I set the humidity level and it immediately goes back to 90. Do I have to wait until the humidity level that I have set is reached and then it will show that number?

It is broken.

I may have reached the humidity level that you have set it at. Press the HUMIDITY button until it says "Lo". That should put you into continuous run mode.
Good Luck.

Norman, once the unit reaches the extraction level you have it set for, the unit will turn OFF automatically. However, depending on the humidity level in your home, it may take several cycles of running and emptying the bucket until it reached. After that, it should turn OFF, once the level is reached. Then when the humidity level rises above the setting it's on, it will start up again.

Since your unit is a Manually Controlled unit, there's no safe way to "rig' it to run on with a timer. The plug in wall timers are not rated high enough to handle the load of the dehumidifiers operation. Trying to use one, would fry the timer and possibly the dehumidifier.

If you want all the features you mentioned, you will need to purchase a new electronically controlled dehumidifier.

If the unit shut off automatically, because it had reached the humidity extraction level you had it set on. It won't turn back ON again, until the humidity level rises above the setting you have it on. Lowering the humidity extraction level to 32 -35%, should make it start up again and cycle like it should. If your unit does not have an LED Screen, set the manual control on Maximum.Be sure the bucket is not full and the air intake filter is clean.

Hope this helped you to troubleshoot and solve the problem.

If the humidity level is at or lower than 30%, the unit won't turn ON, until the reaches 35 - 40%. It's rare for the sensors to go bad. Just keep in mind, the dehumidifier is reading the humidity near the floor, not up at say, chest level. Humidity levels change every season, so this really would not be that unusual. Make sure that your clean the air intake filter regularly. Cleaning and wiping down the coolant coils would be a good idea, too..

Hope this helped you. Please let me know.

Part of the problem may be that you have the humidity level set to high. The fan runs constantly to move the air around. When the unit senses a humidity level higher than what you have it set for, the compressor turns ON. Once it's ON, if the humidity level is short lived, it turns OFF.

Try setting the humidity level to the lowest possible setting. Usually, that 45%. If the humidity level in you home is higher than that, the compressor should turn ON and run until either the bucket is full or the humidity level reaches 45%. If this doesn't solve the problem, turn the Master ON/OFF Switch to OFF and unplug the unit from the wall outlet for 12-15 minutes. Plug the unit bakc in, turn the Master ON/OFF Switch to ON and set the humidity level at it's lowest setting. Allow the unit to run until it cuts OFF and check the bucket for water. Hopefully that 12-15 minute time out allowed the unit to reset itself.

Hope this helped you to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Please let me know. Thanks.

Wendy, it's probably because the humidity level on the unit is set higher than the humidity level in the house. Keep in mind, the humidity level you set the control to, is not the amount extracted from the air. It's the level you want it to maintain. The higher the percentage level, the more humidity stays in the house. The lower the percentage level, the more humidity it removes, until the lower humidity level is reached. Then the humidifier will automatically shut OFF and/or the unit shuts OFF, because the bucket is full. Once it's emptied and replaced, if the unit needs to continue to extract humidity, it will start running again.

Hope this helped you solve the problem. Please let me know. Thanks.

dehumidifiers do not have a temperature control, rather, they have a humidity control. usually you set the humidity control to go off when the level of moisture in the room reaches normal (approx. 25-35% winter;38-55% summer). Best way is to run it at full on for 1 to 4 days (until you know the moisture level is how you want it), then turn the knob until the unit goes off . This will be the ideal setting. Goodluck<Macgivor

If you are in a very humid room or area it will not shut of until it reaches desired humidity% level that is set. If it is reaching the set level and not turning off I would return it.

As an example, if you want the Humidity % factor to be 50%, 70% or whatever % you want in the space in question to be, set it at whatever % you want the space to be and the humidifier will work until it reaches that setting. It will then shut down until it determines that the humidity has reached a level that requires dehumidifying again. You can set it to run for 2 hours and it then it will shut down for 2 hours, or you can set it to run for 4 hours and then it will shut down for 4 hours. You just have to decide just how humid the area is that you are dealing with.
Go to; www.shopping.com and search for Goldstar Dehumidifiers and you can read comments by others who have purchased this brand. I, myself have one in my celler that has been running for over two years and it has made a world of differance down there.
Good luck. :)