There are many benefits to having a dehumidifier in your home. One of the essential elementsof comfort at home is to have a well ventilated living space that is free from allergen, mold and mildew and does not encourage the growth of dust mites. To get the most out of your dehumidifier, you will want to place it as close to the source of the damp as you can. As a dehumidifier can be noisy and bulky, it’s tempting to hide it away in a corner. But for larger rooms, try and place your dehumidifier in the centre so it benefits from the circulating air.

Because we understand how important the views of real people are, we always seek recommendations from the Mumsnet forums to ensure the information we give you is based on unbiased, trusted opinions from those who have bought the products themselves. Expert opinions Our survey respondents have reported the following as three of the most common dehumidifier faults: A damp environment in our homes can be one of main contributor to ill health and COPD. Humidity can even damage furnishings like wallpaper, floorboards, and window seals.As explained above, make sure you’re using your dehumidifier at times of day when it will be the cheapest and most effective. Does a dehumidifier use a lot of electricity? If you have a serious damp or condensation problem, it’s worth buying a model with a bigger tank so that it keeps working all night. How to choose the best dehumidifier for your home As we move through the seasons and all of the unpredictable weather they bring (depending on where you live, of course), one of the problems that arise most often is dampness and moisture from the air, which causes its fair share of issues for the home. But with the best dehumidifier in your arsenal, you can wave goodbye to the headache of condensation, mould, and resulting bacteria. Auto functions or humidistats stopping working, inconsistent performance and complete failure are three of the most common dehumidifier problems, according to our most recent survey data. Knowing which dehumidifier brands are the most prone to faults could save you money. The main factor to consider is the space you want to dehumidify . In general, for a bedroom an 11 or 13 litre dehumidifier will be sufficient, for garages, basements and larger rooms a 25lire would be ideal

Transparency is really important to us and that's why we're always upfront about where we find our recommendations. We write about products that we feel offer the best value to most parents – the ones that our users would recommend to their own friends and family. Choose the right capacity for the size of your space, the number of people living in it and the severity of your damp problem. This year, we asked more than 6,997 Which? members and 3,003 members of the public to tell us about their experiences with a range of household appliances – from how likely they would be to recommend a brand to a friend to how long a product lasted before it developed a problem.

How to choose the best dehumidifier for your home

We've crunched the numbers for the biggest dehumidifier manufacturers, including DeLonghi, Ebac and Meaco, and have calculated a customer score for each, so you know which brands are recommended by owners.

The table below summarises this year's results. Brands are ranked by their customer score, which reveals how satisfied owners are with their dehumidifier and how likely they are to recommend it, plus how each brand's dehumidifier scores on average in our independent lab tests. Mould and damp are caused by excess moisture. Moisture in buildings can be caused by leaking pipes, rising damp in basements or ground floors, or rain seeping in because of damage to the roof or around window frames. If you have mould or damp it's important to find out why you have excess moisture in your home. When you know what's causing the damp, you can make sure your home is repaired or take steps to limit the moisture in the air. You may need to get a professional to remove mould for you, but if it's only a small amount you may be able to remove it yourself. litres – medium capacity. Suitable if there are more of you creating moisture through activities such as showering, cooking and washing clothes at home, and/or your damp problem is more severe.Humidistat Most dehumidifiers have one of these. A humidistat monitors moisture levels in the air and adjusts the dehumidifier to maintain the humidity level you’ve selected. Some models also have a more nuanced auto setting, where the machine adjusts its settings according to its idea of the most appropriate relative humidity. If you’ve noticed that there is a lot of condensation on your bedroom windows in the morning, it might be time to buy a dehumidifier. During the night, we sweat (a lot more than you might think) and breathe out warm air; this adds to the moisture in our room. However, dehumidifiers can be noisy, especially the compressor type, and with sleep already at a premium, finding one that doesn’t keep you awake is an absolute must! That’s where the Silentnight dehumidifier comes in. If you’ve bought a second-hand dehumidifier, read our guide to your rights when buying second-hand goods. How do I dispose of a dehumidifier?

If available, make use of timer or automatic shut-off features so the dehumidifier isn’t running continuously while you’re out of the house or asleep. Timer Allows you to program the dehumidifier to turn on and/or off after a specified time. This could help you to save money if you're on a tariff offering cheaper energy at certain times of day, or if you want to leave the dehumidifier on for a few hours after going out, but you don't need it on all day. Our lab tests cover some of the most important tasks a dehumidifier performs (including their water extraction, energy efficiency, humidistat function) as well as how easy they are to use and the noise they produce. But there are some things our extensive testing can't reveal – the most common dehumidifier faults is one of them. According to the NHS,if you have damp and mould in your home you're more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergiesor asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system.d? A compressor dehumidifier is the most common type in the UK as it works best in higher temperatures, such as in a heated home.

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However, most models have a built-in humidistat regardless of price. This allows you to specify a relative humidity (RH) that you want the dehumidifier to try to create in the room. Some also have an auto setting. How this works will vary from brand to brand, but generally speaking the dehumidifier will monitor and regulate conditions in the room according to what it deems to be the most appropriate RH at that point in time. Where to buy a dehumidifier litres – large capacity. A sensible choice if you have a lot of moisture that you need to get rid of fast. For example, clearing up after a flood or dealing with lots of water in the air through drying laundry indoors.