Three New Best Buy Dehumidifiers Revealed by Which? Tests
(Extracts from WHICH? 26 November 2017)
Does your home suffer from damp? We’ve uncovered three new dehumidifiers that are so adept at tackling humidity they’ve earned our coveted Best Buy award.
Maybe you have to dry clothes indoors. Maybe you get that feeling of damp, cold sheets as you crawl into bed at night, and get condensation on your windows. Maybe you’ve got friends and family staying over Christmas and you want to make sure they are as comfortable as possible.
Whatever your reason for buying a dehumidifier, you will want to make sure that you get one that tackles high humidity in your home and helps alleviate all the negative side effects of damp, condensation and mould.
Our years of experience of testing dehumidifiers mean we can identify which dehumidifiers are the best, plus we have plenty of advice to help you choose the right dehumidifier for your home and budget.
What you need to know about dehumidifiers
Your sitting room is not the same as a tropical rainforest. So why would you want to buy a product tested in rainforest-like conditions?
Dehumidifier manufactures test at various degrees and humidity levels. Dimplex bases its extraction claims on tests at 30°C and 80% humidity, which is more akin to a tropical rainforest than your sitting room.
Ecoair tests at 20°C and 60% humidity, which is more like what you would expect to find in your home in the UK, and more similar to the conditions we test in, but different from other manufacturers.
Because each dehumidifier manufacturer tests in slightly different conditions, for you to compare the claims of a model by Ecoair with one of Dimplex, for example, is like comparing apples with oranges.
We test each dehumidifier in a lab under the same set of conditions, at 10°C and 21°C with 59% humidity. This means you can compare each product on equal terms and understand how it will work once you get it home.
Does temperature matter?
In a word, yes. If you want to put your dehumidifier somewhere that will be regularly heated to room temperature, rather than in a space with cooler temperatures, it affects what kind of dehumidifier you need.
This is why we test them at different temperatures: at 21°C and at 10°C. So if you are looking for a dehumidifier for a cooler area of your home, you know you will be buying something fit for purpose.
We know that how well a dehumidifier works at room temperature is no indication of how it will do at a lower temperature. We’ve seen machines that are champs at tackling damp at room temperature, but as soon as the thermostat starts creeping down, they really start to struggle.
Desiccant vs refrigerant – what is the difference?
A desiccant dehumidifier works with a desiccant material that extracts water from the air in your home. We’ve discovered that these dehumidifiers tend to work better than refrigerant dehumidifiers in cooler temperatures.
However, we know from our research that most of you will be using your dehumidifiers at a room temperature of about 21°C. If this is you, then you will be better off with a refrigerant dehumidifier.
We test and review both kinds so you can find a great dehumidifier for you, no matter what your needs are.