Best dehumidifiers 2024: Fight damp, mold and condensation

Investing in one of the best dehumidifiers is an easy and effective way to improve the air quality in your home or workplace. These smart appliances can rid your living spaces of damp, mold and dust mites, simply by sucking out excessive moisture from the air.  

As Wei-Ning Wang, an associate professor of indoor air quality and aerosol technology at Virginia Commonwealth University, told Live Science: “Dehumidifiers are essential tools to lower the relative humidity, which in turn could reduce mold growth and hence increase air quality.” 

That is because moisture creates a perfect environment for harmful microbes to grow and spread. This in turn can lead to asthma attacks and respiratory track infections, among other health issues.    

However, not all dehumidifiers are created equal. To help you pick the right model, we’ve tried and tested some of the best appliances on the market. We’ve taken into account a range of factors, including price, size, design, effectiveness, usability, maintenance, energy use and availability of extra parts. We’ve also looked at online user reviews to see how people rate the devices we’ve tested. Here is our ultimate roundup of the best dehumidifiers. 

But if you would rather do the opposite and increase the humidity levels, you might want to invest in one of the best humidifiers instead. 

The quick list

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The best dehumidifiers we recommend in 2024

The best dehumidifier overall

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The Honeywell TP50WK takes the crown of the best dehumidifier overall. This appliance won our seal of approval with sleek design, high performance, ease of use, and a very generous 5-year warranty.   

This Energy Star-rated dehumidifier is suitable for spaces of up to 3,000 feet, making it an ideal choice for homes with medium to large rooms. It’s a lot smaller and lighter than the LG Puricare 50-pint dehumidifier, despite having the same tank size. 

With a smart digital control system that actively monitors your space for moisture levels and changes modes accordingly, you can leave the Honeywell TP50WK running, as it features continuous drainage as well as a water tank. An auto-shutdown feature allows you to use the water tank alone, without worrying that your dehumidifier will overflow. 

One thing to be aware of, however, is that the continuous drain relies on gravity, rather than an in-built pump. So you’ll have to ensure your hose isn’t too straight or long, otherwise water may collect in the hose and even return to the unit. 

The tank itself also comes with splash guards to avoid leaks and spills, while a washable dust filter helps to reduce dust and impurities in the air. The Honeywell TP50WKA also features an auto-restart mode, so if your home experiences a power outage, it simply starts up again all by itself. 

We set the device up in a medium-sized living room in the middle of a very hot day. Upon turning it on, the LED display read that the room was at 89% humidity – and it felt like it. After an hour of running it consistently, it had dropped to 42% humidity, and there was a notable difference in the room. 

Emptying the bucket was easier, and moving the dehumidifier around was a breeze thanks to the built-in wheels and robust handle.

With a clean white finish, easy-to-operate controls, and a digital display that makes it easy to check your humidity levels, the Honeywell TP50WK is an attractive piece of kit that fits discreetly into any space. 

Cherry on top? The Honeywell TP50WK’s retail price is just under $300, and it often gets discounted at Amazon and Walmart.

• Read our full Honeywell TP50WK dehumidifier review

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Best dehumidifier for large rooms

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This sleek dehumidifier is a talking point for any room. Encased in a black shell and featuring a clear plastic side-loading water tank, it’s one of the most stylish dehumidifiers on the market. We also liked its automatic features, thermal resistant parts and intuitive controls. And thanks to its 50-pint capacity, this dehumidifier is a great option for large rooms and offices.  

The LG UD501KOG5 also comes with a host of features, from humidity auto controls to maintain your preferred levels, to a continuous drain feature, meaning you don’t have to keep emptying the water tank. 

Automatic shut-off means the device sounds an alarm and powers off as soon as the water tank is nearly full, while a safety standby kicks into operation every 23 hours, to prevent overheating.

Our tester found the LG Puricare a cinch to set up and turn on, with virtually no real assembly required. Unfortunately, there are only two fan speeds, and there’s no continuous mode. You also can’t set the LG Puricare for a 24 hour cycle – the maximum is 12, which is unusual for a 50 pint unit. 

We set the device up in a bedroom measuring 45% humidity, and set it to the highest setting to drop it to 30%. After an hour, it had dropped to 35%, and half way during the second hour had hit 30%. After two hours the bucket contained nearly three full cups of water, which was easy to dump out thanks to the removable lid. In fact, the bucket on the LG Puricare is one of the best we’ve seen. Removing and dumping out the bucket is incredibly easy thanks to a removable splash guard/lid which gives you optimal surface area for emptying out the tank.

Side pocket handles and castor wheels make it easy to move from room to room, wherever you need it most. 

At 26.2 inches high, it’s the tallest dehumidifier in our buying guide, so you may need to take this into account when comparing models for your specific space.

• Read our full LG Puricare 50-pint dehumidifer review

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Best dehumidifier for basements

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The GE Dehumidifier APER50LZ is portable, easy to use, and comes with a built-in active water pump and 50-pint pump capacity, making it a great option for small to medium-sized basements. The pump helps to continuously drain water away from the unit, using the 16 ft-long hose that comes with the appliance. As such, you can leave the dehumidifier on without worrying about the unit overflowing. And as opposed to many bulky and unappealing for-basement models available on the market, the APER50LZ ― which comes in a sleek ‘stratus gray’ ― looks more like a piece of tech than a household appliance. 

The GE Dehumidifier APER50LZ monitors the humidity levels in your space and adjusts its settings accordingly between three fan speeds. It also features a ‘clean filter’ alert, so there’s no need to worry about forgetting when it’s time to clean away any dust and residue build-up.

When we first started up the GE dehumidifier on its highest setting, the humidity in the room was 55%, and it decreased to 40% after just an hour of running. 

Like many of the dehumidifiers in our guide, the GE Dehumidifier APER50LZ features an auto-shutoff and auto-restart. That means it shuts down if the water tank is full, and powers up again automatically if you have a power outage. 

When running the dehumidifier consistently, we needed to empty it of water approximately once a day, although this will definitely depend on the environment you’re using it in (more humidity equals more water). The water tank is easy to slide out and empty, if you prefer to use that instead of the continuous drainage. Personally, we found it much easier to pour the water out, though the pump feature tends to be a fan favorite with other users. It also features an empty bucket alarm, which sounds for 10 seconds if the bucket is full or missing. 

Castor wheels and in-built pocket handles make the GE Dehumidifier APER50LZ easy to move around the home. An automatic defrost feature also ensures your machine keeps running, even when frost builds up on the coils inside. 

• Read our full GE APER50LZ dehumidifier review

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How we test dehumidifers

Each dehumidifier in this guide has been tested to the exact same standards, using the same processes.

We start by noting the humidity level of a closed room. We then let the dehumidifier run on the highest setting. While the machine is running, we measure the noise level of the machine in decibels. After an hour, we measure and take note of the humidity level in the room. This process is repeated for each mode the unit has, such as lower mode and night mode. We take note of how quickly the water tank fills up, how often we need to empty it, and how easy this is to do.

Our testing also takes into account the size of the unit, the cost, ease of use, availability of additional parts, ease of cleaning and the energy use on the lowest and highest settings. Finally, we check online user reviews to see what people think, and we test for any persistent problems or defects that we read about.

As per our testing policy, we fully disclose all of our findings in our reviews.

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Our experts

Frequently asked questions

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