Kenmore 5 year old dehumidifer ( is not an Energy Star model) in Jan in MI. Tryed to use our demumidifer in 38 degree outside temp to remove moisture in our walk out basement from sump punp over flow, float held closed by cover of caldran. A little while later we noticed the dehum was dripping water from the coils freezing up. Is this caused by outside temp being too cold to operate or do we need to invest in a newer model or use a fan. Thank you Tom Novi MI.

Tom, January 2007

The coil is freezing up because your dehumidfier is not made to remove moisture at that temperature. There is no moisture in the room, so the unit starts to freeze up.

Paul, July 2007

More than likely, your 5 yr old dehumidier may not be a "low temp" operation model. Even if it was designed for low temp operation, many manufacturers' units can still only operate correctly (not freeze up) if the temp is above 40-50 degree range. I've only seen one or two units so far that advertise that they can operate down in the higher 30's.

Dave Lindler, January 2007