Top 10 Best Dehumidifiers to Buy Online 2020

It is the task of a dehumidifier to maintain healthy and balanced humidity levels in a room by removing any excess moisture in the air. They work much like your typical air conditioner wherein moist air is drawn in by the dehumidifier's fan and condenses as it passes through its cooled coils. 

The condensed moisture drips from the coils into a basin or it could be pumped out to a drain. Drier air is then released back into the room. 

Here are the best dehumidifiers we found on the market, each selected to fit your lifestyle and situation.

Of course you have to choose a dehumidifier that fits your needs and expectations, such as which room you want to lower humidity levels in and your ability to drain the collected water. There are also the automatic settings, filter maintenance, and temperature limit to consider when selecting a dehumidifier.

The first and probably most important thing to consider when choosing the most fitting dehumidifier is your room size. A heavy-duty model might be too much for smaller rooms and hence unnecessarily add up on your electricity bill while mini, portable types could be too weak to restore proper humidity levels in a large room effectively. 

Small rooms or areas such as a closet or kitchen cupboard do not require heavy-duty dehumidifiers. If your humidity problem is more periodic and localized, portable or mini dehumidifiers are a popular choice among homeowners. 

These are often plug-and-play and quite light on the wallet. In terms of capacity, these types of dehumidifiers could handle the humidity in areas up to 40 square feet in size.

Medium-sized rooms within the range of 300 to 500 square feet require more capable dehumidifiers although not yet the bigger, bulky and often times noisy ones. 

If your area has 50-70% humidity levels (in other words, is slightly to moderately damp), a dehumidifier with a 20 to 30-pint capacity is recommended. If humidity levels reach 80-100%, it's best to increase pint capacity to 40. 

If the room you wish to dehumidify exceeds 1,000 square feet, or you want to address multiple adjacent rooms with humidity problems, go for the models with maximum pint capacity and can absorb up to 70 or 80 pints of water a day. 

If you experience high humidity all year round and in more than one room, you may want to opt for a centralized whole-house dehumidifier instead of having multiple dehumidifiers lying around. This machine uses your home's heating-and-cooling system to maintain proper humidity levels across all rooms of the house. 

Your room's condition is another important aspect that affects the type of dehumidifier you need. The following is an explanation of how to gauge what level of humidity you're dealing with.

Keep in mind the ideal range is 40-50% in summer and 30-50% in winter for indoor humidity.

A slightly damp room with 50-60% humidity level where the air feels slightly heavy and the walls are cold or damp to the touch requires minimal levels of dehumidifying. 

Moderately damp rooms (60-70% humidity level) often have a musty odor and always feel damp. For spaces less than 2,000 square feet in size, a dehumidifier with at least a 25-pint capacity is advised. 

Spaces that have condensation on the walls or floor and have mold issues need heavy-duty dehumidifiers, especially if the room has high-load conditions such as a laundry room where clothes are hung to dry. These rooms have 70-100% humidity levels that can cause serious problems for your house and your health.

As mentioned earlier, there's more to choosing dehumidifiers than room size and pint capacity. Other factors like climate and number of tenants affect your selection process. 

Automatically add 10 pints to the capacity you need if you live in a place with a more humid climate. These climates are characterized by hot and humid summers and cold to mild winters. 

The most humid areas in the US average 72.5% humidity all year round. Certain cities in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and California are among those in the list. 

More people living in a particular space means more humidity creation through the various activities we engage in such as showering, cooking, or doing the laundry. Another five pints is advised.

Add five more pints if you have multiple windows, doors or other surfaces hit by opposing outdoor weather, which leads to condensation and extra moisture buildup in the air. 

Washers and dryers are examples of household appliances that produce extra moisture. It's recommended to add five pints if a dehumidifier is going to be placed near these types of machines. 

Cleanup and maintenance are other factors to consider when picking a dehumidifier because manually removing the basin with collected water and draining it at the sink can be quite a hassle. 

If you're placing the dehumidifier in a slightly damp room that experiences extra humidity periodically, getting one with an internal bucket might not be such a bad idea since it might take a few days before it's filled. Go for dehumidifiers with larger tubs so that you need to take fewer water collection trips. 

It might be unsightly, but a dehumidifier with an internal pump that directs the water collected up a hose and into a sink saves you the obligation of having to empty the basin regularly, especially if you're dealing with higher humidity. 

A direct drain dehumidifier is placed over a floor-level drain so that all the water being collected can be disposed of without effort. A hose could also be used to direct the water to a drain. 

Energy performance is another thing to consider when choosing a dehumidifier. Your humidity problem might get fixed but at a high expense because of its energy consumption.

It's important to note that getting a dehumidifier with a capacity bigger than your requirements is a better option than an undersized model, which will work overtime to maintain the right humidity levels, thus consuming more energy in the process. 

The Energy Star rating is the best way to gauge a machine's energy efficiency. It is an international designation which indicates that the product has passed a standard of effectively doing its job without consuming too much energy. 

Although many dehumidifiers boast of their low-cost capabilities, going for an Energy Star-rated model ensures that you're getting your money's worth in terms of addressing the moisture problem while saving energy. 

Hats off to technology for allowing so many advancements in our machines that we don't need to exert extra effort maintaining them! Dehumidifiers can have perks like sensors and automatic settings which make them even more convenient to use. 

Most dehumidifiers today have indicators which inform you when the water basin needs draining or the filter requires washing or replacing. As we go about our busy lives, we rely on reminders like blinking light indicators to avoid any accidents or damage to the equipment. 

More high-end dehumidifiers also have nifty automatic settings like shutting off when the right humidity level is reached and turning back on when needed, or automatically defrosting a unit if it reaches low temperatures to avoid damaging its coils. 

Such features save you big bucks on the electricity bill and having to replace parts during the winter season. There are also some models with an auto-reset feature, which restores the dehumidifier to its previous setting in case of a power interruption. 

It's difficult to stop when we're in the mood for home improvement shopping. Your place might have a moisture problem in summer but the air could be too dry in winter or it might be unbearable because it's uncomfortably cold. Our suggestions below can help. 

We might not quickly notice a very humid room until we smell a musty odor or see disgusting mold and condensation stains on the wall. 

A dehumidifier is an excellent addition to your house to quietly and efficiently restore healthy humidity levels in a room. Remember to get one that fits the size of your space and matches your humidity requirements!

Author: Hana Otsuka

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