What should the humidity setting be if you are trying to pull moisture from wood floors?

Have you noticed it not running as often or not being noisy? Also have you tried to select a continuous drain setting if your unit has one?

Glad to hear that you thought to clean the filter, as that would have been one of my suggestions. Because, it's the most overlooked.

But, there is another one that equally overlooked and is probably the number cause of your humidifiers problem. The humidity extraction level is set to HIGH. Lower it to 32 - 35%. If your unit does not have an LED Screen readout, set the control on MINIMAL.

This is what gets confusing about the use of dehumidifiers. They work backwards from what most people think. The lower the setting, the more moisture/humidity is extracted from the house. The higher the setting/numbers, the more humidity remains in the house. The higher setting would be used only in the Winter, because removing all the moisture and humidity will make the house uncomfortable.

If this wet area, you mentioned is a basement. The ambient air temperature at floor level is colder than at chest level and dehumidifiers don't work well in temperatures between 40 & 60 degrees F.
If this is the case, placing the unit up off the floor on a sturdy table, counter, etc that can hold the weight of the unit, plus a full bucket of water will generally solve the problem.

Also, be sure that you're maintaining at least 12" of clear air space on all sides of the unit. If the air flow is obstructed, the unit will run all day and not extract any water.

Hope this helped you troubleshoot and solve the problem. Please let me know. Thanks.

There are several things that can cause the problem you described. Most of which are easily remedied.

1. The humidity/moisture extraction level is set to high. Lower it to 35%

2, Air intake filter is dirty or clogged. Remove and clean the filter.

3. Refrigerant coils on the back of the unit are dirty and need to be cleaned.

4. Not enough clear air space around the unit. Maintain at least a minimum of 12" of clear air space all around the unit.

5. Unit is operating in a room that has an ambient air temperature at floor level, of between 40 -60 degrees F. Most dehumidifiers don't work well between those temperatures. Raise the unit up off the floor on to something sturdy enough for the weight of the dehumidifier when the bucket is full.

The above are the top 5 things that can cause a dehumidifier not to work properly. Fortunately, none of the solutions require any major repair to the unit.

Hope this helped you to further troubleshoot and solve the problem.

You may have the humidity/moisture level set to high. Try lowering it to 35%. Or if you don't have a LED Screen on your unit, turn it to maximum.

In addition, most dehumidifiers don't work well if the air temperature is between 40 & 60 degrees F. Keep in mind, the temperature at floor level in a basement is colder that the air temperature at chest high level. Raising the unit up, off the floor on something sturdy enough to handle the weight (with a full tank of water) and the vibration, may help.

Hope this helps you to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Please let me know. Thanks.

mempandora, the humidity level that you set on the unit may be to high. In which case the unit will only maintain that level, rather than remove any moisture/humidity. Lower the setting to 35% or minimal, if your unit does not have an LED display. In addition, the air intake filter probably needs cleaning and the coolant coils need to be wiped down and cleaned. The latter is the only part that will require some partial dismantling of the dehumidifier's cabinet. Also, it is imperative, to maintain a minimum of 12" clear air space all around the unit. And finally, the ambient air temperature at floor level may be affecting the operation. If the temperature is between 40 & 60 degrees F, the unit struggles to sense humidity. This is particularly true in a basement. As, the air at the floor is colder than the air temperature.

I hope this helps you to troubleshoot and solve the problem.

Kreston, check the humidity level you have it set on. It may be that there is not enough humidity in the air for what you have it set on and it automatically shuts OFF.

Keep in mind, whatever level (percentage) you have it set on, is what it will maintain, not remove.
For example - if you have it set on 65%, that's pretty high level of moisture/humidity. But, it's not how much it's going to remove from the household air. Unless, the humidity level rises above 65%. Then it will only remove enough to maintain 65%.

If you want to remove humidity/moisture, you have to lower the setting below 45 to 50%, Try that and I think you'll meet with success.

Hope this helped you. Please let me know. Thanks.

whats it set on, check and verify the the compressor running if not wont pull out any humidity

In plain English, the Percentage setting on your de-humidifier is the percentage of moisture that you want to maintain in the air. Relative humidity level range from about 10% (VERY dry air) to almost 100% (VERY damp air). When relative humidity is 100%, water vapor in the air will turn into rain, condensation, dew, snow or frost. 50% humidity is usually a comfortable level, but that will also depend on air temperature. The more moisture there is in the air, the warmer it feels and conversely. Warm air will hold more moisture than cooler air.

Your body is cooled when moisture on your skin evaporates into the air, carrying body heat with it. As the humidity in the air rises, less of your body moisture is able to evaporate and thus your body feels wamer. Lower humidty allows moisture from your body to evaporate more quickly and you feel cooler, both at the exact same temperature.

low on freon is the compressor running?

Yup, they eat energy.

An electric dehumidifier includes a refrigeration cycle that is very similar to a window AC units and refrigerators. They cool the air in the basement to condense and collect water and remove humidity, heat the air as a required consequence of the refrigeration cycle and dump it back to your basement.

Two sources of humidity in basements include warm outside air that naturally cools due to below grade earth contact and water passing from the ground though the floors and walls and evaporating into the basement. Dehumidifiers do most of the work in the summer when higher temperatures outside enable air to hold more water content.

In the winter, cooler outside air contains less moisture by weight eventhough it may be raining and the relative humidity in basement will be less because the air is warmed relative to the outside. The lower moisture content in the winter also absorbs the water passing through the walls and floor.

From an energy perspective, you may want the humidity set NOT below 50%. This will keep humidity below the level mold desires, but prevents the dehumidifier from doing more work and eating more energy than needed. A cheap battery powered temp/humidy meter left in your basement will help. Sources that include the "mold triangle" (temperature, water & food) often separate fact from expensive hype.

If the dehumidifier doesn't keep up, consider adding a moisture barrier to the basement walls and floors such as Dry-lock and floor paints to ****** moisture entry. Moisture barriers act very similar with water as insulation does with heat. They don't eliminate the need for a dehumidifier, but they reduce the work they do and energy they eat.