It’s impossible to live comfortably when your home is too humid. You’ll suffer from excessive indoor sweating, and mold infections can lead to respiratory problems for anyone who lives under your roof. 

A dehumidifier can solve this problem, but some dehumidifiers are too loud to ignore! You’ll need to look for the quietest dehumidifier that won’t get in the way of your everyday home life.

To learn about the most important things to consider when buying a quiet dehumidifier, read on. You can also skip to my reviews of the best quiet dehumidifiers using this table of contents.

Since working as a professional engineer in the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry, I’ve worked with many different dehumidifiers. This article will help you find the best quiet dehumidifier for you and your home. 

I’ve compiled this buying guide of what to look for when shopping for a quiet dehumidifier, as well as a review and comparison of some of the best quiet dehumidifiers your money can buy today.

Quietest Dehumidifier Buying Guide

There are three main types of dehumidifiers, and each has pros and cons you should consider when deciding which quiet dehumidifier is best for you. 

Thermo-Electric Dehumidifiers

Thermo-electric dehumidifiers are also sometimes called Peltier dehumidifiers since they use Peltier technology to convert electricity into a temperature difference. 

Peltier technology uses a thermo-electric current to condense moist air as it passes over a cold surface, and then the resulting moistureless air is blown back into the room. Most provide muted operation of around 54 dB to 57 dB. 

Thermo-electric dehumidifiers are typically made from inexpensive parts, which keeps the cost of the unit down. However, it also means they’re not as reliable or long-lasting as other types of dehumidifiers. They’re also ineffective in spaces any larger than a small bathroom, small closet, or small laundry room.

Desiccant Dehumidifiers

Desiccant dehumidifiers use a desiccant material to absorb moisture from the air. The fan motor then blows this moist desiccant into one air stream that heats it and ducts it outside as moist, warm water vapor. Desiccated air is then circulated back into the room.

Desiccant dehumidifiers are some of the quietest dehumidifiers available today, and most models have whisper-quiet operation noise levels of below 40 dB. They’re usually portable and durable, making them a great choice if you plan on moving your dehumidifier around your home.

Desiccant dehumidifiers don’t need to cool the air it absorbs before removing moisture and can remove less heat from the environment. They are especially well suited for colder climates. 

Compressor Dehumidifiers

Compressor dehumidifiers are more conventional dehumidifiers and work in a similar way to central or mini-split air conditioners. 

They work by drawing in warm, moist air before passing it over a cold refrigerator coil. Here, condensation occurs, and moisture is separated from the air. A warm coil reheats this dry air before it is recirculated into the room, and the condensed water is filtered into a water tank to be disposed of later. 

Compressor dehumidifiers are great for warmer climates, help to maintain the ambient room temperature, and are typically cheaper to run than other dehumidifiers since they consume less power. 

However, they’re ineffective in cold climates and tend to be heavier and less compact than other dehumidifiers.  This makes them unsuitable for multiple room use, and they’re also the noisiest dehumidifiers. They’re not super-loud, but average operation levels of around 57 dB are noticeable in a quiet room.

What To Look For From A Quiet Dehumidifier

To choose the best quiet dehumidifier, it’s essential to understand what parts of a dehumidifier produce the noise you can hear.  There are two parts of a dehumidifier that produce noise – the compressor and the fan.

Compressor

The compressor is a motor that enables a dehumidifier to reduce the relative humidity levels through moist air condensation, and it’s noisy while doing so! The compressor is the loudest part of most dehumidifiers. 

Fan And Airflow

The fan draws humid air into the unit and then expels it back out as dry air. This fan, and the whirling airflow that it creates, are the second loudest part of a dehumidifier. 

Noise Levels Of Dehumidifiers

Loud dehumidifiers operate at a noise level of over 65 decibels, which is close to the level of a vacuum cleaner. It can’t be expected from very large dehumidifiers, but that’s far too loud for most homes!

A dehumidifier can be considered noisy if it operates at between 60 decibels and 65 decibels. A standard, neutral dehumidifier operates at around 57 decibels to 60 decibels – the average noise level of a conversation between two people close together. 

Quiet dehumidifiers operate at a level between 53 decibels and 57 decibels, around the same level as an electric fan. 

A super-quiet dehumidifier will run below 53 decibels. This is as quiet as your refrigerator, and the noise will be barely noticeable as you sleep, watch TV, or read.

Capacity

A unit with a higher capacity will remove moisture from the air quicker than a unit with a lower pint capacity. Most residential-use quiet dehumidifiers come with dehumidification capacities of between 30 pints and 70 pints. 

Here, ‘pint’ refers to the amount of moisture that a dehumidifier can absorb from the air in a 24-hour long period. So, a 50-pint dehumidifier can remove 50 pints of moisture or water from the air in one 24-hour day.

Coverage Space

The size of the room or rooms you want to dehumidify will determine the coverage area of the quiet dehumidifier you need. You should also consider the level of moisture you need to remove.

For example, even a small 30-pint dehumidifier will cover a space of up to 1,000 sq ft, the size of a 2-bedroom home or a large apartment. But if this space is persistently moldy, smelly, and very wet, then this coverage space will be reduced by a couple of hundred square feet.

Features

Most modern quiet dehumidifiers come with extra features designed for convenience, making them easier to use, more effective, or more efficient. Here are some of the most popular and beneficial features you should look for:

A humidistat or hydrostat- measures the moisture in the air and can be easily set by the user to maintain a specific relative humidity level.

Low-temperature operation- most dehumidifiers are versatile in their suitable temperature range, but some models are designed to operate in especially low temperatures.

Electronic controls– most models are now fitted with digital displays that are easy to read and use simple button controls instead of dials to control their settings. 

Auto-restart feature- auto-restart automatically restores the dehumidifier to its previous settings after a power outage, so you don’t have to mess around trying to remember what the unit was set to.

Caster wheels- Found on many dehumidifiers, these allow for extra portability around the home.

Air filter- an air filter cleans the air as it is also dehumidified, ensuring high air quality. It’s a great extra if you have allergies, live with kids, or have pets. 

Automatic shut-down- prevents overflow by turning the unit off when its water tank is full. This means you don’t have to constantly check the unit’s water tank to stop spillage.

Drainage Type And Bucket Size

Dehumidifiers need to drain the moisture they absorb from the air. The most basic method of this is using a bucket. 

This water bucket will usually be sized between 0.5 gallons and 2.0 gallons according to the dehumidification capacity of the unit. Because there is no internal pump, a full bucket will need to be manually drained, but it also means the unit can operate more quietly.

Some units come with a built-in continuous drainage system that allows for continuous operation without having to monitor water tank levels. 

They may also come with an internal condensate pump and drain hose that can drain the water bucket anywhere you choose, especially useful if you’re using it in a basement. 

Energy Efficiency

An energy-efficient quiet dehumidifier can save you hundreds of dollars in energy costs for its 5-10 year lifespan, so it’s definitely worth checking the energy efficiency of a unit you’re considering buying. 

One quick and easy way to do so is to check if the unit is Energy Star certified. An Energy Star-rated unit has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as meeting the highest standards of energy efficiency in the US.

An Energy Star-rated dehumidifier will, on average, use 30% less power than a unit that hasn’t been Energy Star certified. 

Quietest Dehumidifier Reviews

Here are my top picks of the very best quiet dehumidifiers that you can buy today!

Best Quiet Dehumidifier For Large Rooms

This Honeywell dehumidifier makes moisture removal in a large room up to 4,500 sq ft easy, thanks to its 9-gallon tank and its ability to remove 50 pints of moisture from the air every 24 hours. That powerful capacity ensures optimal performance in almost all climate types.

It comes with an included drain hose attachment that gives the user a continuous drain option, so you don’t have to continually monitor water levels and can get on with more exciting activities! 

For a unit with such impressive specs, it still provides almost silent dehumidification, operating at under 50 decibels on even the most intense settings. That makes it perfect for use in living rooms and bedrooms, as well as bathrooms, basements, and cellars. 

Low-temperature operation capability makes it a great choice for colder climates down to 30℉ or generally colder spaces such as a garage, cellar, or basement. A smart digital humidistat and auto-restart 

It’s all controlled using a user-friendly LED control panel that makes it simple and convenient to use the digital humidistat, which automatically regulates humidity levels, and the auto-restart, which saves having to reset all your settings in the case of a power outage.   

Its relatively high upfront cost is justified by the savings this unit can make for you in the long run, as well as its super-quiet operation and impressive dehumidification capacity that makes it ideal for large rooms up to 4,500 sq ft. 

What We Like:

• Honeywell dehumidifiers are reliable and robust
• Energy Star certified
• LED control panel
• Run at below 50 dB
• Auto-restart feature

What We Don’t Like:

• One of the most expensive dehumidifiers on the market

Quietest Dehumidifier in 2021

General Electric now makes dehumidifiers, and the APER50LZ can inhibit mold, mildew, and dust mites, improve air quality, and dehumidify rooms with excessive moisture whilst barely making a sound. Even when operating at its highest fan speed, it does provide whisper-quiet dehumidification of just 47 decibels.

The unit’s various features make it suitable for use in virtually any room of your home. The unit has been designed to be sleek and stylish, and the black color finish will sit well in any room. Coupled with its silent operation, you’ll barely notice it’s there! 

That makes it great to use in a bedroom or living area, while the automatic drainage system makes it ideal for use in especially wet environments like a bathroom, shower room, or a basement. You won’t have to head upstairs or downstairs to check on the water levels either.

Since the unit works best when the air filter is clean, the unit is fitted with a removable filter and filter clean reminder alert. It takes the guesswork out of cleaning and ensures that your dehumidifier is always running to its full potential.

There’s nowhere to wrap the power cord when moving the unit around, and the handles are quite narrow, so you can’t get a very secure grip. It’s a minor flaw, but one to bear in mind if you plan on moving this unit around your home regularly. 

The APER50LZ is a great investment if you’re looking for the quietest dehumidifier that your money can buy in 2021, with some great extra features and a built-in pump to save the effort of manual draining. 

What We Like:

• Quietest dehumidifier operating at a whisper-quiet 47 dB
• Built-in pump and drain hose for continuous draining
• Sleek and stylish design
• Empty bucket alarm
• Clean filter indicator light
• 3 fan speeds

What We Don’t Like: 

• Pricier upfront cost than other units
• Not the most portable dehumidifier

Quietest Small Dehumidifier

This dehumidifier runs with noise levels of just 49 decibels on the lowest setting, with a super-quiet compressor and a small fan that doesn’t produce noisy airflow. Everything about this unit is designed with discretion in mind, perfect for almost any room around the house. 

Its small size also makes it very portable, so it’s a good option if you want to use this unit around different parts of your home. 

Turbo mode is great for drying places with high moisture or even clothes, and the unit is small enough to be placed in a laundry room. This turbo mode doesn’t add much to the overall noise levels, remaining at an impressively low 51 decibels. 

Unfortunately, the water bucket is very small, just 0.8 gallons. And since the unit is too small to have a built-in pump to drain the water automatically, you’ll have to manually empty the bucket as often as every hour or two, depending on usage levels. Not great if you wanted to leave it unattended in a basement or crawl space for the day. 

This MIDEA dehumidifier is compact, easy to use, and efficient, so if you’re looking for a dehumidifier that’s small as well as quiet, this could be an excellent option for you.

What We Like:

• Very quiet operation between 49 dB and 51 dB
• Quiet compressor
• Turbo mode
• Airflow doesn’t increase noise levels
• Small and compact design

What We Don’t Like:

• Small 0.8 gallon bucket
• No built-in drainage pump
• Only suitable for spaces up to 1,500 square feet

Most Portable Quiet Dehumidifier

This TOSOT dehumidifier offers effective and efficient moisture removal in small spaces up to 1,500 square feet, or 12,000 cubic feet. 

It’s one of the quietest dehumidifiers I came across, thanks mainly to its compact size. This makes it very portable, lightweight, and great for moving around the home as and when needed, but it also means that continuous use will fill up the water tank quickly and needs to be drained manually and regularly. 

Energy Star certification means this dehumidifier will consume less power than other units when removing moisture from the room. The auto-off feature will further reduce energy bills by switching the unit off when it detects that a user-set level of moisture has been removed from the air.

This unit undercuts much of its competition price-wise. While it’s great to see such a low-priced unit operate so effectively, it’s housed in a rather brittle and cheap-looking plastic that won’t last as long as some of the other dehumidifiers on this list.

I also noticed that the light on top of the unit when it’s switched on is way too bright than it should be and would likely need to be covered up if you’re trying to sleep in the same room with it.  If you’re looking for portability, this inexpensive little dehumidifier is a solid choice. 

What We Like:

• Quiet noise levels of 47 dB
• Portable
• Washable filter
• Energy Star certified
• Easy to use controls

What We Don’t Like:

• Not as robustly built as other models
• Light is far too bright
• No exhaust fan

Quietest Dehumidifier: Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Decibels Is A Quiet Dehumidifier?

The quietest dehumidifiers will operate at 53 decibels or less, around the same noise output as your refrigerator.

Who Makes The Quietest Dehumidifier?

The APER50LZ from US company GE is a near-silent dehumidifier that operates at just 47 decibels.

Will A Dehumidifier Prevent Mold And Mildew?

Dehumidifiers remove excess moisture, which enables mold and mildew to reproduce and grow from the air. 

My Final Thoughts

The best silent dehumidifiers operate at below 53 decibels, and every unit I’ve reviewed here falls into that category. 

The quietest unit I came across is the GE APER50LZ, which is whisper-quiet with a convenient built-in drainage system that makes it great for virtually any room of a house. Models from TOSOT and MIDEA are small and portable, while the Honeywell TP50K is powerful enough for large spaces up to 4,500 sq ft!

Now you understand what makes a great, quiet dehumidifier and you’ve seen some of the best available today, I hope you can go ahead and make a well-informed purchase for you, your family, and your home.