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Dehumidifier buying guide

Updated: 21 October 2026

You are looking at wet glass and amazon.co.uk titles that lead with 12 litres, 500 ml or 10 litres a day. A dehumidifier buying guide has to split those numbers before you sort by stars. The headline is a test-point claim, the tank is the jug you empty, and the room temperature decides whether a coil condenses water. This page is the decision tree for the twelve listings in the [dehumidifier comparison](/hub/cooling/dehumidifier). It does not crown a winner. Peter F. checked those amazon.co.uk prices and review counts on 20 October 2026. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at wet glass and amazon.co.uk titles that lead with 12 litres, 500 ml or 10 litres a day. A dehumidifier buying guide has to split those numbers before you sort by stars.

Our top picks

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze 12L/day

Best overall

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze 12L/day
8.8/10about £134.99
View offer
ARIBIO ARIBIO 12L/day

Best value

ARIBIO ARIBIO 12L/day
8.0/10about £129.99
View offer
GW GW 1000ml mini

Rank 3

GW GW 1000ml mini
6.6/10about £37.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the litre number actually measures
  2. 2.Compressor, desiccant, or mini
  3. 3.A practical size for a UK room
  4. 4.What to check before you pay
  5. 5.When not to buy one yet

What the litre number actually measures

12 litres on a compressor title is claimed extraction in a day, not the bucket. The Pro Breeze tank is 1.8 litres, the ARIBIO tank is 2 litres, and the Bosch Dry 1000 tank is 2.5 litres. A real 12 litre day means several empties, or a hose. The Senelux claims about 250 ml a day at 30°C, and the GW 300 ml. The Devola prints 8 litres a day in the title and 12 in another field. Do not average those.

Compressor, desiccant, or mini

A compressor cools a coil and wrings moisture from room air. In this set that is the Pro Breeze, the ARIBIO, the Bosch Dry 1000 and the Devola, from £99.99 to about £159. They suit a heated room you can close. Meaco says a basic compressor can stop extracting below about 12°C. Ideal Home’s rule of thumb points to a desiccant below about 10°C. This comparison has no desiccant, so a cold garage is outside the set. The GW bullets limit that mini to 5–15 m² and say it is not for whole floors. The TEYIAN table claims 40 m² beside 660 ml a day and 9 W. Those figures conflict. Who each compressor is for sits on the best dehumidifier page.
Pro Breeze Pro Breeze 12L/day

Testsieger

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze 12L/day
8.8/10about £134.99
View offer

A practical size for a UK room

Homebuilding’s band is a starting point: about 10–12 litres a day for a small bedroom, and about 15–20 litres for a lounge or laundry. Nothing here claims 15–20 litres. The compressors stop at a 12 litre headline, and the Bosch caps the Dry 1000 at 17 m². Run it in the worst room with the door shut. A 400 ml headline is several days short of the two litres Which? collected in one laundry trial.

What to check before you pay

A humidistat lets you name a target and stop. The Pro Breeze and the ARIBIO both list 30–80%. For an occupied room, around 40–60% relative humidity is guidance, not a legal limit. Leaving the control at 30% keeps the compressor running. ARIBIO reviews say the chosen target is not remembered. The ARIBIO, Pro Breeze and Devola list a hose. The Bosch listing does not, and none of the boxes includes a pump. The plug should be a UK BS 1363 three-pin. Electrical Safety First says not to run a dehumidifier unattended unless the manufacturer allows it. None of these listings states an IP rating.

When not to buy one yet

A dehumidifier lowers humidity in the air you shut in with it. It does not find a leak or water coming through a wall. Streaming glass in a heated room is the compressor case. A damp cupboard is the mini case. An unheated house is neither, and a machine does not close a landlord’s repair duty.

Common questions

Is 12 litres the tank or the daily extraction?
On these compressor listings, 12 litres is the claimed amount of water removed in a day. The tanks are much smaller: 1.8 litres on the Pro Breeze, 2 litres on the ARIBIO, and 1.7 litres on the Devola. You either empty the tank several times or you use a hose where one is included.
What size do you need for a bedroom versus a flat?
Homebuilding’s rule of thumb is about 10–12 litres a day for a small bedroom and about 15–20 litres for a lounge or laundry. This set’s compressors stop at a 12 litre headline, and the Bosch is listed only up to 17 m². That can cover one closed heated bedroom. A whole flat means moving the machine.
Should you buy a compressor, a desiccant, or a mini?
Choose a compressor from this set for a heated room you can close. Choose a mini only for a small closed space, and expect millilitres at a 30°C test point. Choose a desiccant if the room stays below about 10–12°C, following Ideal Home’s and Meaco’s rules of thumb. This comparison does not include a desiccant, so a cold garage is a reason to leave the set, not to pick the cheapest stars inside it.
Do you need a humidistat and a hose?
You want a humidistat if the machine should stop near a target instead of running all day. The Pro Breeze and the ARIBIO list 30–80%. You want a hose if the daily extraction is several times the tank and you will not be there to empty it. The ARIBIO, Pro Breeze and Devola describe a hose or tube. The Bosch listing does not. A hose still needs a downhill run to a drain.
When is a dehumidifier the wrong purchase?
It is the wrong purchase when the water is coming through the building. A leak, rising damp, a missing extractor, or a patch that keeps growing will still be there after you empty the tank. It is also the wrong purchase when the room is cold and you only have compressor or Peltier options from this set. Deal with the source, or look at a desiccant class that is not on this page, before you chase another star rating.

Related pages

Dehumidifier for condensation

Dehumidifier

Best dehumidifier: Pro Breeze top pick, ARIBIO value

Dehumidifier for drying clothes beside an indoor airer

How to use a dehumidifier: shut room, setpoint, tank

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these listings were read on 19 October 2026. Page updated 20 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK damp and mould guidance (1 April 2026) (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  2. GOV.UK Awaab’s Law tenant guide (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  3. NHS inform (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  4. NICE NG (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  5. Electrical Safety First (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  6. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  7. Which? indoor clothes drying (retrieved 2026-10-20)
  8. energy.org.uk (3 October 2026) (retrieved 2026-10-20)