Even if I have I spent the best part of my life living in a wet city in New York, I never owned a dehumidifier. I never had a basement and I did not know the advantages of a portable dehumidifier.
I was lucky that I did not know or at least known a mold problem where I live. I use an air conditioner during the warmer months, and that reduces humidity to some extent. But last spring, I found myself on Tiktok dehumidifier And decided to take my interior air quality from a notch.
Last summer, I lived in a Maine humid cabin where the humidity level was often 80%, according to my air quality monitors. It was time for a dehumidifier. I wanted good air by all metrics – not just looking at volatile organic compounds (VOC) of PM 2.5 or low humidity. I also wanted a good day of hair. And so these are the best models among the many we have tested, of our best for the basements, the Honeywell Smart Portable Dehudifier ($ 260)to our best portable version for travel or small spaces, the Mini renewable dehumidifier EVA-DRY E-333 ($ 25).
May 2025 update: we added two options from Eva-Dry, MIDEA cube and Tabyik Peltier, as well as updated links and prices.
For more ways to improve your interior quality, consult our guides for the best air purifiers, the best air quality monitors, the best window air conditioners, the best radiators and the best fans.
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Things to know before buying
The first thing to think is how you are going to drain the water from the dehumidifier. In the basement, the best thing you can do is use the dehumidifier's continuous water drainage tube to the sump pump or a drain. If these options are not available, you can empty the tank several times a day. The first time I put a dehumidifier in the basement, the tank was filled in three hours. It's all about drainage. Also, know how to read a label. If a dehumidifier is listed as “50 pints”, this means that the device can eliminate 50 pints of air humidity in a period of 24 hours; It is not the ability of the internal tank. Also look for the maximum area of ​​the area. For example, the Honeywell Smart 50 Pinte can eliminate 50 pints of 4,000 square feet in 24 hours.
If you, like me, also need a dehumidifier in your apartment in town, then remember to buy it easy to move with wheels and a handle. Some of these machines are heavy. In addition, a small dehumidifier in the bathroom is a good idea to keep moisture from a distance, especially if you have molds that grow on your coulis.
Finally, do not drink the water collected in your dehumidifier tank. This water is not potable. Pour it into the drain. A dehumidifier does not create distilled water; It is a different process and device.
Dehumidify your home is one of the nine foundations for a healthy house, according to Harvard's Th Cha Cha Cha Cha Chan school for healthy buildings of public health health. Humidity can cause mold growth. And most of my air quality monitors, such as the Awair and QP Pro element, have a moisture or humidity reading. As a person who has an allergy to the mold – or at least that is what the allergens' test confirmed – a dehumidifier is something that I should have bought years ago. And although dry air can be a culprit for the eyes of itching and respiratory problems, according to several studies, there are many advantages for the slightest humidity at home. THE EPA recommends Keep humidity below 60% and ideally between 30 and 50%.
It should be noted that there are many studies on how low humidity – or low HR (relative humidity), the amount of water vapor in the air – affects the viability of certain viruses. An example was the Sars Coronavirus (not Covid-19), which had stability in low-temperature and low hide environments that facilitated transmissionWhile high temperature and high humidity as tropical places have not done so. I focus on the unhealthy effects of high humidity because it can stimulate mold growth.
