Dehumidifiers do not kill mould, but they help make it inert and stop it from spreading (the spores love humid air!). You need a dehumidifier to treat the underlying cause and a good mould killer to eliminate it completely. Here’s our guide to the best mould removers so you can clean it off any surface and stop it from regrowing. How do dehumidifiers work?

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. Dehumidifiers can use a lot of energy, especially if used inefficiently. The electricity required to power a dehumidifier can be generated from a mixture of burning fossil fuels, renewables, gas and nuclear. But as this is mixed up in the grid, you can’t guarantee it’s coming from a renewable energy source. 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. Look at our test scores. Every dehumidifier we review has an energy efficiency rating, so our highest-scoring models are most likely to be the least wasteful. The tank capacity dictates how much water the water tank of the dehumidifier can hold before it needs emptying. A larger tank capacity – such as the MeacoDry Arete One Dehumidifier's generous 2.5L or 4.8Ltanks – means you won't be emptying it as frequently.Desiccant dehumidifiers extract water using an absorbent material to draw moisture from the air. Then an internal heater warms it so the moisture condenses and drips into the tank below. Integrated cord storage This is handy for saving space when the dehumidifier isn’t in use, and removes the risk of tripping over a sprawling cable. If you’re running a dehumidifier, keep the door to the room the dehumidifier is in open, so that air can circulate through your home. But close the window, so that damp air outside – which will migrate towards drier spots – isn’t drawn to the drier air indoors. 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.

However, its all-white casing means it’ll effortlessly fit in with most decors, and its honeycomb-style front grill adds a little style. It measures H44 x W30 x D22cm, so it’s also compact enough not to take up too much space. 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. It might not win the award for the most attractive or ground-breaking dehumidifier on our list, but that's not to say that Challenge's offering is ugly. Yes, it's a plain white box, but it's hardly an eyesore— and it's no slouch in the performance department either. Depending on the settings you can extract up to 10 litres of water per day in this design, which has a water tank that measures 2.1litres. It has a good recommended room range that is larger than your average dehumidifier, and for this reason we think it’s great value. At 43dB it’s also very quiet in operation, which is reassuring if you want to use it through the night. It has just one setting and a very discreet water indicator on the side of the design that you’ll need to keep an eye on should you want to empty the water tank. It also comes with an auto-shut off feature so you needn’t worry about it overspilling.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 The main downside of a low cost dehumidifier is that the low price tag reflects a low extraction rate, which means they don't have the power to remove that much moisture from the air.

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. 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. 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. Extraction amount: It is essential to consider the maximum amount of moisture your dehumidifier can extract daily. It can range from anywhere from 500ml to upwards of 30 litres. Small units are fine for occasional use or a small area, such as a cupboard or study. Around 12 litres is suitable for a small flat, medium-sized room or a mild damp problem. Up to 16 litres is best for a larger room or one used regularly for washing or cooking, and units with a capacity of up to 20/30 litres can be used to dehumidify whole homes. The Pro Breeze 12L Low Energy dehumidifier can extract up to 12 litres of excess moisture from the air per day, and the brand recommends it for use in areas up to 15m².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 test That extraction level may not sound like much, and this certainly isn't a dehumidifier that can cope with large damp problems or help to dry washing. But, in practice, our tests found it worked well when left running in the bedroom overnight in our tester's single-glazed Victorian terrace. It reduced the build up of condensation around windows in the morning, and the air in general also felt fresher whenever it was running. It also did really well to help eliminate steam and fumes in the kitchen whilst cooking.