Best Dehumidifier for Condo – A COMPLETE Guide
Living in a condominium is what many prefer over a house because of the benefits that it has, but one cannot ignore its downsides as well.
If you are living in a condo or are newly shifted, this article is for you.
Have you ever thought about why, when the summer season is about to begin, your windows start to get foggy?
Or if you are sitting in a kitchen, having a glass of lemonade, and all of a sudden, you begin to sweat as if you have done some heavy workout?
Quite often, random damp spots on walls are not uncommon in condos. If you have experienced any of this, it is a sign of the excessive humidity in your condo.
As soon as the season makes a shift and temperatures start to rise, the humidity level increases in tandem, which is a natural phenomenon as higher temperatures hold more moisture than colder ones.
Have you ever wondered how it could be harmful to you and your loved ones?
Well, having high humidity can cause mold to form and can affect you in the form of headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, and dehydration.
These effects will become more severe when the summer season reaches its peak.
You would probably be thinking, what should be the possible solution to avoid this problem?
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At a Glance: Our Top Picks of Dehumidifiers for a Condo
Well, the easiest and cheapest way to overcome this problem is by installing a dehumidifier in your condo!
It will help you to maintain a normal level of humidity, and you can set it as desired.
But, what are the things that one must keep in mind before buying a dehumidifier for their condo?
Well, you’re in luck!
We will give you a complete insight into the things you should consider before buying the best dehumidifier for a condo.
Why are the condominiums always humid?
To understand why your condo has high humidity, you need to understand its possible causes.
Changing weather and high temperature in the surroundings is the primary cause of having high humidity.
When moisture gets into your condo and doesn’t have a way out, it accumulates until it reaches its high level.
Other contributors of high humidity can range from possible leaks in pipelines inside your condo to your daily activities.
Related: Why is My Dehumidifier Blowing Hot Air?!.
These include activities such as cooking food, washing dishes, and running washing machines can increase the humidity level.
Here is the best dehumidifier for a condo to help you obtain an optimal humidity level:
Best Dehumidifier for Condo
- Coverage: Up to 1500 ft²
- Efficient operation & low maintenance
- Overall BEST for Condos
- Capacity: Up to 30 pints/day
- Convenient transparent water level indicator
- Perfect for large rooms
- Coverage: 4500 ft²
- Comes with built-in humidistat
- Our Choice for Condos
THE BEST DEHUMIDIFIER FOR CONDO:
#1 Vremi Energy Star Dehumidifier
Vremi | Energy Star Dehumidifier
With its excellent design, this unit can cover up to an area of 1500 sq. ft. which makes it an excellent choice for any room size within the condo.
Secondly, it also comes in other sizes and capacities, giving you the option to select the one that best suits your requirements.
Operating efficiently and consumes very little power, this is a very energy efficient unit meaning your electricity bills won’t spike up.
It also has a good run time of over 24 hours. So, you can use it non-stop for almost a day without changing the water bucket.
One can attach caster rollers with the unit and can quickly move it around the condo, and while most of the other units in this list have simple designs and are easy to clean, review of buyer’s reviews indicate that this unit is the BEST when it comes to hassle-free maintenance.
Additionally, you can connect the hose to drain out the water in the sink continuously. So, you won’t have to empty the water tank.
During the night, this dehumidifier can run at night mode when it creates nearly no noise so that you and your loved ones can have sound asleep.
When it comes to overall weight of dehumidifier, this unit is light! Meaning this unit is portable around the condo. It being lightweight adds to its advantages of selecting this unit over others with similar features.
An important point to note is that it is a bit expensive when we compare other dehumidifiers with the same size but is worth it as this dehumidifier has different modes of moisture removal, which we found the turbo mode to be great.
Some buyers have complained about noise while operating at turbo mode though.
Other Great Dehumidifiers for Condo (Honorable Mentions)
#2 Keystone 30-Pint Dehumidifier
Keystone | KSTAD30B 30-Pint Dehumidifier
In contrast to Pro Breeze’s Mini Dehumidifier (later in this list), the Keystone 30-pint dehumidifier is excellent for large condos - working efficiently in rooms up to an area of 1500 sq. ft
In addition, it comes with a timer, which lets you keep it running for any desired period.
This unit is straightforward and works in any of three modes: normal, turbo, and auto defrost.
These are mainly related to how quickly you want your dehumidifier to get the moisture out of your room.
In case of a power outage, it saves the previous settings automatically, so you won’t have to reprogram the dehumidifier whenever you use it.
It has a transparent water level indicator, which can help you to check the level of water in the tank just by looking at it instead of having to open the lid to check the water level, which is not the case for other units.
As with most of the dehumidifier units shortlisted, the Keystone 30-Pint Dehumidifier has the availability of roller casters.
These casters help you can quickly move the unit around the house with great ease.
One drawback of this unit is that it’s relatively large and covers more space. So, you have to be selective in the placement of the dehumidifier unit.
Since it doesn’t have any built-in pump, you will have to empty the tank manually. One thing you can do is by connecting the pump externally with it.
#3 Honeywell Energy Star Dehumidifier
Honeywell | Energy Star Dehumidifier
If you are a busy person and you want your dehumidifier to only run for a specific time during the day, the built-in timer function allows you to set it once, and it will automatically turn itself on/off according to the desired settings.
Just like Keystone dehumidifier, this unit works also works at more than one mode. Hence, if you want to let it run at ‘turbo’ mode, it will maintain the desired humidity level faster.
With its sleep or night mode, it will work smoothly without making much noise so you can use it during the night as well.
Honeywell's Energy Star Dehumidifiers come in different sizes, which can cover areas from 1000 sq. ft. up to 4000 sq. ft.
So, you can select the one that meets the requirements for your condo.
Among other units, this unit is very easy to clean. Having a few parts, and an easy to assemble design, maintenance of this unit is effortless.
You can do hassle-free maintenance in a short time.
Reviews of recent buyers show that the hose required to drain water into the sink is of unique dimensions, which is not readily available in the market.
To avoid this problem, you can order the accurately sized hose with the dehumidifier unit.
Some buyers have complained about its humidity sensor not working accurately. But that’s the case with one or two buyers.
Since the majority of buyers are fully satisfied with this unit, it is a good buy.
#4 Ivation Energy Star Dehumidifier
Ivation | Energy Star Dehumidifier
This dehumidifier from Ivation is able to dehumidify rooms as large as 4,500 sq. ft. and remove up to 50 pints of water per day.
It's a powerful dehumidifier that significantly prevents the creation of mold, dust, and several other allergens that can gather in a condo, while also being easy to operate.
The product’s tank can contain up to 1.3 gallons of water, meaning that you won’t need to constantly empty it in order for the device to work for longer spans of time.
In terms of emptying, the tank has a water level indicator, as well as two handles you can use to lift the water reservoir when you need to remove water.
Among the main features of this dehumidifier, we can find a humidistat that’ll let you know the specific level of humidity in the room, and a timer you can set if you want the device to work for only a certain amount of time.
Moreover, the settings include two different fan speeds, regular and turbo, and a safety auto shut-off option that allows the device to automatically turn off when the bucket is full of water.
The dehumidifier comes with a set of 4 casters, and, since it’s relatively light (it only weights 40 lbs), moving it from room to room won’t be difficult.
Although the price of the unit is a bit on the high side, maintenance costs aren’t too expensive, especially because the filter is washable and can be re-used.
The wash filter sensor will let you know exactly when it’s time to rinse the filter.
Last but not least, you should know that since this dehumidifier is a powerful one, it does produce some noise and it might bother you in the long run.
#5 Pro Breeze Electric Mini Dehumidifier
Pro Breeze | Electric Mini Dehumidifier
Pro Breeze’s Mini dehumidifier is very small and compact, making it perfect for small rooms.
This unit works on the principle of thermoelectric cooling, which isn’t noisy at all.
It remains tranquil during its operation, so you need not worry about using it during the night as well.
Despite its small size, this unit has a large water tank, so you won’t have to empty the tank quite often.
Furthermore, it has an LED light that glows when the tank is about to get filled.
When the tank gets filled, you just have to pull out the plug, pick the tank up, and empty it in a sink or hose. It won’t take more than 5 minutes.
Being light in weight and compact in design, you can quickly move it around the house.
Although it is very inexpensive, it is only limited to rooms with an area of up to 150 ft.
Secondly, it doesn’t have a continuous drainage feature. You have to empty the tank every time it gets filled.
By noting the reviews of other buyers, we have noticed that this unit isn’t energy-efficient and has a high power consumption.
What to Consider When Buying the Best Dehumidifier for Condo
a) Dehumidifier Capacity
The capacity of the dehumidifier refers to the amount of water a dehumidifier is able to extract from the air in 24 hours.
It is one of the main features that one must keep in mind before buying a dehumidifier.
At this stage, you can save yourself from spending extra cash on a large size dehumidifier where a small one can do the task as efficiently as the larger one.
Do also keep in mind the following:
By having a dehumidifier with a larger capacity, it does not have to work at full power to cover the same surface area, leading to lower working costs.
So, we would advise you to choose the one with a little higher capacity than is required.
You can find more details about the selection of the size of the dehumidifier in this article.
b) Dampness Level in the Condo
The second important factor to consider is the dampness level in your condo.
You can measure the moisture level using the moisture meter. If you don’t have a moisture meter yet, you can order it using this link.
Make sure to check the moisture level before selecting the dehumidifier.
You can read the details of the types of moisture meters and how they work in this article.
To make things easier, in the table given below we have defined the minimum required capacity, depending on level of dampness, corresponding to the area of the room:
Dampness Lvl | Capacity (Pints per 24 hrs) | Area (sq. ft) |
|---|---|---|
Moderately Damp | 10 – 26 | 500 – 2500 |
Highly Damp | 12 – 32 | 500 – 2500 |
Wet | 14 – 38 | 500 – 2500 |
Extremely Wet | 16 – 44 | 500 – 2500 |
c) Size of Tank
A dehumidifier typically works by storing water, extracted from the air, in a bucket or tank.
If you want your dehumidifier to run for the whole day, you will have to consider the size of the tank available for the storage of water.
Moreover, if the tank size is small, you will have to empty the water tank once it gets filled. You may need to empty it more than once a day if the tank is much smaller.
This problem can be solved using modern dehumidifiers, which come with a continuous drain feature.
These dehumidifiers allow you to connect the units directly to a sink using a pump, where the water gets emptied.
If there is no built-in pump, you may even connect it externally to the dehumidifier unit.
d) Ease of Cleaning
Cleaning is not a major but still an essential factor when it comes to the selection of dehumidifiers.
Ease of cleaning is dependent on the number of parts that the dehumidifier has and how easy it is to disassemble them.
Selecting a unit with a simple structure and easy to assemble parts can surely reduce both your time and effort.
e) Noise
Every mechanical device makes noise during its operation. This is the same in the case of a dehumidifier.
You should take into account this factor before buying a dehumidifier that it may not be so noisy to disturb your daily activities.
Selecting a unit with a low level of noise would also help you to have a sound sleep during the night.
f) Auto Shut-off Feature
The water bucket inside the dehumidifier can only accommodate a limited amount of water.
When this bucket is filled, the dehumidifier unit does not have any space to drain water, and it cannot extract any more moisture.
At this point, if your dehumidifier is kept on running, it can lead to some sort of mechanical failure, which you would not like in case of the newly bought unit.
To avoid this problem, an auto shut-off feature will turn off the dehumidifier unit as soon as the water bucket is filled.
Coincidentally, all five of the shortlisted products have this feature.
g) Other Factors
Bottom Line - Best Dehumidifier for Condo
Overall Best | Best for Medium to Large Rooms | Low Maintenance Option | Amazon's Choice | Budget Option | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Header | | |   | |   |
Cell | Vremi Energy Star Dehumidifier | Keystone KSTAD30B 30-Pint Dehumidifier | Honeywell Energy Star Dehumidifier | Ivation Energy Star Dehumidifier | Pro Breeze Electric Mini Dehumidifier |
Price | |||||
Coverage (ft²) | 1500 | 1500 | 1000 | 4500 | 150 |
Capacity (Pints / Day) | 22 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 9 ounces (30 ml) / day |
Auto Shut-Off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Drain | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
After sieving through and reviewing the available products in the market, it is easy to say that Vremi Energy Star Dehumidifier is the best dehumidifier for a condo.
A well loved unit by many, it has all the features required to work efficiently in a condominium.
With its run-time of up to 24 hours straight, light weight, continuous drain feature, turbo functionality, easy to clean assembly, and high efficiency of power consumption, this unit is suitable all size of condos.
Although it is a little expensive as compared to similar-sized dehumidifiers, buying this unit can save you from wasting money on a faultier unit and then replacing it with a new one.
We have done our part to give you a complete insight of what to look out before buying a dehumidifier for a condo. After reading the article, it should be easier for you to decide which is the best dehumidifier for your condo.
In the end, the choice is yours to make!
One right decision can help you and your loved ones to have a healthy and comfortable life.
