Best dehumidifiers UK 2023: prevent damp and mould with reliable dehumidifiers from Russell Hobbs and Lakeland

Feeling comfortable and healthy in your home is incredibly important, and a dehumidifier can be a great way to improve your air quality and solve a whole host of breathing issues
Dehumidifiers UK: prevent damp and mould with a reliable dehumidifierDehumidifiers UK: prevent damp and mould with a reliable dehumidifier
Dehumidifiers UK: prevent damp and mould with a reliable dehumidifier

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If your house has high humidity levels, this can be a perfect breeding ground for mould and dust mites, which can contribute to an increased risk of asthma or eczema. Too much humidity can also cause damp, mould and mildew, which can damage your home, and can lead to rooms smelling unpleasant or feeling stuffy.

What do dehumidifiers do?

Dehumidifiers work by removing moisture from the air and collecting it in a water tank. Depending on the machine, they can also collect dust and dirt in their filters. Depending on your dehumidifier, you can either then empty the water tank, or connect a hose for continuous drainage.

Removing the moisture and dust from the air makes the environment less appealing to dust mites and other unwanted pests in the home.

What are the benefits of a dehumidifier?

Using a dehumidifier isn’t just useful for preventing allergies: it can also help your laundry to dry faster, and to help your home heat up faster. They’re also inexpensive to run, making them a wallet-friendly addition to your home.

Are dehumidifiers energy efficient?

With regards to energy efficiency - a dehumidifier will help keep your house warmer in winter, as well as provide a more cost effective means of drying your washing in winter. They draw moisture and allergens away from wet clothes, speeding up drying time, but they are far more cost efficient than a tumble dryer - the average dehumidifier runs at around 40p an hour, while a tumble dryer positively chews through energy, running at an average cost of £1.55 an hour.

So which dehumidifier should you go for? First, take into account the size of your home and the rooms you’ll be looking to dehumidify.

If you’re on a budget and looking to remove the moisture out of a small room such as a home office or utility room, you can buy one on the smaller and cheaper end of the scale, while if you’re looking for strong dehumidifying power throughout your home and have the space for a heavy duty machine, you’ll want to invest a bit more in your device.

How can a dehumidifier help me look after my home?

A dehumidifier can help you and your home in different ways throughout the seasons. In winter, it can aid you with your laundry drying as it will take all the water out of the air when you have to dry your clothes in home. In the summer, it can make your house to feel less muggy because it will reduce the humidity.

Dehumidifiers also have an added health benefit; they can help allergy sufferers to manage their symptoms, as allergens, bacteria, dust mites, mould and more thrive in humid conditions.

Key signs it is time to consider a dehumidifier

  • Mould on walls, particularly in the ceiling or corners. Mould can spread and become toxic. This is particularly dangerous if you have respiratory issues
  • Mildew
  • Musty smells, particularly in closets
  • Condensation on your windows
  • Signs of water damage
  • Rotting wood.

We’ve included a range of dehumidifiers of all sizes, prices and styles, testing each one to suss out their moisture-removing qualities. Whatever your budget and your home’s needs, we have the dehumidifier for you in our roundup.

If you don’t like the look of a traditional dehumidifier but you still want the moisture in your home to be soaked up, the Modern Moisture Absorber from British brand Lakeland is a perfect compromise.

Rather than working like a machine, this is a beautiful decorative ceramic pot with a bamboo lid - but under its lid is a water collection tank and absorbent tablet that absorbs moisture in the air, helping to prevent condensation, mould and unpleasant smells in spaces of up to 15 square metres.

It lasts between one and three months, and is easy to replace the tablet once it’s finished. We loved how chic this looked in our home, and how simple it was to use too.

Want to dehumidify without breaking the bank?

Then the PureMate 500ml Compact & Portable Air Dehumidifier is a great option.

Small, unobtrusive and offering great value for money, this dehumidifier comes in either black or white, and can remove up to 250ml of moisture per day with a 500ml water tank capacity.

It’s perfect for smaller rooms such as home offices or utility rooms, and has an automated electronic shut off so you don’t need to worry about overflow once the tank is full.

We particularly liked how quiet this was - perfect for leaving on all day without bothering you at all.

If you’re in need of a dehumidifier that does the job without taking up loads of space - and without grabbing too much attention - this low key, effective and affordable option from trusty electrical appliance brand Russell Hobbs is the one to pick.

It couldn’t be simpler to set up and use, with an LED on-off button and a 600ml water tank that’s easy to empty.

Weighing just 900g, it’s easy to transport from room to room, and will work in spaces up to 15 metres squared, ideal for smaller rooms such as bedrooms or utility rooms.

We particularly liked the sleek, contemporary design, with the futuristic black gadget sure to blend seamlessly into any room and look right at home on your desk.

The Thermoelectric Dehumidifier from sleep experts Silent Night is a good choice if you’re noise sensitive and the whirring of appliances drives you bonkers.

This unobtrusive dehumidifier quietly works its magic in the background without making a racket, removing up to 600ml of moisture from the air every day and working in rooms up to 25 square metres.

It’s super easy to use, with a simple on-off switch and a water tank that’s a doddle to empty.

It’s light and compact, making it easy to move from room to room, and has an auto shut-off feature for peace of mind.

We were really impressed with the 10L Dehumidifier from Russell Hobbs.

Extracting 10 litres of moisture in a 24 hour period in rooms between 15 and 30 square metres, and with a two litre water tank, this is a really effective appliance with loads of added features that make it great value for money.

It comes with a hose to allow for continuous draining, timer and silent modes and auto defrost and restart settings.

We liked how the timer mode in particular allows for less hassle and more control over when you want to dehumidify, and thought the two-tone colours looked sleek too.

An added bonus was the portable handle and wheels underneath, making it easy to carry around despite being on the heavy side.

For serious dehumidifying power, opt for the Tasciugo AriaDry Multi Dehumidifier from Italian manufacturer De’Longhi.

Removing up to 12 litres of excess moisture every 24 hours, this is a serious machine that promises to improve the quality of your air.

As well as its dust filter, it has a removable filter to catch allergens in the air, perfect for those with allergic tendencies. It also comes with a continuous drainage pipe.

Our favourite thing about this dehumidifier was its laundry setting, perfect to speed up the drying time after you do your washing, and we were also impressed by how quiet it was considering its large size.

If you’re into your smart tech, you’ll want a dehumidifier to match. Step in the Bora Smart Dehumidifier from Dutch air treatment specialists Duux.

It’s large and on the pricier end of the spectrum, but there’s no messing about with this powerful machine, which is easy to transport thanks to its discreet wheels and handle.

With a four-litre water tank and a capacity of 20 litres every 24 hours, it’s a great choice if you’re looking to dehumidify larger spaces with excessive humidity. It also offers a carbon filter to remove unwanted odours.

We really liked the sleek, stylish look of the machine, as well as the added bonus of controlling the device no matter where we were through its easy-to-use app.

The Honeywell 24L Portable Dehumidifier is an impressive proposition, especially if your have a mid-to-large home with multiple rooms you want to dry out. It’s omni-directional castor wheels make it easy to move around, and its only 14.8kg - around half a metre tall, so you can schlep it from room to room.

With a ‘smart digital humidistat’ the Honeywell automatically senses moisture levels in your room, and then operates to achieve a pre-programmed humidity level.

A great all-rounder, the Honeywell Dehumidifier will draw a whopping 24L of moisture out of air in 24hours. A study shows it reduces the time it take for laundry to dry by 25%, but costs a fraction of the cost of a tumble dryer to run, making it an energy efficient choice for winter.

Great dust filter, too.

Dehumidifiers are generally functional, rather than stylish, appliances, but the De’Longhi DEX216F dehumidifier, sleek and dark, is a looker - if aesthetics are important, this is your best bet for a dehumidifier that will be sympathetic to your surroundings.

A mid-sized model, it’s idela for living rooms or large bedrooms - De’Longhi claims it can handle rooms up to 75m².

Able to extract 16l of water a day, the 2.1l water tank won’t need constant attention. We liked the air conditioning effect, as well - drawing moisture and allergens from the, it left the room smelling fresh, as well as dry.

The anti-freeze function makes this a winner for winter - we found it worked without issue in our outdoor shed, and it is able to keep on chugging in extreme weather conditions. It’s a quiet, sleek model, a doddle to use, and comes with a double-filtration system and anti-dust filter, if you’ve allergy sufferers in the house.

An overall excellent option - our personal favourite.

Meaco make the gold standard of home dehumidifiers, and this particularly model - while on the pricy side - is an excellent investment for your household.

Why? Because it’s highly efficient - it’s lower levels of energy usage mean it will cost less to run than other models in the long run. It’s also very rapid and capable of reducing humidity and condensation over a large area - meaning it can dehumidify your entire home.

It takes 219 watts of electricity per hour (at an estimated cost of 7p per hour, based on the current average rate of 34p per kWh) to run - the lowest energy consumption of any dehumidifier of it’s size.

It tackles damp and mould exceptionally well.

If you’ve heard anything about HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters, you’ll know they’re the most effective means of purifying the air. The Meaco has an inbuilt HEPA filter, essentially serving two purposes then - HEPA filties remove 99 percent of dust mites, pollen or other allergens in the air, so your home will be dry and healthy.

It is rather large, but the capacity is big enough to remove moisture in a whole house, meaning you won’t need to buy several devices around the home. The digital display also shows the room’s humidity reading, has a timer, child lock and a carry handle for practicality.

You can choose target humidity or use the Laundry setting to dry clothes.

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