6 Best Dehumidifiers for Basements to Keep Dampness Out

Large basements with high humidity (think pooling water on the floor or droplets on the walls and ceiling) need a big, powerful dehumidifier.

"This 50-pint LG was one of the fastest from our tests at pulling moisture from the air," says DiClerico. It also has many of the user-features our experts look for, including an accessible water bucket with a splash guard and handle for easy dumping, as well as an intuitive LED control panel. You also have the option to connect a hose so the unit will drain continuously. Standing 26.2 inches tall and just shy of 50 pounds, this is the largest dehumidifier in our review, so it might not be the best choice for tight quarters. But its wheels make it fairly easy to transport from room to room.

If your basement is damp and cold, this unit works down to 41 degrees. But if your basement gets closer to freezing, our experts say to consider another unit. That's because this LG lacks a frost control sensor, a feature found on other dehumidifiers that automatically shuts the unit off whenever ice crystals starts to form on its coils.

If you're only dealing with moderate humidity in a small space, say the home office in a finished basement, you can save money on a mid-sized humidifier, like this 35-pint unit from Midea, a reputable manufacturer in the category, based on our extensive tests.

"This dehumidifier runs quietly while still pulling up to 35 pints of moisture from the air each day," says Lab Assistant Nikolas Greenwald. It should do the job in spaces under 1,000 square feet that get damp, but not wet. The Midea sits on wheels, so even though it's 33 pounds, it's easy to move from room to room. It does stand at almost 25 inches though, so you might want to consider a more compact unit if you have a smaller basement space.

If you've got a large, wet basement (we're talking moisture collecting on the walls levels of wet), this Honeywell can pull 50 pints of water per day from the air. It's also has the Energy Star label, so it'll help keep the cost down as well as the room dry.

"The biggest differentiator with this dehumidifier is its onboard pump," says DiClerico. "That means you can continuously drain up to 15 feet away to an elevated location, like a utility sink." In our tests, we also found it very easy to take apart and clean thanks to the front-facing bucket with a handle, as well as easy to use with a clear and intuitive interface and digital controls.

We found that this unit from Frigidaire handles larger spaces well, and has a ton of simple, helpful features that make it a breeze to use and is great if you're working with a large, wet basement that you want to get dry in a hurry. Its chord wraps around hooks on the back for easy storage and the drainage bucket has a built-in carrying handle that makes it easy to move around.

There's an indicator that lights up red when the bucket needs to be emptied, or you can connect a hose for continuous drainage. Note that while it does have a hose, it doesn't have a pump so you can't drain the water into an elevated area, like down a sink drain or out of a nearby window. Clocking in at 40 pounds, the unit is a heavier one but the wheels make it easy to move around, so you can place it wherever you want.

If the temperature reaches the freezing point in your basement, this GE is the dehumidifier for you, thanks to its auto defrost. This a sensor-based feature automatically shuts off the unit if frost starts to form on the coils, which can happen in cold basements. Dehumidifiers without this feature will continue to run without actually pulling any humidity from the air. At that point it's just wasting energy and putting added stress on the compressor and fan.

While the powerful built-in pump was the standout feature from our tests, we were also impressed by how effectively the 50-pint unit pulled water from the air, especially on its highest fan setting. Weighing in at 44 pounds with a large housing, the dehumidifier is fairly bulky, but its wheels and handle made it easy to transport during our usability tests.

This 50-pint Frigidaire did a superb job of drawing moisture from the air in our test area, plus it has all the usability features our experts look for, including intuitive controls, an accessible water bucket and a washable air filter. "Its combination of value, performance and efficiency was among the best," says DiClerico.

The Frigidaire also comes equipped with a pump that can push the water upwards so you can drain it off into a higher utility sink or out of a window. While it's designed to operate down to 41 degrees, it doesn't feature auto-defrost, so we don't recommend it for basements that can get very cold.