Best Dehumidifiers 2023 - Forbes Vetted

Excess moisture in your home might seem innocent enough, but it can translate to dangerous mold and mildew that can cause serious health problems. That’s where dehumidifiers come in: These devices suck out unwanted moisture particles from the air in your home, helping you and your family breathe easier. Our pick for the best dehumidifier is the Frigidaire 50-Pint With Pump due to its high capacity and impressive array of features; the petite Pro Breeze Electric Mini, meanwhile, is a great pick for small rooms. But we’ve rounded up plenty of other worthy options depending on your needs.

The best dehumidifiers are easy to operate and pull excess moisture from the air so you and your ... [+] family breathe easier. Rotary Desiccant Dehumidification

There are a few things to consider when shopping for a dehumidifier. First, they come in a wide range of sizes and capacities, from small dehumidifiers suitable for single rooms to larger dehumidifiers for basements that can dry out high-humidity areas. There are also units that need to be drained out manually and those that are emptied with an automatic pump—and the latter typically cost a bit more. To help you sift through it all, we gathered a list of the best dehumidifiers in a variety of categories, based on extensive research.

This model from Frigidaire has plenty of features that the average dehumidifier shopper might want, especially if you’re looking to suck the moisture out of a larger space like a basement or family room. The device has an impressive 50-pint capacity (one of the higher capacities available on the market right now), you can choose from three fan speeds and it includes a pump and 16-foot hose that lets you drain wastewater out easily. You can also let the device drain into its 2-gallon bucket and empty as needed; there’s an indicator in the front that clues you in on the water level, so you don’t have to constantly open the machine to check. Finally, it has smooth-rolling wheels for easy mobility, which are bound to come in handy.

When it comes to basements, which are typically more humid and have cooler temperatures than the rest of your house, you’ll want a dehumidifier that can collect a lot of water in a quick timeframe. The Black + Decker dehumidifier, also the top pick in our best dehumidifiers for basements story, offers enough capacity to cover large areas. It’s also powerful enough to dry out spaces up to 4,500 square feet and can extract 50 pints of water every 24 hours, not to mention it’s Energy Star-certified. Adding to its value is its wallet-friendly price.

Maintenance-wise, you can manually empty this machine’s detachable 1.8-gallon bucket or choose to attach its 16.4-foot hose (included) for continuous drainage. It also has a filter that’s removable and washable. Other features include an LED display, casters for easy relocation, an auto-shutoff when the bucket becomes full and a 24-hour timer that allows you to run the device on a schedule.

Not everyone needs a dehumidifying behemoth that will pull buckets of water out of the air on a daily basis. This machine from Pro Breeze, which is already our top pick for the best small dehumidifier, is a good option for smaller rooms like a home office or bedroom. It’s a petite 11.8 inches tall with a 2.6-pint water tank and it’s also quiet. It also has an automatic shut-off that will power things down if the bucket fills to capacity. While you don’t get your choice of advanced features like fan speeds and target humidity levels, it gets smaller jobs done without taking up too much space.

If you’re looking for a “smart” option, this medium-capacity LG dehumidifier has smart capabilities and can be controlled and monitored by LG’s SmartThinQ app—and it’s also Alexa and Google Assistant compatible. Performance-wise, the PuriCare is equipped for spaces up to 2,000 square feet and is able to remove about 50 pints of moisture each day. It has a two-speed fan, washable filter and wheels, plus you can set the humidity so your air maintains your desired moisture level.

The PuriCare is also designed to be safe to use. One highlight is its Safety Standby Mode, which prevents overheating, as well as its thermally resistant internal construction. This unit also includes built-in drain pump, meaning you have the option to either continuously drain water straight into a sink, down the drain or out the window.

Tosot’s 50-pint, 4,500 square foot dehumidifier has the advantage of not looking like a dehumidifier, as the honeycomb styling on the top half of the case doesn’t have the industrial look of many similar devices. But another noteworthy feature is its silence: The dehumidifier reaches a peak sound level of just 51 dB on the higher fan speed; in comparison, a moderate rainfall is around 50 dB and a dishwasher is 60 dB.

Able to handle large spaces, this dehumidifier can remove about 50 pints of moisture a day. There are two drainage options: You can empty it manually via the 16-pint drain bucket (which is somewhat larger than average) or you can use the gravity-fed drain hose to feed water to a floor drain. If you opt for the version with a pump (that’s a separate upgrade) you can let the internal pump push the water, and the connector accepts a standard garden hose. It’s all operated from a simple control panel on top that displays humidity and bucket fullness. It also includes an auto-defrost feature and lets you set a two-speed fan and 24-hour timer.

Sure, it’s virtually impossible for a dehumidifier to go to work without you hearing something. But this option from Honeywell is repeatedly praised for having more of a gentle hum than an overpowering whir. And that’s all the more impressive considering the TP70WKN pulls out up to 70 pints of liquid a day, making it ideal for larger rooms like your living room or basement. It also features a durable air filter that you can just clean at your sink, meaning there’s no need to constantly remember to buy new filters. The detachable water tank has a comfort-grip handle along with anti-spill tank guards so you can empty your device without wrecking your hands (or your carpet) in the process. You’ll also find added features like a 24-hour energy-saving time, sleep mode and auto-restart after a power outage. And if this particular capacity is too high, Honeywell has the same machine available at capacities as small as 20 pints.

This Frigidaire dehumidifier features Wi-Fi capabilities that let you control and monitor all of the action from an app on your phone, allowing you to adjust everything from fan speed to desired humidity level. This machine can pull up to 50 pints of moisture out of the air each day, all while offering the option of continuous draining, making it another solid large-capacity pick. It can also operate at low temperatures down to 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

While you can check the 16.9-ounce capacity bucket level on your phone, there’s also a marker in front of the appliance to give you similar information at a glance. We also like that the water bucket is conveniently located at the front of the machine and that it includes a splash guard and handle. Plus, the unit’s carrying handle and caster wheels allows you to tote the machine from room to room as needed.

If you have a small space you’re trying to dehumidify, like a bathroom, the Ivation 13-Pint Small-Area Desiccant Dehumidifier is a good bet. It’s suited for rooms up to about 300 square feet and can empty about 13 pints a day. And this is where the Ivation dehumidifier has a leg up on other small models: Many compact dehumidifiers measure their water removal capacity in ounces, not pints, and despite their small size are a poor choice for bathrooms.

The Ivation dehumidifier is attractively styled with a blue accent panel, making it suitable for a location where it will definitely be seen. There’s a user-friendly LCD display on top that you can use to control the fan speed, humidity level and scheduling. The reservoir holds a half-gallon of waste water and you can optionally attach a hose for continuous drainage.

Some homes have widespread moisture issues that are best addressed holistically with a whole-house ducted dehumidifier. The Aprilaire EO80 Pro is a veritable beast for the job, able to filter as much as 80 pints of moisture a day out of the air and service homes up to 4,400 square feet in size. And while the price is considerably more than smaller models, it’s a bargain when you compare it to the cost of running multiple dehumidifiers throughout the home and having to separately maintain each one (including emptying waste water buckets).

Speaking of, there’s no waste water bucket in the EO80—this dehumidifier has a pump-driven exhaust that you can run to a drain. You can dial in the desired humidity level and leave it to run automatically.

This GE model removes up to 22 pints of moisture per day in rooms as large as 1,500 square feet, making it perfect for even the roomiest garages. A Smart Dry feature actively monitors the humidity level in the room and automatically adjusts the fan speed, so you don’t need to constantly keep tabs on it. There are three different fan speeds to find the setting that’s right for your garage. You can use an external hose connection to keep pumping out water or just empty the bucket when it’s full—your choice. The humidifier even lets you know when it’s time to clean your filter, so your machine can deliver peak performance. Pocket handles and wheels make it easy to move this dehumidifier around as needed.

The Forbes Vetted home team has a wealth of experience researching, writing about and testing devices designed to improve your home’s air quality. In addition to two other roundups on dehumidifiers (for basements and small spaces, specifically), we’ve also rounded up the best humidifiers for dryer months and the best air purifiers for year-round use. For this list, we also enlisted the help of two experts, who shared insights on important aspects to look for when selecting a dehumidifier for your home:

Finally, we strive to keep this article up to date with the latest research and the best products; it was last updated in December 2023 by home and kitchen writer Fran Sales.

We first extensively researched the best-rated and bestselling models from reputable brands like Frigidaire, Black + Decker and LG to compile our recommendations for the best dehumidifiers. We then drilled down into aspects like each device’s design (weight and size), ease of use, maintenance, capacity and price point. Our team also pored through dozens of user reviews from top retailer sites to give us critical insight from people who have used these products in their own homes. We aimed to add a variety of units for different uses, space sizes and price points. Finally, we spoke with an air quality expert and a board-certified family medicine physician to help us break down how dehumidifiers work and their key features.

There are quite a few things to consider when you’re shopping for a dehumidifier, including the location you need to dehumidify, noise level, maintenance and your personal preferences and budget. We spoke with air quality expert Jamie Mitri and board-certified family medicine physician Dr. Laura Purdy to highlight the most important considerations.

The type of dehumidifier you choose depends first and foremost on the the size and humidity of the area that needs to be dehumidified, both experts tell us. Mitri says, “For example, in higher-humidity spaces like a basement, you will be removing more water from the air in a quick timeframe; you will want a dehumidifier with a higher capacity and a larger water holding tank.” If you have a rough estimate of the square footage of the area, almost all manufacturers provide size and pricing options that best fit those measurements and needs, she adds.

You also want to consider the weight and portability of the dehumidifier, Dr. Purdy says. “If you will be moving it from room to room, this may be important to you. Some dehumidifiers come with wheels to make this easier.”

Dr. Purdy says the capacity of the dehumidifier—particularly its moisture removal capacity—is another important factor to consider. “Moisture removal capacity is the amount of water a dehumidifier can remove in a 24-hour period,” she says. “I would focus on this metric and compare it to the [square footage] of your space.”

Dehumidifiers tend to be loud, something to keep in mind if you’re putting it in a bedroom. “Most like to sleep without noise so this would be something to consider,” says Dr. Purdy. “Even if you are placing the dehumidifier in a high-traffic room, noise might also be something to think about if you prefer silence in these spaces.” But, Mitri assures, “there are different manufacturers that make quieter dehumidifiers.” We recommend the Honeywell TP70WKN, our pick for the quietest dehumidifier on this list.

When it comes to dehumidifiers, energy efficiency refers to how many liters of water it can remove per kilowatt-hour of energy consumed, says Dr. Purdy. “I would recommend purchasing a dehumidifier that has the Energy Star Seal of Approval because that means it uses 15% less energy [when removing moisture] than non-certified models,” she says.

How extensively you have to maintain your dehumidifier depends on the size of its holding tank and whether it has a built-in automatic pump, Mitri explains. “If there's a smaller water holding tank that needs to be manually drained out, then you will have drain it multiple times a day, especially in higher-humidity environments,” she says. Also, note that some dehumidifiers have washable filters while others need the filters regularly replaced.

I am a senior reporter for technology, covering venture capital and startups. I am based out of Forbes' San Francisco bureau, where I previously covered tech billionaires as a wealth reporter, and wrote about artificial intelligence as an assistant editor for technology. I graduated from Duke University, where I spent time as news editor for The Chronicle, the university's independent news organization. Follow me on Twitter at @kenrickcai, on Mastodon at @kenrickcai@journa.host and email me at kcai [at] forbes.com.

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Dry Cabinet As an updates writer for Forbes Vetted, I help optimize our home, gifts and kids coverage. I have over three years of experience in commerce journalism, editing for and contributing to brands such as Shop TODAY, The Spruce Eats and Simply Recipes. I've covered and tested products on various topics, from kitchen gadgets to carry-on luggage. I have a B.A. in English and Linguistics from Northeastern University, and I currently reside in Brooklyn, New York.