We Found the Best Dehumidifiers for Reducing Moisture, Mugginess, and Mildew in Your Home

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If you live in a part of the country prone to high humidity, or you have a dank room in your house with poor ventilation, you’d probably benefit from a dehumidifier. These portable appliances draw in moist air, cool it down, and trap the resulting condensation in a manual or self-emptying water reservoir.

Dehumidifiers aren’t just intended to keep you comfortable, though: elevated humidity levels (above 50 percent) can provide a breeding ground for mold and mildew, and can even result in expensive water damage. This is particularly problematic in rooms that get a lot of moisture like uninsulated basements or small bathrooms.

(On the other hand, if the humidity level gets below 30 percent in winter, you might want a humidifier to keep your skin from getting too dry.) You can test the humidity levels in your home with a $10 hygrometer.

A good dehumidifier doesn’t make the air in your home overly dry, but instead keeps you comfortable in the heat and protects your space from potential mold growth. We tried out several popular models to find the best dehumidifiers for your space.

What to Consider

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How We Selected

In making our final selections for this list, we tested out multiple models on our own spaces. We evaluated the dehumidifiers we tried—and those we haven’t gotten our hands on yet—based on overall effectiveness, versatility of options and settings, and ease of use within a home setting. We also researched expert and consumer reviews for the options we haven’t tested ourselves.

Rated to remove 22 pints of water per day (or 30 pints according to 2012 DOE standards), this Homelabs dehumidifier is a versatile option for medium to larger rooms, designed for spaces up to 1,500 square feet.

It features a continuous drain option (though the hose isn’t included, so count on the extra expense) and a built-in pump compressor, along with auto-shutoff when the tank is full and turbo mode for maximum moisture removal. This dehumidifier is also Energy Star rated.

This device also comes with an auto-defrost feature and a filter quality light that alerts you when it is time to clean it off.

Rated for 24 pints removed every day and built with an auto defrost feature, this dehumidifier from Costway offers efficiency and all-weather capabilities at an affordable cost.

The first thing I noticed when testing out this device was the relatively compact size of it. Small enough to fit discretely in the corner of our living room, it was easy to set it up, turn it on and forget about it. This was compounded by the relatively quiet operation.

The feature that stands out the most is the light indicator on the front. Each color represents a humidity range on it, so you can get a general sense of the humidity in the room with just a glance.

This Honeywell model is an excellent option if you want to be able to set your optimal humidity level and have the machine automatically adjust its setting to maintain that. It has smart digital controls, as well as alerts for a full tank and when the washable filter needs cleaning. The wheels and heavy-duty top handle allow you to move it fairly easily.

This TP50WK model from Honeywell is rated to remove 50 pints according to the older DOE standards, but at 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it can remove around 30 pints of moisture from 3,000-square-foot rooms every 24 hours.

Another choice from Honeywell, this model is equipped with smart features that make it stand out for those who want to connect their appliances to their Wi-Fi and control them via app or Amazon Alexa.

This dehumidifier is designed for spaces up to 1,000 square feet and removes up to 30 pints of moisture from the air in a 24-hour period. While it doesn’t have a pump, it does offer continuous drainage, and will alert you when the tank is full or the filter needs cleaning (and the filter is washable, which is a bonus). If you aren’t home, you can use the app to change things like fan speed and humidity settings.

Designed for much smaller space, this dehumidifier from Pro Breeze is perfect to keep individual rooms temperate. What stood out to me the most when using the device was its simplicity. With only a switch on the back to turn it on or off, all you need to do is plug it in.

This dehumidifier does not have a continuous drainage option, though with its size, it is relatively easy to empty it out manually. When full, it will automatically shut off and a light will flash on to indicate it needs to be emptied.

I personally use it in my bathroom to help my towels dry during the more humid months over the summer, when they tend to feel like perpetually damp rags between showers.

A smart and energy efficient option from GE, this dehumidifier has the power for larger spaces without giving your energy bill a punch in the teeth.

When using this dehumidifier, what stood out the most was the actual volume of moisture capture within such a short window of time. Rated for 50 pints per day, this dehumidifier is capable of reducing humidity quickly, and without making a disturbing amount of noise.

This option also provides multiple speed settings based on your needs as well as a smart dry option, which automatically detects the humidity in the room and actively adjusts the fan speed based on it.

The GE device also comes with a direct LED display of the humidity percentage in the room, an aut0-defrost feature, a timer setting, and even a light indicator for when it's time to clean the filter.

It isn’t a practical option for spaces larger than a couple hundred square feet, but this Gocheer model is a great choice for very small spaces, like bathrooms, RVs, or basement offices.

Its nearly five feet of hose allows continuous drainage—perfect for bathrooms with a sink or shower drain at the ready—and the 64-ounce water tank is easy to detach when it’s time to clean or empty out.

If you plan on using the tank, this device will automatically shut off when full and even illuminate the water in red to alert you.

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