Not satisfied.

I purchased this dehumidifier in Aug '04 via Amazon.

Background: Prior to this purchase, two dehumidifiers of other brands were returned. The first was a Kenmore 70pint which stopped working. Sears was very good about allowing me to return it after several unsuccessful service calls. The second (forget brand) was returned after brought home and found to be too loud.

Criteria: I had two primary purchase criteria. 1) It dehumidifies effectively. 2) It is as quiet as possible. The unit is used in my basement, which is finished like most home's main levels. It is positioned just outside my office, which I use a lot as I work from home. I am on the phone a lot, so I need it to be quiet.

I went to the stores armed with a sound level meter to determine how quiet each unit is. I did not find any that were quiet enough. I read about the DeLonghi, but could not find it in any stores to test it. Their customer service was quite helpful. They provided me via email the dbA (noise) rating (52dbA). This was much quieter than the prior two units (>62dbA). I purchased online.

After less than a few months of operation the unit got much noisier. Now the humidistat is not functioning properly. It reads too high of a humidity level until the fan & condenser come on, then the reading drops rapidly. This results in the unit cycling too frequently, turning itself off after less than 30 seconds. I tested the humidity reading with two other humidistats to ensure that the internal one was reading in error.

It is now too late to return this item. I am living with a noisy, defective unit for now, as it does seem to do the job of keeping the humidity low.