The Best Dehumidifiers for Keeping Your Home Dry and Mold-Free
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Mold is no joke. Whether you live in humid-summer New York or humid-winter Oregon, the best dehumidifiers can bring your humidity to livable levels and help mitigate the most obvious ill effects of damp climates.
What ill effects? In hot weather, humid climates can make it difficult for your body (or your air conditioner) to cool down appropriately and attain homeostasis. Closer to room temperature, oh dear lord, there's the mold—the ancient foe of asthmatics, hypochondriacs, record collectors, clotheshorses, and people who like having good hair. (Note that black mold isn't necessarily worse or better than the other kinds. Mold in general is just kinda awful for you.)
WIRED reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro discovered the salutary effects of dehumidifiers after life in a damp Maine cabin where her air quality monitors often registered 80 percent humidity, not to mention a stint on dehumidifier TikTok. Reviewer Matthew Korfhage lives in Portland, Oregon, where black mold is a genre of small talk.
After testing, these are the best models out of the many we tested, from our best for basements pick, the Honeywell Smart Portable Dehumidifier ($270), to our best portable version for travel or small spaces, the Eva-Dry Renewable Mini Dehumidifier E-333 ($25).
For more ways to improve your indoor air quality, check out our guides to Best Air Purifiers, Best Air Quality Monitors, Best Space Heaters, Best Fans, and Best Window Air Conditioners.
Updated December 2025: We've added Dreo’s 110-pint 711S, removed unavailable products, ensured accuracy of links and prices, and added new information to FAQs.
Best Dehumidifier Overall
The Midea Cube 20 is a powerful dehumidifier that combines a great number of desirable attributes held in balance. It has a large 3-gallon tank without being overly large, and its bucket can nest for easy storage. It pairs an intuitive control panel with an easy-to-pair smart app. And it's quiet, noted WIRED tester Lisa Wood Shapiro, humming along at a near-imperceptible 20 decibels on its lowest fan setting and at around 40 decibels at its highest. This is as quiet as the quietest space heaters.
There is a larger, 50-pint Cube ($300) rated for even bigger spaces, but this 20-pint model can manage the air for a 1,500-square-foot space that's sufficient for most residential environments. Its blessed compactness makes it suitable even for small apartments, just a 13-inch cube when it's not in use. If you'd rather wheel it around (it weighs 33 pounds without water), you can also mount an optional wheel set. All in all, an admirable set of qualities, at a price lower than other dehumidifiers with comparable performance. Note, however, it lacks a dedicated laundry mode for drying clothes. —Matthew Korfhage
Specs Smart app? Yes Tank capacity 20 pints or 3 gallons Laundry mode No Noise on high 42 dB Wheels/handles Handles Warranty 1 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Great, user-friendly design
- Can be used with laundry
- Large capacity
TIRED- No dedicated laundry mode
Best Dehumidifier for Travel
The Eva-Dry is a different kind of dehumidifier. It’s filled with desiccant beads using the same moisture-absorbing principles as those ubiquitous silica packages that are tucked into electronic boxes and food to keep the contents dry. The Eva-Dry works without electricity … at first. You simply place your Eva-Dry in your luggage, your car, your boat, RV, display cabinet, or any small space. Over time, depending on the level of moisture, the beads will change from orange to green. When the Eva-Dry beads turn green, it’s time to plug it in, and in about 12 hours the the beads turn back to orange.
I know I’ve seen the Eva-Dry before I ordered one to demo; I can’t remember if it was in an antique shop or a doctor’s office, but it was familiar to me. Invented over 20 years ago in humid Florida, the Eva-Dry has a full line of desiccant humidifiers designed for portability, and they might offer the right amount of drying power for your needs. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Specs Smart app? No Tank capacity No tank Laundry mode No Noise on high 0 dB Wheels/handles No Warranty 5 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Mostly works without electricity
TIRED- No special features
Best Smart Dehumidifer for Large Spaces
This Dreo is a beast. While maintaining energy efficiency higher than EnergyStar standards, it'll draw 210 cubic feet per minute through its system—able to as much as 110 pints of water a day out of the air if you live in, like, Florida. What's better, its easy-to-use smart app will let you monitor humidity remotely and turn the device on or off, making it perfect for basements if you hook its exterior hose up to a drain.
Dreo specializes in smart devices across its repertoire, so it's no surprise the app is easy to use and intuitive. Just note that this puppy's pretty loud, above 60 decibels and lightly audible in the next room—which means the ability to operate it remotely is a boon. The 711S also tends to register the humidity as much as 5 percentage points higher than nearby hygrometers, so I'd likely be conservative with my humidity settings when putting it on auto. Still: Total beast. It brought my small bathroom from 85 percent to 50 percent humidity in less than 10 minutes. —Matthew Korfhage
Specs Smart app? Yes Tank capacity 16 pints Laundry mode No Noise on high 65 decibels Wheels/handles Wheels Warranty 1 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Easy operation via phone app
- High energy efficiency
- Large capacity and fast operation
TIRED- Bulky, heavy
- Louder than some
Best Non-Refrigerant Dehumidifier
This 13-pound dehumidifier is without a refrigerant. Instead, it works with zeolite desiccant material. Like Eva-Dry’s Renewable Mini Dehumidifier above, the EVD-4000 works with the same dehumidification principle but at a much larger scale. It has a rotating desiccant ceramic disk to pull in moisture and is able to dry out a 440-square-foot room. It's lighter and quieter than the other dehumidifiers I’ve tested, but that comes with the higher price. And because the EVD-4000 doesn’t require refrigerant, it’s able to work in a variety of temperatures. It has a blue-light ionizer and air filter to capture some particulate matter. And the air blowing from the unit is warm. It is barely audible at its lowest setting and is around a quiet-ish 60 decibels at its highest setting.
When I first plugged in the EVD-4000 it gave off an off-putting smell, like heated plastic, but true to the manual’s word, it soon dissipated. I also worried that the EVD-4000 would somehow impact the indoor air quality of my son's 250-square-foot room. It did not. I set the ideal humidity at its highest setting of 35 percent and checked my various indoor air quality monitors. They were reading a high 62 percent humidity. I wondered how long it would take EVD-400 to deliver its 35 percent target. It took four hours to get to 46 percent humidity, but after seven hours, the tank was filled and EVD-4000 turned off. The EVD-4000 includes a drain hose for continuous drainage, and that would be ideal to use, as its water reservoir is too small for continuous dehumidifying. It also has three swinging louvers, a clothes drying mode, and a pullout tank to collect water. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Smart app? No Tank capacity 2 liters Laundry mode Yes Noise on high 60 decibels Wheels/handles Handle Warranty 1 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Lightweight and quiet
- Can work in a variety of temperatures
TIRED- Weird initial smell
- Small water reservoir
Best Dehumidifier for Drying Laundry (Yes, Laundry)
Like the Honeywell Smart, the GoveeLife portable dehumidifier has an app. It also has a continuous drain hose and a 2-gallon water tank. It’s capable of removing between 49 and 109 pints a day, depending on the temperature. The higher the temperature, the more water it’s able to remove. The unit weighs nearly 40 pounds, but I was able to move it around on its wheels. It had that disappear-into-the-room white design, and while I wouldn’t run it at full blast in my bedroom, it was quieter at its lower settings.
It also had something I hadn’t considered before: laundry mode. I was more than curious, as I hate running my dryer and knew that countries like Denmark have drying rooms where they line-dry their clothes with the aid of a dehumidifier. Could I increase my energy efficiency and dry my clothes simply by running my dehumidifier? Why, yes! I was able to dry two bath towels, a cotton T-shirt, a tennis skirt, and several hand towels in four hours. In that time, the 2-gallon tank was almost at capacity. It was also a day with nearly 80 percent humidity. I liked the GoveeLife as a dehumidifier, but the big takeaway was having a real alternative to my dryer. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Specs Smart app? Yes Tank capacity 2 gallons Laundry mode Yes Noise on high 53 dB Wheels/handles Wheels/side handles Warranty 1 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Laundry dryer
- Continuous drain hose and a 2-gallon water tank
- Connected app
TIRED- Heavy
Best Dehumidifier for Bathrooms
I love this demure dehumidifier with its seven changing mood lights and clear window revealing its water tank. The Breezome has become my bathroom nightlight and mold fighter all in one. At under $60, the Breezome is not a basement humidifier, nor does it have the power to dry laundry (at least not in a short period of time), but the Breezome is small enough to fit next to the tub in my bathroom. It’s slowly (over several days) filling with water, and it is one of the coolest appliances I have in my home at the moment.
While its tiny size keeps it from being effective at mitigating high indoor moisture levels in a home, it offers extra support in smaller spaces. I could also see the Breezome in dorm rooms, or walk-in closets. I like the timer settings that are 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours. There’s also a sleep mode along with overfloor protection. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
Specs Smart app? No Tank capacity 3.75 pints Laundry mode No Noise on high N/A Wheels/handles Handle only Warranty 1 year WIRED/TIREDWIRED- Seven changing mood lights
- Clear window revealing its water tank
TIRED- Doesn't work effectively in larger rooms
- Doesn't have the power to dry laundry
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Compare Our Picks
| WIRED | TIRED | Smart app? | Tank capacity | Laundry mode | Noise on high | Wheels/handles | Warranty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midea 20 Pint Cube Dehumidifier | Great, user-friendly design; can be used with laundry; large capacity | No dedicated laundry mode | Yes | 20 pints or 3 gallons | No | 42 dB | Handles | 1 year |
| Eva-Dry Renewable Mini Dehumidifier E-333 | Mostly works without electricity | No special features | No | No tank | No | 0 dB | No | 5 years |
| Dreo 110-Pint Smart Humidifier | Great app with remote oepration and monitoring, fast dehumidification, drain hose, energy-efficient | Loud and big | Yes | 16 pints | No | 65 dB | Wheels | 1 year |
| Eva-Dry 4000 Rotary Desiccant Dehumidifier | Lightweight and quiet; can work in a variety of temperatures | Weird initial smell; small water reservoir | No | 4.2 pints | Yes | 60 dB | Handle | 1 year |
| GoveeLife Smart Dehumidifier | Laundry dryer; continuous drain hose; connected app | Heavy | Yes | 16 pints | Yes | 53 dB | Both | 1 year |
| Breezome 60 oz. Dehumidifier | Seven changing mood lights; clear window revealing its water tank | Doesn't work effectively in larger rooms; doesn't have the power to dry laundry | No | 3.75 pints | No | N/! | Handle | 1 year |
Recommended With Reservations
Tabyik 35-Ounce Dehumidifier for $42: I am still looking for the ideal bathroom dehumidifier/night-light combo. At just over 2 pounds and 10 inches tall, the Tabyik Peltier Dehumidifier had the potential to be the right fit. While it’s slightly cheaper than the Breezome's 60-ounce dehumidifier, that lower cost comes with half the Breezome’s tank size. If you’re looking for a small dehumidifier for your windowless bathroom or mud room, then this tiny, toy-sized version of a dehumidifier might be for you. One issue was the Tabyik’s 4-foot electrical cord, which made placing it on the floor from a high-up electrical outlet, like those in a bathroom, somewhat restricting. And small doesn’t mean quieter. The Tabyik churns along at close to 30 decibels—louder than the full-size Midea Cube 20-pint at low or medium fan speeds.
Also Tested
Honeywell Energy Star 50-Pint Dehumidifier: WIRED tester Lisa Wood Shapiro appreciated the large tank, the laundry mode, and the wheels that made this dehumidifer easy to port from room to room. But while it's still listed on Honeywell's site, we weren't able to easily find this model available for sale.
Things to Know Before Buying
The first thing to think about is how you’re going to drain the water from the dehumidifier. In the basement, the best thing you can do is to use the dehumidifier’s continuous water drain tube to either the sump pump or a drain. If those options are not available, you might be emptying the tank multiple times a day. The first time I put a dehumidifier in the basement, the tank was filled in three hours’ time. It’s all about the drainage. Also, knowing how to read a label. If you have a 50-pint humdidifier that means the appliance can remove 50 pints of moisture from the air in a 24-hour period; it's not the internal tank capacity. Also, look for the maximum area coverage. For example, the Honeywell Smart 50 pint can remove 50 pints of water from 4,000 sq ft—the size of a whole house—in 24 hours.
If you, like me, also need a dehumidifier in your city apartment, then consider buying one that’s easy to move around with wheels and a handle. Some of these machines are heavy. Also, a small dehumidifier in the bathroom is a good idea to keep the dampness at bay, especially if you have mold growing on your grout.
Lastly, do not drink the water collected in your dehumidifier tank. That water is not potable. Pour it down the drain. A dehumidifier is not creating distilled water; that’s a different process and appliance.
Why Buy a Dehumidifier?
Dehumidifying your home is one of the nine foundations for a healthy home, according to Harvard’s TH Chan School for Public Health’s Healthy Buildings for Health initiative. Moisture can cause mold to grow. And most air quality monitors, like the Awair Element and QP Pro, have a moisture or humidity reading. For those with a mold allergy like WIRED reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro, a dehumidifier is a necessity. And while dry air can be a culprit for itchy eyes and respiratory issues, according to several studies, there are many benefits for lower humidity in the home. The EPA recommends keeping humidity below 60 percent and ideally between 30 and 50 percent.
It’s worth noting that there are many studies about how low humidity—or low RH (relative humidity), the amount of water vapor in the air—affects the viability of certain viruses. One example was the SARS coronavirus (not Covid-19), which had stability in low-temperature and low-humidity environments that facilitated transmission, while high-temperature and high-humidity such as tropical locales did not. In more temperate climes, the deleterious effects of mold growth are often a higher concern.
Can a Dehumidifier Prevent Mold?
Mold prospers in damp environments. And for this reason the Environmental Protective agency recommends keeping relative humidity below 60 percent in indoor environments, and ideally between 30 and 50 percent. In the winter, your heating system or space heater will likely do some of the work. During a humid summer, a dehumidifier may be a first line of defense in preventing a damp environment that allows mold to prosper—whether in a dank basement, a humid climate, or just an ill-ventilated bathroom after a shower.
It's important to note that while a dehumidifier can prevent some mold by removing the moisture from the air that mold needs to grow and thrive, it cannot kill or remove existing mold, nor can it prevent mold that already exists, which is likely due to a water leak somewhere nearby. (Mold can grow in as little as 24 to 48 hours after water exposure, according to FEMA.) If your home has a significant mold problem, a dehumidifier is not the answer—you'll need to investgiate the source, and possibly look into a professional assessment and remediation.
How Do I Know if I Need a Dehumidifier?
According to the EPA, the ideal indoor humidity is between 30 and 50 percent. The best way to tell if you're within this range is by using a hygrometer—many smart thermostats have them, but you can also buy one on Amazon for under $10. Other than physically seeing mold, other signs of excess moisture or humidity in your home could include condensation on windows, a musty mildew smell, or an increase in allergy or asthma symptoms.
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