Dehumidifiers seem to be working for fewer summers, and growing recalls frustrate consumers

As summer weather turns hotter and more humid, more consumers are discovering their dehumidifiers aren't as trusty as those in basements past.

People who used to get decades of service from a dehumidifier are often getting only one to three summers before their machines quit. In recent years, millions of dehumidifiers have been recalled as fire hazards. And prematurely dead or recalled dehumidifiers are piling up at recycling agencies.

"We get thousands of them every year," said Mike Larson, sales manager at J.R.'s Advanced Recyclers in Inver Grove Heights. "They're hardly ever older than three years. Ten to 15 years ago, we didn't see nearly as many and the ones we got were a lot older."

J.R.'s, one of the Twin Cities' largest recyclers, took in more than 6,500 dehumidifiers in the past year, he said. Nationally, about 2 million dehumidifiers were recycled in 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency reported. That's nearly twice the number that were tossed each year from 2007 to 2014.

John Zeien, co-owner of J.R.'s, blames cheaper materials. Like other appliance recyclers, he's seeing more dehumidifiers that have been used for one to three years.

"We take them apart and they're rusted," he said. "There's a metal bracket next to aluminum coils that caused it to corrode. Manufacturers are using less material. The whole product has been cheapened."

Manufacturers also shipped twice as many new dehumidifiers in the past 13 years (23.2 million from 2003 to 2016) than they did from 1989 to 2002 (12.2 million), according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, a trade group.

The Star Tribune reached out to representatives from Whirlpool, as well as parent companies Gree and Midea, which manufacture Frigidaire, Kenmore, Soleus and many others but did not receive a response.

Dehumidifiers are considered a large appliance and cannot be placed in the trash because of the hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants that are hazardous to the environment.

Jack Jackson, a service technician at A-Plus Appliance in St. Paul, which sells and accepts appliances for recycling, said he started noticing more frequent disposal of newer dehumidifiers about 15 years ago. A-Plus gets about five broken or recalled dehumidifiers every week. "They last a few years and then they're shot," he said. "You can't fix them."

Generally, consumers realize their humidifier is kaput when the unit starts making unusual noises or the reservoir quits collecting water. If the unit is connected to a hose running to a drain, the consumer may not notice until the house or basement starts to feel sticky and damp.

Rick Wigand of Isle, Minn., who has purchased units for his homes in Isle and the Twin Cities, said he's concerned about rising amounts of environmentally hazardous refrigerants and raw materials wasted on appliances with such short life spans.

Fire danger worries Wigand the most. He said he's scared about leaving a dehumidifier running in his house if he's gone for a few days. Nearly 6 million have been recalled this year for fire danger. Consumers can check this site for recalls.

Dehumidifier fires have caused one death and more than $19 million in property damage to 450 homes, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. More than 50 brands, including Frigidaire, Danby, GE and Kenmore, are part of recent recalls.

Sheboygan, Wis., battalion fire chief Robert Kocmoud said his crew responded to a house fire last December caused by a dehumidifier. Since then his department has asked all residents to check to see if their dehumidifier has been recalled. "The recall list is long," he said.

Consumers need not be concerned about shipping a recalled unit, Kocmoud said. Manufacturers do not expect the original packaging or shipment. Requirements vary by manufacturer, but some ask for photos of the serial and model numbers on the appliance and of the dehumidifier with the electrical cord cut in half.

Wigand found that his most recent model, a Frigidaire, is on the recall list. The company said it would pay him $96 or send a replacement to arrive in eight weeks. "I don't want another one made by the same companies with all the recalls, so I bought a Whirlpool at Costco," he said. No Whirlpool models are on the latest recall list, although previous models have been.

Zeien suggests that people hold on to working dehumidifiers that look as if they may be 20 or 30 years old or so, assuming they haven't been recalled. "If it's still working, keep using it," he said. "It will last a lot longer than anything being made today, even if it is less energy efficient."