LG High Efficiency PuriCare 70 Pint Dehumidifier
Pros
- Ideal Dehumidifier for Basements or Other Large Open Rooms Such as Offices
- This Dehumidifier Can Handle Areas up to Two-Thousand Square Feet
- Works in Temperatures as Low as Forty-One Degrees Fahrenheit
- Safety Standby Feature That Prevents Over Heating
- One Year Manufacturer's Warranty from LG
Cons
- Delivery Issues - Product Should Be Shipped Upright
- Reports of Failures Out of the Box
- Mold Can Grow Inside The Dehumidifier It Not Cleaned
- Product is Manufactured Overseas
Dehumidifiers are not an appliance that a lot of folks think about. Well, they don’t think about it until they have a problem. The same can be said for air conditioners or furnaces. No one gives them much thought until a problem occurs. While a problem with an air conditioner is obvious – your house getting warmer – a problem with humidity is sometimes not as obvious. The good news is that there are early warning signs when it comes to high humidity in your home. These could include water droplets or beads forming on the inside of your windows in a specific room or rooms. It could be a damp or somewhat musty smell when you are in your basement. In some extreme cases you could even begin to see mold growing in certain areas.
You see if an area is left with too much humidity a large amount of allergens can begin to take root and grow. The ideal humidity for us is between forty to fifty percent. Anything lower then forty results in very dry skin and respiratory problems. Anything over sixty percent and you begin to get those allergen issues. To some it may be an inconvenience but to others, especially asthma sufferers, mold can have a significant impact on their quality of life.
Adding a dehumidifier to your basement, room, or entire home can help alleviate this excess humidity and get you back to that ideal range. Once the humidity has been stabilized and any possible mold has been removed you should notice a significant improvement in the quality of your air. In this article we’re going to take an in-depth look at the seventy pint ‘PuriCare’ dehumidifier from the LG Corporation. We’ll find out if this is the right unit for you or if you should be looking elsewhere.
LG
Now before I get into the actual details, Pros, and Cons of a product I always like to take some time and look at the company behind the product. After all, the manufacturing company can say a lot about the quality of the product. Brand names have power. Don’t believe me? Just ask Coca-Cola or Toyota. These names mean something to people when they hear them. While a dehumidifier brand may not mean anything to you I can assure you that the same differences can still apply.
I’m sure most of you have heard of the company LG before. But, if you haven’t then let’s do a quick introduction. LG is a South Korean company that can be traced all the way back to 1958 under the name of Goldstar. (Just after the Korean War!) In 1995 they reorganized and became the company we know today as LG Electronics. Today, LG is a huge multi-national company spanning multiple countries and employing over eighty-thousand people. Their income is in the billions. I like to think of them as the General Electric of South Korea.
While this product may not be American made I can assure you that the quality is second to none and you also get the LG Electronics company standing behind your purchase. As I said before LG is a huge company and companies do not get to be giants unless they are providing a quality service or product. I would have no problems recommending an LG product to my readers.
Sizing
In the next section we are going to take a look at all of the various product features that these dehumidifiers have. This can range from the various controls and customization all the way to the overall weight of the appliance. I try to cover everything I possibly can here so that you get a good picture of what you’re getting into.
First things first though, before we start talking about the various features this product has we need to determine if this is the right size dehumidifier for you. This is a seventy pint unit. This is one of the larger sizes of dehumidifiers on the market today. Typically you’ll find them in thirty pint, fifty pint, and seventy pint. The seventy pint model is rated to work in rooms up to two-thousand square feet. This would be more then enough for an entire basement or floor of your home. It could also work in an office environment.
Now, while there isn’t a problem going bigger then you need with dehumidifiers you could end up saving yourself some money by buying a smaller appliance if you are only going to be using it for a room or two. On the other hand though, you should also keep in mind how humid or wet the room is. If there is standing water in the room then you are definitely going to want to get a seventy pint model. Even though it’s a small room your dehumidifier will have to work harder due to the excessive moisture.
Basically, it boils down to you do you want to save some money and go with a smaller sized unit? Or, would you rather invest a bit more and get something that will handle the problem no matter what?
Product Features
Ok, so now that we’ve got sizing understood let’s take a look at the various other features that this products has. When looking at features I first like to take an in-depth look at the display control panel. This is where all of your alerts and customization takes place.
When it comes to features available we find most of the standard options that you see with other dehumidifiers. These include a digital display that allows you to set your desired humidity level. The numbers can easily be changed by pressing up or down arrows that will allow you to set a range between thirty to eighty percent. (Remember that between fifty to sixty percent is ideal.) The adjustments are done in five percent increments. This unit will work in temperatures as low as forty-one degrees as well so you can end up using it throughout most of the year.
Along with the humidity controls you’re also able to set the fan speed to high or low. There is a timer setting that will allow you to set the dehumidifier to run for a certain amount of time and then automatically shut-off. The time can be increased by one hour increments up to twelve hours. This is helpful if you’re not looking to run the appliance constantly. It’s a set and forget feature. There is an LED indicator that the timer is on as well so you know that you’ve set it correctly.
Dehumidifiers come with a drainage bucket. After all, that water they are removing from the room has to go somewhere, right? Well after some time of running that bucket will fill up with water and will have to be emptied eventually. There is an indicator on the control panel that tells you when the bucket needs emptied. There is also a shut-off on the dehumidifier to prevent it from overflowing the bucket with water and having it spill all over your floor. If you’re not a fan of constantly emptying water buckets there is a drainage hose that can be purchased as well. This hose, once installed, will constantly drain the water collected from the dehumidifier to a nearby drain. This works great if the dehumidifier is setup in your basement as your central air conditioner already has a drain for it’s excess water.
There is an auto-defrost indicator on the control panel as well. This is a good feature to have on the unit as there are instances where the evaporator coils inside the dehumidifier can freeze over and stop the machine from working. This is the same problem that can happen on air conditioners. (After all, air conditioners and dehumidifiers work the same way.) If ice or frost does begin to build on the coils inside your machine this auto-defrost feature will stop dehumidifier process and instead run the heater and fan to eventually melt the ice off of the coils. Once the ice is melted the machine will turn back on and start to work again.
Besides that, the last feature on this control panel, excluding the power button, is the clean filter alert. This isn’t necessarily a button, but an LED light will come up alerting you that you need to clean the filter of your machine. This light will come on after three-hundred and fifty hours of operation. You will need to remove the filter, clean, reinsert the filter, and then click on the ‘Filter Reset Button’ for three seconds to reset.
Lastly, these units come caster wheels that make for easy transportation. But, if for whatever reason you aren’t able to use the wheels these dehumidifiers aren’t that heavy. The largest seventy pint model comes in at only fifty pounds. Most of us should be able to move this around when we need to.
Pros
One feature that I like on this particular product is what’s known as the ‘Safety Standby.’ I’ve been reviewing and researching dehumidifiers like crazy the past couple weeks and this is the first time that I have come across this feature. Basically, it is a safety feature that prevents the appliance from overheating and causing a potential fire risk. What it does is if your dehumidifier has been running constantly for twenty-three hours the safety standby feature will turn the unit off for one hour. This one hour gap time gives the appliance a chance to cool down and prevent any overheating. Pretty clever, huh?
This product is Energy Star certified with the Environmental Protection Agency. The Energy Star program is designed to evaluate various appliances and determine if they meet the EPA’s efficiency standards. An Energy Star appliances is on average about fifteen percent more efficient then a competing machine. What this means is that it will end up costing you less per month then a competing dehumidifier that is not Energy Start certified.
Along with the Energy Star rating you also get a one year full warranty from LG. Per their instruction manual:
“LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (“LG”) warrants your LG Dehumidifier (“product”) against defect in materials or workmanship under normal household use, during the warranty period set forth below, LG will, at its option, repair or replace the product.”
Cons
Every product, no matter who makes it, will have drawbacks. That’s just how it is. That being said, it was difficult to find specific cons on these products. Instead, nearly all of the complaints that I read through were towards the delivery of the product. Remember before how we stated that dehumidifiers are very similar to air conditioners and refrigerators? Well, just like with refrigerators you cannot turn or ship a dehumidifier upside down.
Just yesterday I was helping my father move a refrigerator and we were very careful not to tilt it too far. The reason for this is if the refrigerator or dehumidifier is upside down or tilted too far then the oil can drain out of the compressor. Without proper lubrication your compressor will fail and the compressor is by far one of the most important components of your air conditioner, refrigerator, or dehumidifier. Many folks have reported premature failures of their dehumidifiers… but this is most likely due to them turning on the product right away after it being upside down. If the product did arrive upside down then turn it right side up and then wait for quite a while, maybe even a day. Then, start your dehumidifier up and you shouldn’t have any issues.
It also may be best practice to wait a day or two before turning on your new dehumidifier. The product may come to your home right side up, but who is to know if it was like that earlier that day. Always better to be safe then sorry. The good news here though is that if your dehumidifier does end up not working after a few weeks or months Frigidaire offers a one year warranty. Through my research I had found cases where Frigidaire offered a complete replacement product. It’s good to know you’ll be protected here.
Cleaning
One of the main objectives of a dehumidifier is to lessen the possibility of mold growing within your home. But, what happens if the very thing that is supposed to be preventing the mold starts to grow mold itself? Well, this problem has happened to a lot of folks. Some may argue that this is a manufacturing defect and others would say that the consumers who had this problem didn’t take care of their dehumidifier in the first place.
A dehumidifier needs to be cleaned regularly. That means checking and cleaning the filter. The filter is located at the back of these machines as shown in our previous screenshot. Again, I couldn’t find this information to be one-hundred percent sure, but most of these dehumidifier filters come with what’s known as an anti-bacterial mesh. This mesh aims at preventing bacteria. If you attempt to clean the filter with water then you risk washing away this protective coating. Instead you should either try to shake it out or use a low powered vacuum with a hose attachment. This will clean the filter and still protect your coating. It’s not just the filter though that needs to be cleaned. Ensure that the machine itself is as clean as can be and if you began to suspect mold growing within it then take it apart and try to identify the culprit area. When dealing with water day in and day out there is always a chance that some could spill and get isolated within the machine only to stay there and become stagnant. This is a prime candidate for mold growth. This is why you need to stay vigilant and ensure the unit is as clean as it can be.
Conclusion
Well folks I believe we have covered absolutely everything that there is to cover when it comes to this dehumidifier. You have read through the product features, the pros, and even the cons. We can also view on Amazon.com that this product has a four out of five stars rating with over two-hundred reviews. I can assure you that with the research that I have put into this product that it would make a good addition to your home.
The question now though is this the right dehumidifier for you? If you are looking to purchase this product please visit our Amazon partner by clicking here. On the other hand though, if you find that you need to do additional reading or need a different dehumidifier entirely then read our dehumidifier buyer’s guide. This guide will take you through everything you would ever need to know about dehumidifiers.
Important Links
- Amazon Buy Page
- Official Product Page
- Official Product Support Page – This has warranty information as well as instruction manuals.