I'm sorry I've taken so long in posting a follow-up to my post. By Aug. 21, there was a post on this thread from Chris Polk, Online Outreach Representative, Electrolux Major Appliances, North America that has since been removed. (I've no idea why.) I wanted to public thank Chris because his post was extremely helpful. It basically gave me a checklist of things that could be wrong. Per his checklist, I was able to eliminate all but one factor. He suggested that if the compressor is running and the coils are not getting cold that there could be a refrigerant leak. When I checked the coils to see if they were cold, I found a large chunk of ice in one corner. After turning it off and letting the ice melt, it re-iced and did the same thing. It would take 6 days to fill the bucket with it running continuously and the humidity reading was at 70%. Long story made short.... I contacted Electrolux and they sent me a refund for the unit, since Lowes no longer sells this model. So I got my money back and I appreciate the support and the service, but I really wish instead that the Frigidaire would make a unit that would last. I'm looking into investing in a Sante Fe model. It's a lot more expensive but the reviews are excellent. IF it will last then it will be worth the money.

If the problem is mainly in the summer, I think it results from warm moist outside air coming into the cool garage, resulting in near 100% relative humidity in the garage. Insulating the walls should help some, as the insulation will help retain heat in the garage whigh will result in a lower relative humidity (relative humidity is dependant on temperature). Sealing the gaps (to the extent practicle) to prevent moisture laden outdoor air from entering will also help. But a dehumidifier might be something that you will need to run when it is particularly hot and humid outside.

I’ve had the same issue of mold growing along the bottom horizontal frame of my shower door frame. The upright vertical frame pieces will rarely get spots of mold “under” the thinner areas of caulk (ie. Toward the edges, not in the thicker transition/corner portion of the caulk line). This drove me crazy as the bottom would mold so much faster. Well, obviously it stays wetter, but what makes it mold sooo much more & faster is that there is mold that has penetrated through AND under the caulk and is actually inside the horizontal rail of door frame. Bleaching NEVER really rids the area of mold under this bottom portion of the frame. Even without caulk, theres only a slight crack between the frame and fiberglass tub. I’ve removed caulk from the inside & outside and squirted bleach cleaner under there from both sides as best I could multiple days in a row then recaulked and still mold would grow. THE MOLD IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE RAIL/FRAME/WALL/TILE (whatever) and working it’s way OUT. It’s possible even condensation may be enough moisture for mold. If I figure out a way to ensure not making a mess, I may spray some foam under the frame to see if that stops it.

I second the post from dry dog. I had to install a Sante Fe unit into our new home to get rid the the very smell you mentioned. The problem is that with a tight house and a basement that is 3/4 below grade, the moisture coming through the foundation walls and concrete floors has no place to go. We noticed the problem on days when the humidity was very high outside but the temps were too low for the Ac to come on. I bought a humidistat and measured the basement humidity was abobe 70% on some days which is not good. Started to notice wet spots on the concrete floor and the musty smell. For a short term fix I just ran the AC way below the set point and presto - smell and spots went away. I then ordered the Sante Fe unit and that has been a great permanent solution. I bought mine from iaqsourrce.com. If you get one of these, you will need a drain because it sucks out a lot of water. I installed mine of top of 4" solid conderblocks to elevate it for drainage and the drain dumps into the sump pump basin. The air output directlty in front of the Sante Fe output vent feels dry and warm but once the basement gets down to a decent humidity - say 50% - it actually feels cool and crisp. You can hook up your DH in a variety of ways. I chose the standalone configuration which sucks air from one side of the basement and dumps it at the other end. I then use my HVAC fans to circulate air from the basement to the rest of the house and back. My HVAC unit is in the basement, and there are large air intake vents in the basement and upstairs that feed the main input duct so I get good air circulation between the floors. I bought an IAQ thermostat (Honeywell Vision Pro) that allows me to program the HVAC system fan to turn on for up to 20 minutes every hour to circulate the air even if the HVAC is not running for AC or heat. The Vision Pro also has it's own built in humidistat and can be programmed to use the AC as a dehumidifier if the humidity detected at the tstat is above a programmable amount. The combination of the two features - the whole house DH in the basement and the ability to automatically run the AC below the set point when humidity is too high upstairs - has been a terrific solution to our moisture problems. One thing to note - my Sante Fe unit has an anolog knob for setting the humidity level (no digital output). To get the humidity just right in the basement, I used a battery operated humidistat and kept adjusting the knob until I found the spot where it would keep the basement at a 50% humidity level. I also have a separate Energy Recovery Vent system in my house which I use to bring fresh air in and exhiust stale air from the house. I am very careful with this unit and only turn it on when the humidity outside is low because I don't want to suck in fresh moist air. That would only make the Sante Fe unit run more. I learned that through trial and error - mostly error. If I were in your shoes, i would first fix the humidity issue with a whole house DH. Put one in the basement and then manually turn on the HVAC fan when you want to circulate air between floors. If you get tired on the manual switching of the fan ON, you can add a tstat that provides an automatic air circ feature. After that, then decide if you want to add a seperate air ventilation system in. These are recommended for very tightly sealed houses. If the house is older, you may get enough air infiltration through the walls already. You can fix your issue for a lot less than 2300 dollars. I think the Sante Fe runs around 1100 or so but deals can be found. BTW - don't go cheap on the DH unit becuase you really get what you pay for with these things. Do searches and read reviews. Check the specs and see how many pints of water per 24 hours the thing is rated to extract. Check the air flow rate (usually a CFM number) to see how much air it pushes. Beware of systems that don't have a drain (they use a pan instead) unless you plan on dumping the pan every day or more depending on your humidity problem. Good luck.