That $60 dehumidifier I bought at a yard sale last June

I thought I was being smart grabbing a dehumidifier for cheap to keep my basement dry, but it ran up my electric bill by $45 a month before I finally checked it. Turns out it was an ancient unit with bad coils that just gobbled power without helping much. Anyone else get burned by an old appliance that seemed like a steal?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah_webb29d ago

Oh man, I got a "vintage" chest freezer that ate like $50 a month in power.

the_jessica29d ago

I swear I read somewhere that old freezers are basically just metal boxes powered by a tiny angry space heater. My neighbor had one from the 70s that he swore was "built to last" but it was straight up draining his wallet. I think I remember an article saying those old compressors use like 3x the power of a modern energy star one. Did you check the door seals? I heard that's usually the biggest culprit with those old units.

seanjohnson29d ago

Those old door seals are almost always shot. New gasket alone can cut your bill in half.