Do i just clean the air filter or buy a new one?

Here's a link to an article written by a service technician with more than 30 years of experience. It gives details on How to Clean Dehumidifier

This may be caused by running the unit in continuous mode, rather than timed mode. The heat is generally is generated when the defrost mode cycles on, to defrost the cooling coils. This happens more frequently, if the air space around the unit is obstructed or it's operating in a temperature range of 40 to 60 F. Cleaning the air intake filter at least once a week, can help solve this problem, too.

Maintain a minimum of 12" free air space around all sides of the dehumidifier. Use a timed mode rather than a continuous mode. Make sure the room is within the proper operating temperature range and clean the air intake filter weekly.

Hope this helped you troubleshoot and solve the problem.

Hi,

Here is a tip that explains what can be happening to make the dehumidifier showthat the bucket is full when it is not.

Dehumidifier Problem It shows Bucket Full

heatman101

It's a refrigerant leak. (very common with virtually all dehumidifiers) If it's out of warranty, it's time to buy a new one. (cost prohibitive to repair)

Check to see if coils are getting cold, (run for 10 min. then unplug, and check inside unit). If they are, check and clean filter and coils. If not, most likely no economical to fix. Check consumer reports before buying a new one. New standards came in to play this year. Changed quality on the units.

Hi,
Here is a tip that I wrote to help people with just that dehumidifier problem..

Dehumidifier Problem It shows Bucket Full
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4688381-dehumidifier_problem_shows_bucket_full

heatman101

Clean the filters. Also clean the coils and bucket with a mild bleach solution.

Possibly lost refrigerant from system- check warm air is coming out of machine. Otherwise it could be dirty filters, and not getting enough air over evaporating coil. Other than this, replacing parts is usually more expensive than buying a new dehumidifier :(

could have overheated the compressor if the filter was really dirty and blown it

dehumidifier runs well, however will not drain any water