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. Read our guide to how to get rid of damp for help in identifying the cause of your damp issues, and how to treat them.

Overall, it's not the most powerful dehumidifier you can buy, and it can't cope with high moisture levels – we found it made little difference when drying wet washing for example. However, it did a great job of clearing condensation on windows and managing moisture levels in a small bedroom when left running overnight.A desiccant dehumidifier differs in that it uses an absorbent material or chemical dessicant to extract moisture from the air. This means they can operate efficiently in lower temperatures, down to just 1°C, and are useful for garages, basements, conservatorys, or unheated rooms in the house over winter. 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. If you’re pulling out 15 to 20 litres per day, the dehumidifier needs to have a tank with the capacity to handle it or you will be emptying it out every few hours. Three litres is the absolute minimum, while five or six litres will give you a bit less emptying to do. Is there anything else worth looking out for? 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. This dehumidifier is designed for managing fairly low moisture levels in small rooms up to 15m² or 2200 cubic feet, so it isn't going to cope with major damp issues or be able to control humidity within an entire house like larger capacity dehumidifiers. That said, the ProBreeze 1500ml Mini dehumidifier still impressed us during testing, and as long as you don't expect too much of it, this mini dehumidifier has a lot of plus points, not least its affordability.

Despite its compact size, this dehumidifier is also heavy. And noisy. 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. All that said, the Russell Hobbs RHDH2002 20L dehumidifier still impressed our review team during testing. So, if you’re looking for a powerful dehumidifier with a cheaper upfront cost, the Russell Hobbs RHDH2002 20L is well worth considering.

Dry out your home for healthier living with the best dehumidifiers tried and tested

If you’re looking for a dehumidifier that can clear moisture in a larger space or deal with significant damp levels within the home, then you need a dehumidifier with a high extraction rate. All dehumidifiers do the same basic job of removing excess moisture from the air. However, there are three different technologies that do all the hard work. If you're looking for the best dehumidifier for the bedroom, then, in our opinion, it's all about finding a dehumidifier with low noise volume, and the Silentnight 39899 600ml Dehumidifier is one of the quietest dehumidifiers we've tested. The EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3 Dehumidifier can extract up to 7.5 litres of moisture per day in cold temperatures as low as 1ºc, so it's a very useful option for conservatorys, basements or garages that don't have dedicated heating, as well as unheated rooms in the home during winter months.

The MeacoDry Arete One dehumidifiers are some of the best dehumidifiers we've tested. They're quiet, easy to use, work superbly and are very energy-efficient compared to other compressor models. Plus, all offer a built-in air purification function to improve air quality within the home in more ways than one. TWO SPEEDS, THREE MODES: Air dehumidifier comes with low and high speed option, with auto/drying/sleep mode - choose a setting which is best for you during day or night. LED display to change easily The De'Longhi Tascuigo AriaDry DEX216F is the largest model in the range and able to extract 16L of water from the air per day, and although the tank capacity isn't the largest, at 2.1L it still offers adequate capacity. This multi-purpose appliance also has an air purifier function with a double filtration system that can remove dust and other allergens from the air, plus a dedicated Laundry Drying function. Just like the MeacoDry Arete One, as well as an impressive extraction rate the Russell Hobbs RHDH2002 20L dehumidifier has some great features, including an easy-to-read LED screen that displays current humidity levels and a useful Smart mode that monitors the humidity levels for you, turning the dehumidifier on and off as soon as it rises above the recommended home humidity range between 45%~55% for more economical (and hassle-free) use. There's also auto-shut off functionality when the water tank is full.Some dehumidifier brands routinely do well or badly in our tests, while others are a lot more hit and miss.

Adjustable humidity & 2 speed: The digital control screen with adjustable humidity control allows you to adjust the desired humidity extraction between 40-80% and each time you can adjust 5%. Comes with two fan speeds in strong wind mode. Lastly, there's extra functionality to consider. The best dehumidifiers you can buy offer a Smart mode. That means you can leave the dehumidifier running and its sensors will detect the humidity levels and switch the machine on and off to keep humidity within your desired range. That saves energy (and money) as the appliance isn't running if it doesn't need to be. It can't quite beat the MeacoDry Arete One on overall performance, but if you're willing to put up with noisier operation and higher running costs in exchange for its powerful performance, then this Pro Breeze model will make short work of getting wet washing ready for the airing cupboard. Dehumidifiers don’t have to be noisy, and there are some good near-silent options. They will work discreetly in your home without interfering with your sleep or work, so a quiet mode or eco mode is well worth any extra, particularly if it will save you some cash in running costs. When I tested the laundry function on the Russell Hobbs 20L dehumidifier to dry t-shirts in a small bedroom, it definitely sped up the drying time' said our reviewer. 'The T-shirts closest to the dehumidifier dried in 3 hours, but those further away took aboutdouble that time to completely dry'. How we testPeltier dehumidifiers also cool the air and condense the moisture content into water, but they do it using a cold heat-sink rather than a compressor. They’re not as effective as compressors, removing smaller amounts of water in a given time, but they’re quieter and more energy-efficient. Peltier dehumidifiers tend to be compact, lightweight units designed for smaller spaces. The cheapest and smallest dehumidifiers on the market can often only extract 0.5L of water from the air per day – in many cases even less – but larger and more powerful dehumidifiers can extract up to 25L per day which can make a huge difference to your home's health if you struggle with damp issues and condensation. Whilst this dehumidifier doesn't offer a specific laundry drying function, we still found it helpful at drying wet washing, although it took longer to do so than the MeacoDry Arete One Dehumidifier or Pro Breeze 20L Premium Dehumidifier with Special Laundry Mode which both offer a speedy dedicated laundry-drying boost mode.