Measured against the MeacoDry Arete One dehumidifier's powerful extraction rates of 10, 12, 20, or 25 litres of water from the air each day, the Russell Hobbs RHDH1061G can only extract 0. The T-shirts closest to the dehumidifier dried in 3 hours, but those further away took aboutdouble that time to completely dry'. degrees celsius warmer than the ambient air) than compressor models' which can make a desiccant dehumidifier a particularly good choice for drying wet laundry indoors. If you have more serious damp issues, then although a dehumidifier can help to reduce the problem and improve the air quality in your home, it won't prevent the damp from occurring in the first place, so it's important to get to the root of the issue. The RHDH1061 simply keeps going until the tank is full, so you should use it in a room where you know there is excess humidity.

Once you've decided which type of dehumidifier is the best fit for your needs, next up you'll want to consider extraction rates.

When thinking about dehumidifiers, does an image pop into your head of a large, ugly, white box, rattling noisily away in the corner? There are no complicated controls or settings to get used to - this dehumidifier just has the one button to turn the unit on and off. A sample of the Russell Hobbs RHDH1061 Portable Dehumidifier was kindly supplied for review purposes, and you can read more about our process on the how we test page.

Once I had retrieved the adaptor, the tank went back in, I plugged the machine into the mains, pressed the power button and voilà! And, whilst this Russell Hobbs number is cheaper upfront, running costs are higher, with the 20L dehumidifier using 440W of energy compared to Meaco's 20L Arete One which uses 216W on average. The auto defrost function prevents water from freezing on the dehumidifier's cold coils as it is pulled from the air. The dehumidifier was tested in a number of rooms in Laura’s house, including the conservatory, home office and bedroom, during daytime hours and overnight. We trialled the device in a newly-moved-into basement flat with identified damp issues, so we expected its 600ml tank to need emptying several times a day.And in our tests, the Arete One reduced moisture levels in damp-prone rooms in a very short period of time. There’s even a defrost function – when temperatures drop, a sensor inside the dehumidifier will heat to prevent water freezing on the elements.

However, they're usually more expensive both upfront and in terms of running costs than a compressor dehumidifier, so unless you're looking to remove damp at cold temperatures you're generally best off with a compressor model. The tank capacity dictates how much water the water tank of the dehumidifier can hold before it needs emptying.It has a low extraction rate compared to most compressor dehumidifiers and isn't powerful enough to help dry washing, but in our tests its Peltier condenser worked well to eliminate window condensation and reduce moisture levels within rooms under 15m². A dehumidifier's extraction rate is an average of how much moisture it can remove from the air during a given timeframe. We also didn’t find it that much help with drying clothes, although it did a good job of managing general damp and reducing condensation and mould on windows and walls. Drying of washing when you can’t hang it outside at this time of year, Well worth the money, ours is full every morning. Whilst we don't think it can quite beat the MeacoDry Arete One on overall performance, Pro Breeze's latest launch, the 20L Premium Dehumidifier with Special Laundry Mode, is the best dehumidifier for drying clothes that we've tested.

That's why a dehumidifier is particularly useful to pair with one of best heated clothes airers in winter; it will suck the moisture out of the air as your clothes dry, speeding up drying times even more and reducing the risk of mould-creating condensation on walls and windows.Like the MeacoDry Arete One and the Pro Breeze Premium with Special Laundry Mode, this dehumidifier has a built-in Automatic Humidity Sensor that allows you to set your desired room humidity between 30%-80%. The sleek and modern unit with navy blue exterior stands out from the crowd in all the right ways, and whilst it doesn't have built-in wheels like most dehumidifiers of this size, the integrated carry handle and mid-weight build make it relatively easy to transport from room to room. She has recently moved into a basement (or 'garden') flat with a lot of work to be carried out, so she has been on the hunt for an excellent dehumidifier to tide her over. She’s now Decor Editor at Ideal Home, offering advice on creating your dream interior, whether that's choosing the perfect shade of paint, investing in a new sofa, or sourcing on-trend and sustainable products for the home.