Dehumidifier Recall 2016

On November 2, 2016 Midea, one of the largest dehumidifier manufacturers in the world, issued a recall of more than 4 million dehumidifiers – about 3.4 million sold in the United States and another 850,000 sold in Canada. The recall is for dehumidifiers manufactured between January 2003 and December 2013. The recall is as extensive as it is for two reasons. First, because it affects dehumidifiers manufactured over such a long period of time (over 10 years). And second, because Midea is perhaps the largest manufacturer of dehumidifiers in the world. Midea manufacturers dehumidifiers for more than 50 different brands worldwide including highly popular brands in the United States such as Frigidaire, Danby, and GE.

The recall was issued after more than $4 million of property damage and more than 30 incidents of smoke and fire were reported as a direct result of dehumidifier malfunction. It appears as though the malfunctioning involved dehumidifiers overheating, smoking and catching fire. Note that those dehumidifiers recalled are not necessarily absolutely prone to overheating and catching fire. However, the possibility does exist that they can. Hence, why the recall was issued.

To check whether your particular model dehumidifier was recalled go to this page and input the Brand, Model, and Serial Number of your dehumidifier in the form at the bottom of the page. Note that if you bought a dehumidifier from a brand that isn’t listed in the Brand dropdown list or if you bought a particular model that isn’t listed in the corresponding Model dropdown list then your particular dehumidifier is NOT affected by this recall. An example is the top rated Frigidaire FFAD7033R1. The brand “Frigidaire” is listed in the Brand dropdown list but the model “FFAD7033R1 is not. This means that the FFAD7033R1 was NOT involved in the recall.

It is also possible that you bought a particular brand and model dehumidifier that is part of the recall but that the specific unit you bought is not part of the recall. For example, you may have bought a Frigidaire FAD704DWD, a brand and model that was part of the recall. However, it’s possible that the serial number on your unit will not return a positive match in the database referenced above – this means that your unit was not affected by the recall and that it should be 100% safe to use.

Remember, only dehumidifiers manufactured between January 2003 and December 2013 are affected by the recall. In the above scenario, if you bought your Frigidaire FAD704DWD after December 2013, it’s likely that when you input your unit’s serial number in the database that it will not return a positive match as a unit that is part of the recall.

How This Recall Impacts Our Reviews

We’ve tested and reviewed about 50 dehumidifiers as of the date of this recall (November 2016). Of those 50, we’ve reviewed only two units that may have been impacted (depending on whether a specific unit’s serial number corresponds to a recalled unit listed in the database referenced above)– the Frigidaire FAD704DWD and the Frigidaire FAD504DWD. Both units were replaced by newer models, the Frigidaire FFAD7033R1 and FFAD5033R1, in 2015. All currently top rated Frigidaire dehumidifiers – the FFAD7033R1, FFAD5033R1, and FFAD3033R1 – are NOT affected by this recall and therefore our dehumidifier rankings have not changed.

Notes

1. As we noted above, the FAD704DWD and the FAD504DWD were the only dehumidifiers that we reviewed that were involved in this recall. If you find a review for another dehumidifier on this site, rest assured that it was not involved in this recall.
2. Many units we reviewed are similar to models that were recalled but are not the specific models that were recalled. For example, the Keystone KSTAD70B was a dehumidifier we reviewed but it wasn’t recalled. The KSTAD70A, however, was involved in the recall. Similarly, the SPT SD-72PE was a unit we reviewed and it wasn’t recalled. The SPT SD-70E was, however, recalled. Again, if a particular dehumidifier is reviewed on this site and it isn’t either the FAD704DWD or the FAD504DWD it was not involved in the recall.

Consumer Feedback

Has a dehumidifier you’ve bought been affected by this recall? If so, let us know the brand and model and what you’re doing about it. Did you call the 1-800 number given by the manufacturer for assistance in getting either a refund or replacement unit? How did that correspondence go? What is the final outcome of your recall claim? Were you issued a replacement unit or a refund? Let us know in the comment section below.