Hi, I’m Mindy. Welcome to my Best Dehumidifier and Dehumidifier Reviews Blog. Shopping for a right dehumidifier could be like shopping for shoes – there are various types for different occasions and so many designs too – but dehumidifiers are big and costly so you don’t leave them in the closet or give them away if they don’t suit you. I expect you would want to read as many useful tips as you could before chucking in the cash, so hopefully you can find them in this site and my Dehumidifier Reviews Blog.
Best Dehumidifier Reviews – My Top Picks
- Soleus Air CFM-40 E 40-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat Review – Best Dehumidifier
- Soleus Air CFM25 Dehumidifier Review – Best Small Dehumidifier
- DeLonghi DE400 40-Pint Dehumidifier Review – Best Basement Dehumidifier (With auto defrost! I strongly recommend this for your basement.)
- Eva-dry Electric Petite EVD1100 Dehumidifier Review - Best Mini Dehumidifier (Great for small spaces like cars and closets.)
Click here to read more best dehumidifier reviews blog posts.
How to Choose the Best Dehumidifier?
Choosing the best dehumidifier is not as true as choosing the right dehumidifier. You have to measure your needs first. In other words, you must know the size of the room where it is too humid.
So, when choosing a dehumidifier, you must first determine the size of the room (or basement) you want to put it in. Then, you must know the room’s current condition (temperature and humidity). These two are the main and primary factors you must think about before other consideration factors such as energy efficiency, durability, features and design, because you’d want a dehumidifier that can do the job.
In order to make things easy for you, let me explain more about the technical side of these 2 factors:
1. Room Size - Find out how many square feet the room is.
2. Humidity level and Temperature of Room – Use a psychrometer (hygrometer) to check the humidity and a thermometer for the temperature.
Want to know more? Read my Best Dehumidifier Guide.
My Recommendations
Small spaces such as Closets, Bathrooms, Cars
- Eva-Dry Electric Petite EVD1100 (read review)
Eva-Dry Electric Petite Dehumidifier
Small to medium sized bedrooms
- Not too humid: Soleus Air CFM25 (read review)
- Humid: Soleus Air CFM40-E (read review)
 Soleus Air CFM25 |
 Soleus Air CFM40-E |
Medium to large sized bedrooms
- Not too humid: Soleus Air CFM40-E (read review)
- Humid: Frigidaire 70-Pint (read review)
|
Soleus Air CFM40-E |
 Frigidaire 70-Pint |
Basement
- DeLonghi DE400 (read review)
DeLonghi DE400
Best Dehumidifier Guide
- Room Size and Humidity – Capacity of dehumidifier
- Temperature of Room
- Other Consideration Factors
- Features Of Dehumidifiers
1. Room Size and Humidity – Capacity of dehumidifier
The capacity of a dehumidifier is measured by how much water it can remove from the air per day. 30-pint, 40-pint, 50-pint represent the number of pints of water a dehumidifier can remove within a 24 hour period of time.
Note that the bucket or tank of the dehumidifier may not accommodate as much water as its capacity, so you might have to empty the bucket several times a day to achieve the maximum capacity. Alternatively, you can attach the dehumidifier with a hose (which is sometimes included) to direct the water out of the house continuously.
Here’s a table to let you check how much capacity you need for your dehumidifier:
AHAM Dehumidifier Sizing Guide – Match room or area size to current humidity conditions to find minimum size rating in pints.
| Condition without dehumidification | 500 sq. ft. | 1000 sq. ft. | 1500 sq. ft. | 2000 sq. ft. | 2500 sq. ft. |
| Moderately damp:
Feels damp and has musty odor only in humid weather |
10 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 26 |
| Very damp:
Always feels damp and has musty odor. Damp spots show on walls and floor. |
12 | 17 | 22 | 27 | 32 |
| Wet:
Feels and smells wet. Walls or floor “sweat,” or seepage is present. |
14 | 20 | 26 | 32 | 38 |
| Extremely wet:
Laundry drying, wet floor, high-load conditions. |
16 | 23 | 30 | 37 | 44 |
Tip: Experts say that we should always favor a larger capacity dehumidifier over a smaller one because it can remove moisture from the air faster over the same sized area, thus it doesn’t have to run for a long time and saves electricity charges. A small-capacity model in a large room might run continuously and still not lower the humidity to an acceptable level.
Example: By referring to the table, let’s say you have a 2000 sq. ft. room which is very damp, you’ll have to remove 27 pints of water per day from the room. If you buy a 30-pint dehumidifier, you might have to leave it running the whole day to accomplish the job. But if you get one with larger capacity, for instance, 50-pint, it could probably do the job a lot faster.
2. Temperature of Room
One other thing that we need to consider is the room temperature. If your room temperature (standard) is above 60-65 degrees F, then you don’t have to worry about the extra feature to take care of the low temperature condition.
Standard dehumidifiers only work well when the temperatures is above 60 degrees F. If you are looking for a dehumidifier for your basement, it is better to get a “low temperature” dehumidifier or basement dehumidifier.
“Low temperature” dehumidifiers usually have the “frost guard” or “auto defrost” design to let the fan blow warm air to the coil when low temperature is detected. This is to avoid frosting on the coils which can prevent air from going through. If you have a basement that is below 33 degrees F, you may have to consider a dehumidifier that uses a process called “hot gas” to heat the coil.
You can of course buy a machine with “frost guard” to save more money rather than buying a separate dehumidifier for your basement, but please note that low temperature dehumidifiers are generally noisier than the regular machines that are designed to work above 65 degrees F.
Alright, after reading this guide, by now you can probably figure out how many pints dehumidifier you will need and whether you need auto defrost for your dehumidifier.
3. Other consideration factors are:
Energy efficiency – If you are concerned about electrical costs or the environment, get an Energy Star rated dehumidifier which is 10 to 20 percent more power efficient.
Quietness – You’ll definitely want your dehumidifier to be very quiet if you’re going to put it in an occupied bedroom to run at night. If that is so, get a model that is praised for its quietness. But be aware that “quiet” to one owner may seem “noisy” to another, and this could be due to the existence or non-existence of other noise in the house.
Durability – Who knows how long an electrical appliance can last? Despite all the negative feedback we can see written by irate owners who don’t get their money’s worth, there could be a chance either way. But just in case, do find a model which has longer warranty period and bear in mind that warranty may not include return shipping costs.
Durability doesn’t strictly depend on the manufacturer, though to a large extent so, it also depends on the owner to take good care of the machine. You must of course, use it in the proper way and clean it regularly. To read more about maintenance of dehumidifier, click here to read my guide on How To Keep Your Dehumidifier Working.
4. Features of dehumidifiers
Bucket or Hose – If it is possible to place your dehumidifier so that a hose can be connected to drain the water out of the house, I would strongly recommend you to do so. This will save you a lot of time and energy to empty and clean the bucket regularly, and it will avoid spills. This is also more convenient for senior citizens, as one reviewer pointed out.
Otherwise you’ll need the bucket of the dehumidifier to be designed for easy removal, carrying and cleaning. Most dehumidifiers have indicator light or sound warning when the bucket is full, and will automatically shut off when the bucket is full, tipped or not properly attached.
Pump – Some models have a pump to pump the water out of the room through the window. This is handy for using the dehumidifier upstairs.
Easy controls – You will want controls that are user-friendly. Some dehumidifiers have electronic controls, while some have digital controls. They come with various options such as fan speed, humidistat to control the humidity level, and timer.
With a humidistat you can set the humidity level you want the room to achieve, and this should be around 30% to 50%. The dehumidifier will automatically turn off when the level is reached. This will prevent over-dehumidifying the room (which may also cause problems such as dry skin, itchiness, and cracked furniture), and is power saving. Check the accuracy of the humidistat with a psychrometer which you can get inexpensively ($20).
Built-in wheels or casters – Not up to carrying the heavy thing around? Remember to have this feature then.
Air vent – Check to see which direction the air is going in and out so that you don’t block the dehumidifying process by putting it too near walls or furniture. Some models draw in air through slits in the front which is great if you have to put it right next to some furniture.
My Favorite Dehumidifiers – Top Picks
- Soleus Air CFM-40 E 40-Pint Dehumidifier with Humidistat – Best Dehumidifier
- Soleus Air CFM25 Dehumidifier – Best Small Dehumidifier
- DeLonghi DE400 40-Pint Dehumidifier – Best Basement Dehumidifier (With auto defrost! I strongly recommend this for your basement.)
- Eva-dry Electric Petite EVD1100 Dehumidifier – Best Mini Dehumidifier (Great for small spaces like cars and closets.)
