Last year I bought 5 dehumidifiers. As I put each to use, they eventually failed. The failure was the readout value and functionality of the humidistat in all but one unit which simply rattled too much. Something had to be wrong with the environment, right? Well, this year, using a soap solution, I found four slow gas leaks, all of which I then fixed. I bought another Dehumidifier (a GE unit). Knock-on-wood this dehumidifier has not failed. However, from the start the GE's readout shows 35% when the wet- bulb hydrometer calculates as 65% and my digital hydrometer reads 65%.
I think the Natural gas was a source of pollution that permeated the humidity sensors polymer substrate in each dehumidifier.
A search yielded this text:
Chemical vapors may interfere with materials used for the humidity sensor. The diffusion of chemicals into the sensor's polymer may cause a shift in both offset and sensitivity. In a clean environment the contaminants will slowly dissipate. The reconditioning procedure will accelerate this process. High levels of pollutants may cause permanent damage to the humidity sensor's polymer.
Any comments?
Dave M.