// WIRED US/UK — MOBILE & WEB
6 Best Dehumidifiers to Fight Mold and Muggy Summers (2026)
Mold is no joke. Neither is a mid-Atlantic summer. Whether you live in humid-heat New York or humid-winter Oregon, the best dehumidifiers can bring your humidity to livable levels and help mitigate the most obvious ill effects of damp climates.
What ill effects? In hot weather, humid climates can make it difficult for your body (or your air conditioner) to cool down appropriately and attain homeostasis, potentially worsening cardiac issues. Closer to normal room temperature, oh dear lord, there's the mold—the ancient foe of asthmatics, hypochondriacs, record collectors, and clotheshorses.
WIRED reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro discovered the salutary effects of dehumidifiers after life in a damp Maine cabin where her air quality monitors often registered 80 percent humidity, not to mention a stint on dehumidifier TikTok. Reviewer Matthew Korfhage lives in Portland, Oregon, where black mold is a genre of small talk.
After testing, these are the best models out of the many we tested, from our top-pick Midea 20-Pint Cube ($190) to our best portable version for travel or small spaces, the Eva-Dry Renewable Mini Dehumidifier E-333 ($25).
For more ways to improve your indoor air quality, check out our guides to the Best Air Purifiers, Best Air Quality Monitors, Best Space Heaters, Best Fans, and Best Window Air Conditioners.
Updated August 2026: I tested and added the Aeocky Rhea-001 as an honorable mention. I also tested the newest model of Midea's 50-pint cube, which WIRED no longer recommends. I ensured accuracy of links and prices, and added new information on Honeywell Air Management, which has gone out of business.
The Midea Cube 20 is a powerful dehumidifier that combines a great number of desirable attributes held in balance. It has a large 3-gallon tank without being overly large, and its bucket can nest for easy storage when you're not using it. It pairs an intuitive control panel with an easy-to-pair smart app in our experience, though some online have had issues. And it's quiet, noted WIRED tester Lisa Wood Shapiro, humming along at a near-imperceptible 20 decibels on its lowest fan setting and at around 40 decibels at its highest. This is as quiet as the quietest space heaters.
This 20-pint model is rated for a 1,500-square-foot space that's sufficient for most residential environments. Its blessed compactness makes it suitable even for small apartments, just a 13-inch cube when it's not in use. If you'd rather wheel it around (it weighs 33 pounds without water), you can also mount an optional wheel set. All in all, an admirable set of qualities, at a price lower than other dehumidifiers with comparable performance. Note, however, it lacks a dedicated laundry mode for drying clothes.
Note that there is a larger, 50-pint Cube ($299) rated for bigger spaces. Don't buy it. The sensor on the model I tested quickly revealed itself as defective, showing humidity readings that were far too low, meaning the device is unlikely to kick in. Online reviews showed this as a maddeningly common issue for the 50-pint model, though it does not seem to crop up for the 20-pint version.
Most bathrooms are small. Intimate, even—too small to comfortably house a bulky dehumidifier. And yet they produce a lot of humidity daily, making them mold magnets. This Breezome is a good and weirdly personable solution.