Dehumidifiers are proving exceptionally popular this year and our top-rated airers may temporarily sell out. These are currently the best places to look for alternatives: Emptying the water tank is also easy thanks to a user-friendly design that means you simply pull the tank out from the front of the machine. Then there’s a special water drain bung which you can lift up to effortlessly pour the water away. 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. Plus, the Arete One offers a built-in air purifier which this model does not. Considering the compact size of the appliance, the water tank on this dehumidifer is pretty generous. It has a 1500ml capacity which means you won’t have to change it every day, even if you leave the dehumidifier running.

If you have a small space that’s prone to damp air, like a kitchen or a bathroom, you need a dehumidifier that’s compact and quiet. Standing 22cm high and weighing little more than a bag of sugar, unlike some dehumidifiers The ProBreeze is easy to move around and won’t stand out like a sore thumb once it’s in place. The small build makes it possible for you to place the ProBreeze 500ml anywhere. You can set it on a shelf in the bathroom, kitchen counter, the nightstand in your bedroom, the inside of a wardrobe where dampness is an issue, or even on a windowsill to eliminate condensation. The dehumidifier has rubber feet that ensure it remains firmly in place wherever it is set down. It's fair to say that most dehumidifiers aren't the most stylish of appliances, which is why the De'Longhi Tascuigo AriaDry Multi Dehumidifier is something of a breath of fresh air amidst the usual boxy white plastic designs.Domestic dehumidifiers can extract up to 25 litres of water per day. We have largely focused on 20l models since these are the most popular for domestic use. For larger spaces, damper environments or colder temperatures, choose something more powerful. (Or vice versa for smaller spaces.) Measuring in at 6 inches in length and just 8.5 inches high, it is the smallest dehumidifier we have encountered thus far. It is also the lightest, weighing a little under 1.5 kilos. The alternative is a Peltier dehumidifier, which, although not specified, is likely the method the Silentnight 39899 600ml Dehumidifier uses. In contrast to a compressor dehumidifier, a Peltier dehumidifier uses a far quieter thermo-electric process to extract moisture from the air.

Dehumidifiers range in capacity. The smallest start at around 500ml per day. These models are often cheap but are only suitable for single rooms, boats or caravans. They do not dry the air excessively and will not cause any damage to plants, furniture or other household items. However, it's not perfect. A powerful extraction rate of 20L, plus that Laundry boost mode, means higher running costs. This dehumidifier guzzles 440W of energy compared to the 20L MeacoDry Arete One's 216W. What the Pro Breeze 20L Premium does offer is a more generous water tank of 5.5L compared to the 20L MeacoDry Arete One's 4.8L, although in practice we didn't find ourselves emptying the MeacoDry that much more frequently. Air purifiers help to clean the air, thereby reducing the chances of health issues caused by indoor pollutants which can trigger respiratory infections or aggravate symptoms in asthma sufferers.

How to Choose a Size

Most dehumidifiers are noisy, averaging decibel levels of between 34-48dB. That's because they draw in air via a fan and then use a compressor and refrigerant to cool and condense the air to extract the moisture from it. What you need to remember here is that size really does matter. This is a small and compact dehumidifier suitable for small rooms, so it will struggle to be effective and get overwhelmed when placed in a large area. If you're wondering how to get rid of mould in a poorly ventilated room, or trying to combat excess moisture or humidity inside the home, then a dehumidifier can be a useful tool in your arsenal.

The size of the environment you want to dehumidify. This should be measured in square metres, as that’s the unit quoted by manufacturers in the UK. As Chris Michael, Managing Director of the air quality brand Meaco says, inside the home, 'excess moisture in the air can come from drying clothes in the house, boiling vegetables, putting the kettle on, bathing, showering, open flame gas style heating, damp clothing, breathing, and the damp British weather.' Compressors are generally efficient at room temperature, but they can’t handle the winter cold so well. If the temperature drops below three or four centigrade, they will tend to stop working. That’s not the case with desiccants, although they can be more expensive to run. How to use a dehumidifier If you’ve ever had reason to ask yourself ‘what is the best dehumidifier?’ it was probably with a sense of desperation over mould in your bathroom that just won’t shift, or window condensation forever puddling on the sills. Humidity can be a real problem. A dehumidifier is your best defence. When people talk about a dehumidifier’s size, they usually don’t mean its physical dimensions. Instead, the size or capacity is how many litres of water it’s able to extract per day. In practice, larger capacity models tend to be physically bigger too, but this isn’t always the case.Water tank capacity is also reduced compared to the ProBreeze's super generous 1.5L tank, with the Silentnight model only able to hold 0.6L of water – which means you'll be emptying the tank a lot more frequently. For comparison, the MeacoDry Arete One 12L dehumidifier (which is a compressor dehumidifier) uses 151W of electricity which equates to 5p per hour, and the EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3 dehumidifer (a desiccant dehumidifier) uses 300W - 580W, costing between and 9p and 17p per hour to run. Noise levels Dehumidifiers are the best way to reduce humidity in your home and many are cost effective and energy efficient. They range from bathroom dehumidifiers to compact ones for your car and even ones you can control from your mobile phone. Small dehumidifiers are ideal for flats or smaller spaces, while the bigger models can dehumidify a five-bedroom property or a small business space.