If you have a big home and need faster water extraction than the average dehumidifier, then the Pro Breeze 30L could be the perfect option (replacing the EcoAir DC18 on this list). The Pro Breeze provides a whopping 30 litres per day maximum extraction rate, along with smart features and excellent performance.

Like all refrigerant dehumidifiers, it works best at room temperature or above. This makes it suitable for bedrooms and bathrooms, but its poor performance at lower temperatures makes it unsuitable for garages or conservatories. If your dehumidifier is less than six months old and you experience problems such as a function failure or a complete failure, see our faulty goods advice guides to see how you can take action. In our survey, 18% of people had the dehumidifier replaced by the manufacturer or retailer, while 14% had the dehumidifier repaired under the manufacturer warranty. Extraction amount: It is essential to consider the maximum amount of moisture your dehumidifier can extract daily. It can range from anywhere from 500ml to upwards of 30 litres. Small units are fine for occasional use or a small area, such as a cupboard or study. Around 12 litres is suitable for a small flat, medium-sized room or a mild damp problem. Up to 16 litres is best for a larger room or one used regularly for washing or cooking, and units with a capacity of up to 20/30 litres can be used to dehumidify whole homes. Light users will be inconvenienced far less in this aspect, so please keep this in mind when selecting your dehumidifier.Simple and standard, the only additional feature is that you can choose between their four pre-set humidity levels to match your and your home's needs. All you’ll need to do is pop it in a corner and let it run, it costs around nine pence an hour so that it won’t break the bank, and when it is full, the dehumidifier will automatically shut off to avoid spillage. The only downside is that at 47dB, it is between a whisper and a regular voice; it is a little noisier than its competitors, so we recommend keeping it out of the bedroom at night. This varies according to the design, size and extraction rate. Generally speaking, desiccant dehumidifiers use more energy per hour than a compressor model, but can also work more effectively at removing moisture, which means costs tend to even out. Dehumidifier manufacturers have started to update their older models or create new ones using refrigerant gases with less of a global warming impact, such as R290. If you buy an older second-hand model, it may use a HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerant that can be a potent greenhouse gas if leaked. Some dehumidifier brands routinely do well or badly in our tests, while others are a lot more hit and miss.

As we mentioned, it uses peltier technology instead of desiccant or refrigerant. This technology, also known as thermo-electric, uses electricity to create a temperature difference and drive dehumidification. While peltier dehumidifiers struggle for efficiency, they are usually very quiet. Noise: A dehumidifier's noise levels can fall between 34dB to 60dB - 34dB being a whisper and 60dB being the same as a normal conversation. If you choose to run your dehumidifier at a lower fan speed, it will make less noise but may be less effective. Think about where you are using it and whether it will disturb you. The advantages of this type of dehumidifier are that they tend to be larger, more energy efficient and much more widely available. The problem is that they don’t work well in lower temperatures as the coils need to be colder than the room, or they start to freeze. Once that happens, a compressor dehumidifier focuses on de-frosting itself over reducing humidity, so they aren’t a great option for garages or cellars. They also tend to be much noisier, and depending on your noise-level preference, this can irritate people. Should you leave a dehumidifier on all the time?While it isn't cheap, the DEX214F is highly effective at removing water from warm rooms. It also comes with a humidistat, which aims to keep humidity at a specific level. However, it's most effective at room temperature or above, so we don't recommend it for cooler environments. With a two-litre tank, it might need emptying more regularly than some models, but there’s a 1m hose if you need continuous draining into a sink or drain. And while there’s no timer, you do get a laundry mode and a choice of quiet and turbo functions, and the rotary control is – as advertised – simple and easy to use. Desiccant dehumidifiers extract water using an absorbent material to draw moisture from the air. Then an internal heater warms it so the moisture condenses and drips into the tank below.

Fan speeds: Some dehumidifiers have just one speed for continuous drying, limiting your control. Whilst others have up to three, which is advantageous if you want to adjust it for faster drying or put it on a lower (and possibly quieter) setting. That out of the way, the Dimplex DXDH16N Dehumidifier is an excellent dehumidifier. It has an auto shut-off feature and is capable of reducing moisture like nobody’s business. Sure, this might not be the quietest unit or have the fanciest display, but the astonishing brute power of this unit is quite remarkable, thanks mostly to its 2,000 watts of mains power. As it's designed to be compact and lightweight, the dehumidifier has a relatively small 2 litre water tank. It also has a maximum extraction rate of 7.5 litres per day when on maximum fan speed and with laundry mode enabled (650W). This makes it less suitable for larger homes.

Dehumidifiers are appliances that you need to leave running for a while, so noise can be a real problem. This is why we include a quietness rating in our dehumidifier testing. Choose the right capacity for the size of your space, the number of people living in it and the severity of your damp problem. Suitability - The Inventor EVA-II PRO Dehumidifier can be used all around the house - in the kitchen, bathroom, garage, basement and in bedrooms. It can also be used to dry laundry. The Meaco DD8L is a portable desiccant dehumidifier that weighs just 6.4kg. This is less than half some of the refrigerant models on this list, making it an impressively light unit. It's also a quiet model with a noise rating of just 39dB on its lowest fan setting. Its white exterior is adorned with a control panel that comes in one of five selectable colours (listed above). If you are looking for something minimalist that you would have to really try to injure yourself with, it’s impossible to look past this marvel in engineering simplicity.