hOmeLabs 50 Pint Wi-Fi Dehumidifier with Pump for up to 7,000 Sq Ft (MAX 120 Pint at 95°F, 90% RH) – High Capacity Moisture Removal for Large Rooms, Offices, and Basements

Here's my story: I live on the Gulf Coast, and in the late spring and early summer, the humidity down here soars. Perhaps my apartment isn't the best insulated, because the digital hygrometer in my bedroom routinely shows humidity readings above 75 percent during warm seasons. While my apartment unit has a decent central AC unit, I'd like to see the humidity down around the 45 to 50 percent range. So I recently figured that purchasing a dehumidifier would be a good option for accomplishing that. I really mainly wanted the appliance for my bedroom, to increase the comfort level when I'm sleeping.I tried the $65 ToLife TZ-C2 Dehumidifier (also available here on Amazon). The price was right, and it was an attractive, compact, quiet unit. The problem was, as some others have mentioned, it didn't do an effective job of removing much moisture and humidity from the air. So after some research, looking for a brand I could trust – with an actual corporation and web site behind it – I decided on Homelabs (their cutesy trademark is rendered “hOmelabs” for some reason) at nearly 3X the price. But...it's rated for 3X the space.The first thing I noticed right away about the Homelabs unit is that it's pretty darn large. And HEAVY, weighing in at 40 pounds (!). This is not some little thing you can slide onto a shelf – it's an actual appliance a little taller than a mini-fridge.Reading the enclosed manual (which I do suggest) was also an eye-opener. It offers MANY cautions and warnings (especially about keeping the thing away from sources of flames) because apparently this unit contains refrigerant chemicals. That probably explains why both the box and the user manual request you let the unit sit upright and outside the box for a FULL 24 HOURS. Yep, you won't be able to just switch it on right away, so plan for that (or get a smaller unit from another manufacturer instead).First impressions are that this device is well built. It's certainly attractive in its own right, and has not just handles on either side, but rolling casters for moving the item across the floor. Again, at 40 pounds, those little conveniences become big.The control panel with the power button is on top of the unit. The water tank to be emptied faces front (logically). The power cord is thick and is the three-prong variety with the grounded pin, so your home MUST have grounded outlets to use this device. The manual says to plug it directly into a wall socket rather than through any kind of extension cord.In actual operation, I have been very pleased! This unit sucks plenty of moisture from the air in under an hour – often 20 to 25 percent relative humidity, knocking a room from 80% down to around 60%. A caution: if you're hoping to close in on much drier conditions – like in the 40% to 45% RH range – I question whether this unit can do that. I've set it for 50% RH and it's come close at 52% but I've not gone for less than that. But I have found the 50% to 60% RH range to be a huge improvement on northwards of 70%.The unit I got DOES NOT have the pump or drain hose feature, so it must be emptied fairly often, but if you get in the habit of doing that once or twice a day, it's no big deal, and the designers thoughtfully included a nice, sturdy handle that allows you to lift the water tank a bit more easily. A red, plastic floater shows in a thermometer-style gauge on the front of the unit to indicate how full the water tank is.SAFETY SUGGESTIONS: ALWAYS unplug the unit before removing the water tank or servicing the filter. Do everything SLOWLY – pull the water tank out slowly and smoothly, then carry the tank low near the floor, and when you get to a dumping place (like a bathtub), dump slowly and smoothly. After replacing the tank, I personally think it's a good idea to do a quick wipe down of the exterior of the unit with a towel or dry cloth. Also, when rolling the unit from one room to another, I suggest slightly lifting the unit by its top side handles and, again, rolling slowly. As it's 40 pounds, I'd strongly suggest making use of those thoughtfully added casters underneath the device that I mentioned above.I like the decent length power cord that's included; the instructions suggest plugging directly into a wall socket – no extension cords, please, as this is a powerful unit.There are NINE variations of this dehumidifier at the time I wrote this review, with room size ratings running from 1000 square feet all the way up to 4500 square feet. Clearly, Homelabs has been doing this for a while, so I'd be inclined to trust them over some fly-by-night operations with unpronounceable business names.There's a reason the 3000 square foot model carries the “Amazon's Choice” marker. Take a good look at this one if you want drier air in your home.I also want to answer some of the other comments I've seen about this device, just to give some of you a little more to consider.First of all, many of the reviews you're reading cover NINE DIFFERENT MODELS of the Homelabs devices, rated for rooms from 1000 SF all the way up to 4500 SF. I think it's not a reach to say the smaller the unit, the greater the likelihood of disappointment, especially for larger living situations. I opted for a unit rated at 3000 SF even though my whole apartment is maybe 750 SF total, and my bedroom – the only room I really care about for this – is just 150 SF. Keep that in mind as you're reading the reviews – I saw a one-star review for the 8-pint appliance whereas mine can hold 8 times that much water.I'm stunned to hear someone proclaim that 3 years of service is NOT a long time. For an item costing $200 (roughly what I paid, just under that), that works out to about $5.50 a month, or the cost of an expensive boutique coffee. Sure, it would be nice if anything we bought lasted forever, but for a unit to stretch into over 2 years of service to me suggests it has some degree of longevity. If you think that 2 to 3 years of use is lousy, read the reviews of cheaper units running under $100. I bought and returned one from ToLife ($71) the same week I bought this Homelabs one. The difference is night and day. One review even said, “Was working good then just stopped...Only lasted 6 years.” OMG, most CARS in the States don't even last SIX YEARS. Perspective, folks, perspective. I only run my unit for a few hours each day. This is not a central AC system, it's an appliance.Second, I can certainly appreciate the crapshoot that modern manufacturing is. It sucks getting a lemon, because you the consumer have to repackage the thing and ship it back, then (if applicable) speak with customer support. It's a shame that rolling the dice comes up craps for some people and 7's for others, but a product line with tens of thousands of ratings that maintains a 4-star average out of 5 indeed moved the needle for me. I looked at some fly-by-night outfit that's been around since 2021 called “Aerbyon”. Couldn't find a blasted thing about the company, their corporate structure, anything. Scoff, if you will, at “big companies” like Homelabs, but I can assure you that smaller brands don't guarantee anything either.I also want to call out and compliment the customer who wrote the review that got over 9,000 “helpful” markings. THAT is how you write a detailed review, and my hat's off for going to such trouble. I didn't agree with absolutely everything written, but I loved how thorough it was. One quick point of disagreement I have, though – I love it that the Homelabs unit registers RH changes by increments of 1% vs 5%. There is something awfully reassuring about seeing that number tick downward in closer to real-time. I have a digital hygrometer, but I don't think it's as accurate as the unit in the Homelabs device. Still...GREAT review, and I hope mine is just as helpful!

The media could not be loaded. *Five Years Later Edit*It works fantastically still nearly 5 years later. Take care of it, and it will take care of you.*Original Review*First id like to point out a few things wrong about other reviews.The radiator/condenser fin damage seen in one of my photo's is a perfectly normal occurrence during assembly. If it bothers you or is so bad it affects the machine, or even if you do it yourself by accident, there is a simple fix. Get a condenser comb. I know they are available at Lowe's and Autozone, but they are also available on Amazon and a few other stores near you most likely. Check home improvement stores or auto parts stores for it. The comb's are easy to use and figure out how to use.Id also like to point out that a running condenser is not silent. On any appliance. If you run this device (if it isnt defective) next to a refridgerator, the fridge condenser will be louder. My mini-fridge is about the same volume when its condenser runs. If you can hear it from several rooms away, you have a defective unit probably, and an exchange is what you need. h0meLabs has excellent customer service.I left it out of the box, upright and unplugged for 24 Hours as the box says (the oils in the condenser may have shifted during transport, or may have even been laid on its side, which is why it must be upright for so long). I put a drain hose (Lowe's sells 6 ft female/female leader hoses for $8). If you are using continuous, unless you want to constantly have to lug a bucket to a bathtub or outside or whatever, its going to be heavy when full, hence the drain hose. I cut the 6 ft hose down to about 1 foot give or take an inch. The hose leads into a "Little Giant 554425 VCMA-20ULS Condensate Removal 1/30 HP Pump with Safety Switch", which is connected to a Vinyl tube that leads into my bathroom. The pump is like $50 and a wise investment. Its optional, but you can wire the secondary safety switch to a water alarm (ive seen them in the sink/shower aisle at walmart) which will sound if the pump safety feature kicks in, warning you to remove the hose so that it goes into the bucket, or else you will have a wet floor.I also have it more than 8 inches from a wall on all sides, even though it only requires 8. Im guessing because the humidity reading might be off if it is in a corner.Alot of people are saying the house thing is flimsy, but it really isnt as long as you arent a brute with it. Other people have said that it doesnt drain out the hose and that it keeps filling the bucket. Well, I used a level to make sure my floor was flat. If you have it on carpet, but a piece of plywood or something flat and sturdy (not cardboard) and make sure its as level as possible. If it isn't level, the float that makes it go into the hose will not function correctly and you will have a full bucket eventually.Below is my actual review based on usage. I will update it at certain milestones to tell about whether or not it is still chugging along as efficient as it was out of the box.First Hour: The first hour i continuously checked the bucket (turning it off first) in order to see if it was definitely going into the hose, and i remove the hose to see if it was wet (it was), so it was definitely collecting moisture. In the first hour alone it brought my house down from 86, to about 45-50.First Day: I already know it is better than my old DH (Hisense brand) because the old one was lying on the display. I was about to unplug the old one to plug in the new one and the humidity was allegedly 32. When i plugged the new one in, it went from 50 all the way to near 90 really darn quick. Then it slowly decreased down to 33, which took about 3 hours.First Week: I have definitely noticed a difference between my 2 dehumidifiers and this one is definitely better than my old one. Using the continuous function and a drain hose into a condensate pump, this machine has been running nonstop since I first plugged it in, and the bucket is as dry as it was when I first opened the box. To all those that are saying this function doesnt work and its not going into the hose, double check to make sure that the dehumidifier is as level as possible, and the drain hose is going horizontal and at a downward angle. If there is any "Up" angle in the hose, the water wont drain properly. It uses gravity, so the only directions it can go is down or horizontal.

I bought two of these in 2021 (writing this four years later in 2025). They have both worked very well and very reliably. I live in South-Central Texas and it's humid most of the time, so these have been worked rather hard. In truth, they have been more or less neglected. I am terrible when it comes to regularly cleaning/changing filters. They do get cleaned, but not very often. These dehumidifiers have proven resilient in the face of my proclivity to kill compressors through mild to medium neglect. I'm currently using one in an RV, and was emptying it twice daily...both times it was completely full and the humidity in my RV would be on the noticeable rise. I am now using the hose drain feature so that it will run constantly. I use a catch bucket outside because I use the condensate to water plants. I’m not sure it’s removing 50 pints a day…but if not, it’s pretty close. It fills up and overflows my 4 gallon bucket in about 15 hours.I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if one of mine were to fail.Hope this helps you!