Earlier this year we rolled out our 2019 Dehumidifier Promotion. Since we saw the success our contractor partners were having with the tools and tips we offered last year, we thought, “Why mess with a good thing?”
Not only do we offer moisture analysis tools, we have ones focused on the recall of smaller capacity dehumidifiers — the kind you find in a big box store. (Hopefully not the kind you find in a second-hand store!) We’re happy we kept those in because we just had an incident involving one such unit causing damage to a home right in our backyard.
The Proverbial Ticking Time Bomb
Two weeks ago, the Madison Fire Department issued a press release in response to a recent incident reminding homeowners of the obvious: be extra careful with these things! Now the fire dept.’s advice was don’t use an extension cord to plug these units in and don’t hook up a drain hose to them in order to minimize the risk of failure.
The homeowner that had their dehumidifier start on fire is alive, thankfully. The extent of the damage is shown at left, and according to the press release, resulted in $85,000 worth of damage. The homeowner had to evacuate due to the smoke and toxic fumes caused by the dehumidifier cabinet melting. They can’t reenter their home until remediation makes the home and its air suitable to live and breathe again.
What the fire department maybe didn’t know was that they shouldn’t be advising homeowners to use these things at all! By looking at our recall tools, there are no shortage of units that have been recalled — many of which could still be in homes today. And that’s not to mention the units currently on shelves. There’s little to no guarantee that we know of that those units aren’t capable of causing massive damage.
Offering the Safest Dehumidification Option
The upside to all of this is that YOU can have productive conversations with customers that could save them LOTS of money in repairs and remediation, as well as save their family’s lives. This local homeowner was lucky that their life wasn’t put in immediate danger, but everyone knows that the house fires caused by these units can be both unpredictable and deadly.
Bob Hutchison, President of Accu-Temp in Howell, MI, was kind enough to spare a couple minutes out of his busy day to talk about selling dehumidifiers using recall info. He also tells us just how important using a whole-home dehumidifier in your own home is in terms of selling it to customers. In other words: feeling IS believing.
Get The Tools to Make The Sales
Before you visit another home with your eyes peeled for these terrible devices, make sure you go in armed with the knowledge and tools to make a homeowner understand the value and peace of mind a whole-home dehumidifier will bring them:
Foreign-Made Dehumidifier Recall (Form 918) – Best fit as a dealer reference, download this piece and give it to every member of your team that makes house calls so that they can identify a recalled model. All recalled model numbers are listed.
Dehumidifier Recall Safety Check (Form 917, excerpted above) – This piece, and the tri-fold listed below, are designed to be provided to homeowners so they have a reference of the recalled models and how to identify them. Hand these out to anyone and everyone in your service area!
Dehumidifier Recall Tri-Fold Tool (Form 930) – Summarizes the recalled models, how to identify one in the home, and provides reasons why an AprilAire dehumidifier performs better than a dangerous off-the-shelf model.
As an AprilAire Partner, you can these order dehumidifier recall tools for FREE (don’t forget the aforementioned form numbers for easy ordering). Speaking of free, Partner membership is just that: free. Join today and order your tools today too!
