The Best Dehumidifiers For Reducing Humidity And Preventing Mould

The Platinum sits at the top of Meaco's range and it's built for medium to large homes that need moisture pulling out every day. It's frugal for the amount of water it shifts, with Meaco quoting up to 25 litres a day from 270 watts, so you can leave it running for long stretches rather than in short, expensive bursts.

Four fan speeds and a DC motor let you match it to the job, and the top setting moves 280 cubic metres of air an hour when a room is properly wet. The lower speeds are quiet enough for a living room at a quoted 42 dB, rising to 50 dB flat out. There's a laundry mode for drying washing indoors, which is a handy use for it in winter when nothing dries on the line.

We lean on Meaco machines in freshly plastered rooms, and going on Meaco's own figures the Platinum is the one we'd choose for that performance across a whole house.

Pro Breeze makes several dehumidifiers, and this 20 litre model is the one we'd point most people towards for the money. It pulls out up to 20 litres a day according to the brand, and Pro Breeze says it uses less power than many machines at a similar price.

The built-in humidity sensor lets you pick a target anywhere between 30 and 50 percent, and the machine works harder or eases off to hold that level. Its 5.5 litre tank means fewer trips to the sink, and the continuous drainage hose in the box lets you run it straight into a drain or sink in a utility room or on a renovation.

Four wheels make it easy to move from room to room, and there's a 24 hour timer and an LED display. The catch is noise, with a quoted 60 dB that's noticeable in a bedroom at night.

The EcoAir DD122 is a desiccant dehumidifier, which means it uses an absorbent wheel to collect moisture rather than a compressor. That makes it quieter than most refrigerant machines and a better match for colder spaces such as garages and unheated conservatories, where compressor models struggle.

EcoAir quotes 34 dB and up to 7 litres a day, so it's a quiet, modest performer rather than a heavy lifter. You can switch between an economy mode that keeps power use down and a turbo mode for faster drying when a room is properly damp. At 6 kg it's light enough to carry upstairs, and EcoAir includes a 1 metre hose for continuous draining along with a two year warranty.

Expect less water in the tank than you'd get from the Meaco or Pro Breeze compressor machines, though EcoAir says the desiccant wheel never needs recharging or replacing.

The MeacoDry ABC brings much of Meaco's performance down to a lower price than the Platinum. It comes in green, black, white, silver or blue, so you're not stuck with a white box in the corner.

Meaco says it's the quietest compressor dehumidifier on the market, with noise of 35 dB on the low setting and around 40 dB at full power. That puts it close to the desiccant EcoAir on noise while extracting more water, at up to 12 litres a day according to Meaco.

The controls are simple buttons, and you get automatic, timer and laundry modes. There are no wheels, so you'll be carrying it from room to room by hand.

The Pro Breeze 500, sold as the Pro Breeze Mini, is the smallest machine in our list and it's aimed at small spaces with light condensation. Pro Breeze quotes up to 250 ml of water a day, collected in a 500 ml tank, so it can run for a while between emptying.

It's small and light enough to sit in a wardrobe, on a shelf in a garage or in the corner of a caravan. The brand quotes 33 dB, which is quiet enough to leave running overnight. When the tank fills, an indicator light comes on and the machine shuts off by itself.

Don't expect it to dry a damp room, a pile of washing or fresh plaster. It takes the edge off mild condensation in a small space, and that's where it belongs.