fragile, so I wouldn't scrub it or anything, just rinse. The water bucket is very easy to dump out-I don't use the hose for continuous draining. It has never leaked water. It's small and easy to move around. The area it is dehumidifing is about 450 square feet. I would say it is a humid environment. I leave the Soleus on continuous dehumidification and it has not gotten too dry-so if you have an area larger than 450 square feet I would get larger than 25 pint. Since I keep it on continuous I can't comment on how the dry-moist settings work. In one month, running non stop, the soleus cost about $25 to run. I'm very happy with this purchase, it solved my humidity problems, it's easy, and it's quiet-just what I wanted.Customer Review: Exceeds Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
It's refreshing to find a product that exceeds your expecations but this one does. Despite the very attractive Amazon price, it works well and is amazingly quiet. It seems to be well engineered, is well made and is really simple to use. It's literally quieter on the high fan speed than many HEPA air cleaners are on high speed. You really only hear the quiet fan, not the compressor.
I confirmed mine only draws about 210 watts when it's dehumidifying and only about 25 watts when just the fan is on (when the humidistat shuts off the compressor). That's a lot less power than most dehumidifiers require.
If you haven't used a real dehumidifier before, and you can't take advantage of the gravity drain (i.e. set it on a countertop and let it drain into a sink, etc.), be prepared to empty it often. Because it works well and, like most similar models, has a relatively small tank, it may need emptying daily or even more often under really humid conditions. The tank is rated at 6 liters but it shuts off at a bit over 5 liters (about 11 pints) to let you carry the tank without spilling the water.
So it can remove up to 25 pints per day but only holds about 11 pints before shutting off. This isn't a flaw, just something to be aware of. As with any dehumidifier, the water removed from the air has to go somewhere.
Highly recommended!
Customer Review: Mildew fighter
Summary: 5 Stars
We are on our second season with this machine, and it is pulling water from the air in our basement like a trooper. My only regret is that I did not order the 40 pint version (which is only $13 more right now!). I empty the collection tank nearly every day, and it would be nice to let it go a little longer before emptying. We have been meaning to set up a hose so it would drain into the laundry sink, but have not gotten around to it yet. That would make a big difference. I can tell if it is full and has been stopped for a while before I even get all the way down the basement stairs, just by the smell of the air in the basement. If it has been off for a while, there is this slightly dank smell to the air down there. While it is running, the air in the basement is perfect quality. It would be nice to be able to leave it running when we go away for the weekend. This machine does exactly what it says, and I am very happy with my purchase. Last summer when it was really, really hot and humid out my air conditioner couldn't keep up. It was so hot upstairs for sleeping at night that I brought the unit up and let it pull the moisture out of the air up there. There was a marked difference in the comfort levels upstairs. At some point I may buy the 40 pint unit for the basement and keep the 25 pint unit upstairs for hot summer nights.