Mystery Series # 2: The Case of the Unemptiable Bucket

Hesitantly, I reached forward and opened the basement door. It let out a steady creak filling the silent, still air. Instantly, my hands felt muggy, and the air seemed thicker. My breath came in rasps as I forced my feet to move toward the step. My hands extended and searched the wall for a light switch I knew was there. Flipping it on, I began my descent. Each foot fall let out a tap, tap, tap noise that grew muffled as I moved further into the heavy, still air. I cast my eyes back and forth, watching each step for any movement. Large animal-like bugs had been spotted along the walls and across the floors. I reached the hard, cold concrete floor, and my ears perked up. It was quiet, too quiet. No rumbles, no sounds, just the still musty silence of a humidity packed basement. Slowly, I moved forward across the room nearing the small, slumped figure that was my target. In the deep, dark corner, I could see a red light letting off a sickening glow. I let out a groan, and reaching down, grabbed the dehumidifier bucket and emptied it for the 10th time that day.

We had followed the directions, hooking up the garden hose as it said, but still the water would fall into the bucket causing it to fill, and the machine to turn off. Thus our basement would fill with musty, steamy air, reaching deep into the boxes of memories we had hastily stored there. My husband gave up, and called. The company said, oh yes, we've heard lots of complaints. The tray is tilted the wrong way, causing the water to run into the bucket. So 5 pieces of cardboard later and four different angles of tilting later, we have a dehumidifier that is empty, and a basement with humidity at 50%, not 90%. Hooray for another solved mystery!