Midea Cube 50 Pint Dehumidifier for Basement and Rooms at Home for up to 4,500 Sq. Ft., Built-in Pump, Drain Hose Included, Smart Control, Works with Alexa (White), ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2023

I purchased the 50-pint Cube _with_ pump. Weirdly, this machine is less-expensive than the identical model without the pump. I made sure I could use it on the continuous-drain mode (I connected a 10’ garden hose), and am trying it out connected to my nearby HVAC air-handler’s PVC drain. Will probably run a separate line/condensate pump to avoid overloading the drain during this very humid mid-Atlantic summer. Just a proof-of-concept install for now. Be aware that configuring the Cube to continuously drain requires pressing physical buttons on the machine itself within 3 minutes of connecting to AC. Wisely, the app isn’t allowed to switch this. Anyway, to gain good gravity drain for the hose, I placed the unit onto the upturned bucket included with the machine. (I couldn’t get continuous drain to operate with the unit placed in the bucket as it normally would be… guessing the Cube detects the bucket and only allows direct filling or pump drain.) For belt-and-suspenders operation in my attic, the Cube-on-upside-down-bucket (to gain gravity-feed drain height) is placed on the heavy-plastic lid on top of a very large plastic storage bin (the black ones with the yellow lids) with a hole in the lid just in case something backs up while I’m away from home. Fingers crossed it doesn’t. Meanwhile, as others note, this is a very well-made, somewhat heavy machine. I’m using it to dehumidify a fully-sealed attic. If this machine lasts I’ll get another to replace the less-capable dehumidifier in my basement. At some point I may move up to an Aprilaire or similar whole-house dehumidifier but so far, so good. The app is very useful, showing the machine is functioning, various settings, and offering a humidity reading, despite preposterously small type. (Why are ALL apps… Nest, Midea, Eufy,et al) so fond of microscopic gray letters on a white background?) I’ve found this machine so far to be well-made, with sturdy plastics and genuinely useful capacity to dehumidify. I’ll wait before buying a second just to be certain it’s capable but first-impressions are very positive.

UPDATE: Died after a week or so. Started making a loud hammering noise in the middle of the night. Sending it back to Amazon. While the idea of a collapsible dehumidifier sound great, this iteration of it is half baked in many aspects. First of all this thing comes with 3 different hoses in the package with no clear indication of which hoses you need for running it in pump mode. There is also no dedicated pump on/off button which makes it even more confusing. I ended up connecting a 2nd hose which was not needed for pump mode and instead of pumping the water out it put it in the bucket. Then the unit stopped working and displayed a P2 error which you have to read the manual to find out it means “bucket full”. And I almost lost this little black rubber cap that goes into one of the drain holes. It should really be attached permanently to the unit somehow so you don’t lose it. In other words, read the manual before setting this thing up and follow the instructions as this thing is not really intuitive in terms of getting it to do what you want. And don’t throw the manual away when you’re done. There is also a “bucketless” mode but then you are stuck with the bucket to store somewhere because there’s no way to run it in that mode when it’s collapsed into the bucket. The collapsible feature is only good for storing the unit when you’re not using it at all. Finally I would like to say that it’s too loud for its size even with the fan speed set to low.

Very compact to store and works very well for its purpose. I would only use a gravity drain or pump drain unless you are VERY strong to carry this container if it’s more than 1/4 full which defeats the purpose of having a large catch basin. It’s pretty quiet when the compressor runs. You can hear it if you’re in the basement but not upstairs which is our situation.

Initial first few hours of use: Set up was easy. Have one with pump feature-make sure read all instructions as there are places where it mentions “bucket-less” mode needs to be turned off to put in pump mode. No tools needed to assemble. It is compact I feel for the 4500 sq ft rating. Many features and options of using -more than other dehumidifiers I have owned. Really are four distinct ways to set up to drain water: Bucket, ( can regulate how full to fill bucket before emptying), bucket-less draining, Gravity hose draining, and pump draining ( 14’ height). Handles on top unit and bottom bucket are comfortable and sturdy. Casters installed in 1 minute-no tools required. 1800+ sq ft top level of ranch, dropped humidity level 10% less than an hour. This unit is very quiet compared to others I have had-and I have run it only on continuous mode so far, ( instructions say to do this first 24 hrs). App unable to comment on since I had to do a reset, on my I-phone and it is not allowing access to app store . I am encouraged by the mention of how to service unit- I know strange. The others humidifiers owned have all broken down after just out of warranty coverage due to freon leaks out. And none of them mentioned a service center or even if they could be recharged/repaired. None of them even had a low side freon recharge port -you had to buy a kit and buy very expensive freon to attempt it yourself-as no local HVAC shop would perform work. I don’t know if this one can recharged or not-just encouraging it mentions repairs in manual. Also, make sure whatever dehumidifier you get its not using the older style freon type. If it is make sure it will accept, if needed, the newer types freon industry is transitioning to. It may be on sale for a reason. So far so good, this unity is no louder than a floor fan on high- possibly quieter. I would buy again as long as it proves to be reliable in the long term.

After spending some time looking for it and never finding it until reading another Amazon review, if you have a model with a pump, the pump will not begin or turn on until the bucket indicator/plastic window is nearly full. It does not pump all the water. It pumps for a few seconds to get the siphon effect going then turns off. The thin grey tube that came with the unit drains pretty slowly as it's a small diameter hose. But it's definitely set and forget, which is nice. It won't pump/siphon all the water out. There will be 5% ish left in the bottom that the outlet hose can't reach. So you'll need to dump it manually occasionally to avoid that remaining water getting overly gross. This is my first dehumidifier, so I have nothing to compare to. But I am amazed at how much water this little guy takes out of the air! I have it in my basement, in the Mid Atlantic, in Dec and Jan, and the bucket (50 pint Cube) fills once a day or once every other day. I can't imagine how much it will pull out in the summer or spring rainy season. Easy to get working, easy controls, easy to use the app. I use the original Midea app and didn't install the MSmartHome app it suggested to upgrade to. It lives in the basement so noise is not an issue. It's quiter than a window AC unit. It's about the noise level of a box/dorm floor fan set to medium. I did try to order this months ago on Amazon and it never showed up. I tend to think that was more about the seller than Midea. So far so good. ... UPDATE: after running this dehumidifier 24/7 for a year and a half, it's still going strong. No issues at all. I now run this unit with direct drain. The pump works great (see explanation above) and it works great with direct drain. The only problem I've had was user error. At one point I couldnt get the filters out and pulled a bit too hard and slightly broke one. Turns out the condenser froze over. That has only happened twice in 1.5 years of 24/7 running. So everyone make sure you don't see ice inside the the back of the sides (easy to see with a flashlight throught he holes) if the filters seems like they are stuck. Just turn off your device and let the ice melt/drain overnight and fire it back up. In an age when all appliances seem to suck, built to planned obsolescence, and not last long, this product does what it says and does it well.