Danby 3-in-1 Home Comfort Unit

07.19.dehumidifier.jpg Without air conditioning, a dehumidifier can help curb summertime discomfort.

But what about six months from now when you want the opposite - a humidifier for dry winter air?

This home comfort unit both dehumidifies and humidifies. Plus, it functions as a HEPA air purifier, too...

When functioning as a dehumidifier, the unit can handle 60 pints. It takes 20 pints of water at a time as a humidifier. We're happy to see this product, as the fewer devices we have sitting around the house, the better.

The three-in-one device sells for $349 at Amazon.

Comments (10)

i'd like to know if this actually works well for all three uses. seems like these 'do it all' appliances rarely do any one thing well.

posted by veggiequeen on July 19th 2007 at 10:48am
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me too. and how loud is it?

posted by annalyssa on July 19th 2007 at 11:00am
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I like the three-in-one aspect, but I have to disagree with the "help curb summertime discomfort" comment. Dehumidifiers put off way too much heat for me to ever want to use one in a room without AC in the summer. Even if they do help with the humidity problem, they add to the heat problem.

posted by Shawn on July 19th 2007 at 11:24am
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i agree, dehumidifiers do put out a lot of heat.
my parents had one for a few years while living in sub-tropical monsoon summers of hong kong, because without it, our curtains and rugs would remain soggy.

but we had to always run the AC concurrently.

posted by domdom on July 19th 2007 at 11:33am
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I had to get rid of a great dehumidifier b/c of the heat it put out. I put it out in the alley and it was gone within the hour. Most people in my area just use them in unfinished basements.

posted by Kurt on July 19th 2007 at 12:23pm
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For summer discomfort, why not just get an air conditioner? If there's not a window suitable, there are now air conditioners that look very much like the unit above and don't need outside venting at all. Might be in the same price range, too.

posted by Maureen on July 19th 2007 at 1:16pm
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Maureen - an air-conditioner that does not need outside venting? Its impossible. An air-conditioner is a heat-exchanger. The rejected heat must go somewhere.

Any such device would pave the way for a perpetual motion machine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_law_of_thermodynamics

posted by SeanG on July 19th 2007 at 1:38pm
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What exactly is a "HEPA-like air filter" (as per the actual description of the item on Amazon)? Seems suspect to me...

posted by Anna at D16 on July 19th 2007 at 5:17pm
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Regarding "Hepa-like":

"The HEPA specification requires removal of at least 99.97% of 0.3 micrometres airborne pollutants. Products that claim to be "HEPA-type", "HEPA-like", or "99% HEPA" do not satisfy these requirements and may not be tested in independent laboratories."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_purifier

posted by annalyssa on July 19th 2007 at 5:46pm
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I think Maureen was referring to units that don't need to be installed in a window, but they do have a clothes dryer-type hose that must extend to a window.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-is-there-such-thing-as-a-windowless-ac-022143

posted by Jon_B on July 20th 2007 at 4:44am
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