Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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The GE AWYR50LC excels at dehumidifying. It has useful remote features like scheduling, settings adjustment, and an alert to empty the bucket. Read More
This energy efficient model has an auto mode, a sleek design, and a low operating temperature. Read More
A strength is its smart connectivity with iOS and Android and compatibility with Amazon and Google Home. It also has a great front reservoir design. Read More
This smart Govee dehumidifier has a few design quirks, but it's the most energy efficient dehumidifier we've tested. It also has great smart features. Read More
The Eva Dry dehumidifier is a petite and portable option that works well in warm, small spaces. Read More
Your home can get too damp for comfort, whether because of a soggy basement or humid summer weather. Excess moisture in basements and bathrooms can breed mold or mildew, and muggy weather raises humidity above the comfortable range.
A portable dehumidifier could be the solution you’re looking for. Most dehumidifiers work similarly, cooling room air to condense out excess moisture. However, not all are created equal.
After detailed testing of top dehumidifiers in our lab, we chose the GE AWYR50LC (available at Amazon for $294.05) as the best dehumidifier overall. It combines an easy-to-use design with useful smart features and an incredible ability to stop excess moisture in its tracks to make your home drier, safer, and more comfortable.
This GE dehumidifier combines sophisticated smart features with rugged construction.
Our Best Value winner, the Hisense is energy efficient at reducing humidity and features a convenient auto mode.
The Frigidaire Gallery, a high-performer with smart features, would be a good pick for someone looking for a basement dehumidifier.
Easy to empty reservoir
Smart connectivity
Sturdy filter
Average humidity reduction
The GoveeLife H7151 is an energy efficient dehumidifier ideal for keeping your basement dry while keeping energy costs low.
The Eva-Dry EDV-1100 small dehumidifier is perfect for tackling humidity in bathrooms and other small rooms.
The Eva-Dry 333 is a mini dehumidifier that puts a stop to damp, musty clothes in your closet.
Compact size
Renewable
Wet/dry indicator
Limited to small spaces
Easy to empty reservoir
Easy to move
Sturdy filter
Average humidity reduction
Easy to move on castors
Easy to empty reservoir
Slow humidity reduction
Hard to lift
Comfort setting
Awkward reservoir
Slow humidity reduction
The best dehumidifiers, especially when coupled with an air conditioner or air purifier, can help keep your home cool, dry, and clean, even on the stickiest day. While your individual needs are unique, there are some general things to consider when looking for a dehumidifier.
If you have a larger room that needs occasional dehumidification on humid days, one of the dehumidifiers we tested is likely a better choice. However, they can use a lot of energy.
A desiccant dehumidifier would be more appropriate for smaller spaces that need consistent dehumidification or cold areas. They are not limited by temperature and use less energy, so you can leave them running.
Tank capacity: When finding the best dehumidifiers, a frequently asked question is, “what size do I need?” While you might be tempted to purchase a small dehumidifier, we recommend a large dehumidifier because they have more capacity in emergencies.
Portability: There’s no getting around it—even the best dehumidifiers can be heavy and difficult to move. If you’re moving a dehumidifier from room to room, we recommend looking for one that rolls easily and has well-designed handles. Of course, weight will be a factor, but most of the devices we tested for this roundup, which were all 50-pint capacity, were in the 40-pound range.
First, the physics: The warmer the air is, the more moisture it holds. That’s why humidity is more noticeable in the summer. During chilly weather, the air holds less moisture and feels drier. Powered dehumidifiers make use of this cooling effect to reduce air humidity.
A powered dehumidifier is like an air conditioner. It has a cooling unit linked to cooling coils. A fan pulls air across these, cooling it down and condensing some of the water it contains. This water drips down into a collection reservoir.
The key difference between a dehumidifier and an air conditioner is that, with dehumidifiers, the air is rewarmed before it is returned to the room. So, moist air goes in, and drier air comes out at about the same temperature as it started.
Compressors and fans aren’t silent, so expect a noise level similar to an AC unit or refrigerator.
Desiccant dehumidifiers trap water from the air using absorbent particles. This process doesn’t need any power, so they’re silent. They stop working once the desiccant is saturated. We recommend renewable desiccant dehumidifiers with a built-in heater to dry out the desiccant for reuse.
Dehumidifiers are rated by how much moisture they can remove from the air in 24 hours. We primarily tested 50-pint models, close to the upper end of the size range. You'll need a high-capacity model for large spaces or very damp areas.
It’s difficult to match pint capacity exactly to square footage. Dehumidifying needs can also vary throughout the year.
High-performance units take up more space, but we recommend larger models. Large dehumidifiers give you extra capacity to cope with emergencies like leaks or spills that temporarily make your home more humid.
A small dehumidifier could also struggle to keep up with your home's typical humidity levels. An undersized dehumidifier may run almost constantly to maintain the ideal humidity. Constant running stresses compressors and fans and will shorten the product's life.
If you routinely move the units between rooms, particularly between floors, you could opt for several small-capacity dehumidifiers. A 20-pint unit would work well for most small rooms.
If you’re dealing with a small space, like a closet, small bathroom, or RV, a Peltier-cooled small dehumidifier is a good option. A desiccant mini dehumidifier is perfect in minimal spaces, like a closet.
All powered dehumidifiers can run in a stand-alone mode where all the water is collected in the reservoir. This means regularly carrying the reservoir to the nearest drain or sink and pouring it out.
If you need to run your dehumidifier this way, note how easy it is to empty the tank by hand.
Most compressor-cooled models also include a drain opening that can connect to a hose. When the reservoir is full, any extra water collected runs down the hose. This avoids the hassle of reservoir emptying. It’s only possible if you have a floor drain or a place for the hose to discharge.
Models with a pump are the most versatile. The pump gives flexible emptying options as it moves the water to a drain point above the dehumidifier.
For example, it can drain into a bathroom sink, out a window, or into your washing machine drain stack. This saves on reservoir carrying and gives you more placement options but adds significantly to the cost.
Most desiccant dehumidifiers don’t need to be emptied. Single-use types are discarded once they’re full, and renewable models are dried out to remove the trapped moisture.
We fire up a dehumidifier in two main situations: in cool, damp basements or during sticky summer months to cope with warm, water-saturated air.
Because humidity is removed by cooling the air, dehumidifiers work best when the air is warm. All the dehumidifiers we tested have minimum operating temperatures of around 40°F. This means they’ll work just fine in most basements. If you have an unconditioned space that gets colder than 40°F, compressor-based dehumidifiers won’t work for you.
Desiccant dehumidifiers are the best choice for cold areas as they’re not temperature-limited.
Pull out the filter on your dehumidifier and vacuum or rinse it off every few weeks.
For effective cooling and humidity removal, the heat exchanger needs to be clean. If it gets dusty, it won’t cool the air effectively to reduce the humidity. Govee
Dehumidifiers have filters to trap dirt before it hits the cooling coils. Over time these filters get clogged and restrict airflow. Some can be vacuumed clean, and others are washable. Pull out the filter and vacuum or rinse it off every few weeks.
Dust can also get past the filter onto the cooling coils. To remove this, gently run a vacuum nozzle over the coils when you clean the filter.
The damp reservoir can also be a home for mold or bacteria. A gentle wash with dish detergent will remove it.
If your dehumidifier is out of sight in the basement, it’s easy to forget about maintenance. Put a reminder on your calendar for a regular check-up.
If you take these simple steps and keep the dehumidifier clean, it will run more efficiently and last longer.
For ure of 68°F to 70°F a relative humidity of 30% to 50% is considered comfortable. Some dehumidifiers have a comfort setting that automatically keeps humidity in this range.
An AC system, whether it’s a whole-house system, window air conditioner, or portable air conditioner, will remove some humidity.
Air conditioners have a drain or reservoir to remove or collect condensed water. So, if you have air conditioning it might reduce your need for a dehumidifier. However, drying your air isn’t the main function of an AC unit.
Even if you do have air conditioning, if your living space is damp and humid, you’ll likely need a dehumidifier.
Running costs vary widely depending on the humidity of your dehumidifier. Our tests challenged the units with a very high-humidity environment and ran them at their maximum fan settings. This should give a top-end estimate for energy use.
Energy efficiency ratings are based on how much water a dehumidifier removes using 1 kWh of electricity. The most efficient portable dehumidifiers remove close to 2 liters of water per kWh.
Any dehumidifier with a score above 1.8 qualifies for an Energy Star rating. All the dehumidifiers we tested are Energy Star products. An Energy Star dehumidifier running 24/7 could use about 300 kWh per month; this compares to 30 to 50 kWh per month for a refrigerator.
Dehumidifiers can use a lot of energy and significantly raise your electricity bill. Remember though, it’s unlikely that you’ll be running your dehumidifier continuously at full capacity. Once humidity is comfortable, the unit will only turn on when needed.
Each dehumidifier ran for two hours at its highest fan setting and set to continuous running mode. After, we measured to see how much water it had collected.
Living in the damp New England climate, our tester, Dave Ellerby, has years of real-life experience using dehumidifiers at home. He uses a portable dehumidifier in his damp basement, which is powered up all year round. In the summer, upstairs living spaces can feel damp too, so he has lugged a dehumidifier up two flights of stairs more than once—he cares about how portable they are!
As the chief scientist at Reviewed, Ellerby oversees our lab testing and develops the product testing protocols, so he understands the ins and outs of dehumidifiers. To find the best dehumidifiers, we created the most humid conditions possible to challenge each one. We measured how well they remove humidity, ease of use, and power consumption.
We tested dehumidifiers in a temperature and humidity-controlled environmental chamber in our lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This 200-square-foot room has its own HVAC and humidifier system, allowing us to control the test conditions precisely.
The room humidifier was set to create a disgustingly humid environment, saturating the room air with water vapor. We placed data loggers to record humidity and temperature around the room. Once we’d hit our peak humidity target of 80% relative humidity, we switched on the test dehumidifier.
We must start with high humidity levels to challenge each dehumidifier. Using tough conditions lets us test each model's maximum performance.
Each dehumidifier ran for two hours at its highest fan setting and set to continuous running mode. If that wasn’t available, we set the humidistat to the lowest possible relative humidity level.
We used our humidity data to calculate how quickly each dehumidifier reduced the humidity in the room. The collecting reservoir was weighed carefully before and after each test to give us an exact measure of water removal.
We also monitored power use. All the dehumidifiers tested are Energy Star rated, but our harsh tests told us the maximum power consumption under the worst possible conditions. Combining the power and water removal data lets us calculate how efficiently each dehumidifier turns electricity into dehumidifying performance.
Testing dehumidifiers in our testing labs is more than just pushing buttons—although it's a start!
The performance numbers are important, but a fast-drying dehumidifier isn’t much use if it’s impossible.
We assessed the best dehumidifiers based on how easy it was to use the controls. If you need to break out the manual to switch it on, that’s a bad sign. For smart models with app controls, we also check how challenging it is to connect to the dehumidifier and assess how well the app performs for Android and iPhone versions. A good app should provide useful control options and performance data without intruding on your data privacy.
A portable dehumidifier should also live up to its name and be easy to move! Poorly designed carrying handles made lifting some of the products we tested almost impossible.
The water condensed out of the air collects in a reservoir at the bottom of the dehumidifier. Most models we tested didn’t have a built-in pump to remove the water automatically. Unless you have a floor drain, no pump means emptying the water reservoir yourself.
A significant part of our usability testing was having an easy-to-remove, carry, and empty reservoir. The best designs had reservoirs that were easy to remove, comfortable carrying handles, and poured out the water without spilling a drop. Spilled water means wasted time and energy.
Dr. Dave Ellerby
Chief Scientist
Dave Ellerby has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester. He has 25+ years of experience designing tests and analyzing data.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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