As winter approaches and temperatures dive down to zero, drying clothes outside becomes impossible. With the rising cost of electricity bills, many Brits are drying clothes inside without using a tumble dryer.
However, drying clothes releases litres of moisture into the air and can be harmful to your health. That's why people are turning to dehumidifiers with a dedicated laundry mode. Not only can they speed up the drying process they also prevent damp and mould.
Here are our picks for the best dehumidifiers for drying clothes in 2023.
The Best UK Dehumidifiers
For 2023
Last update on 2023-11-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2023-11-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our Top Dehumidifier Pick for 2023
Our pick for the best dehumidifier in the UK is the Meaco 20L Low-Energy model.
It`s cheap to run, has a HEPA air purifier, and a laundry mode as well. The generous size make it perfect for a 3-bedroom to 5-bedroom homes.
![Meaco 20L Low Energy Dehumidifier and Air Purifier 2 in 1- Dehumidifier For Medium to Large Size Homes - Controls Humidity & Cleans Air All Year Round with HEPA filter [Energy Class A]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31tqWiHhkAL.jpg)
- 2-IN-1 DEHUMIDIFIER AIR PURIFIER - The Meaco 20L air purifier dehumidifier not only controls humidity by removing up to 20 liters of moisture per day,...
- DESIGNED FOR UK CLIMATE - Specifically developed with specifications to handle the unique demands of British weather, the Meaco 20L dehumidifier with...
- INTELLIGENT DESIGN - Packed with excellent features that make it stand out against comparable dehumidifiers for home, the Meaco 20L features unique...
Last update on 2023-11-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Should you just want something for a spare room or utility room, The Netta 12L would be our recommendation.
The Dangers Of Drying Clothes Inside
A staggering 30% of the moisture found inside our homes can be attributed to drying laundry indoors.
This excess moisture makes the spread of mould, damp, dust mites and other allergens much easier, so we really need to be careful.
Of course, the easy answer is to buy a tumble dryer and be done with it. However, even the best heat pump dryers can be really expensive to run. If you're living in rented accommodation, it's both an added expense and hassle when you move.
A lot of people hang their clothes other radiators in the winter months. However, this also increases heating bills as your boiler needs to work harder to heat the rest of your home.
A Low Cost Solution for Drying Laundry
One low cost solution that many people swear by is using a dehumidifier.
Dehumidifiers are much cheaper than tumble dryers and lower humidity levels to reduce the moisture in the air.
This lowers the risk of damp and mould forming in your home. You'll also notice a lot less condensation on your windows too.
However, not all dehumidifiers are suitable for drying clothes. It's not their primary function, though the good news is many manufacturers are now adding laundry settings.
On this page, you'll find our picks and reviews for the best dehumidifiers on the UK market today. We've chosen a variety of makes and sizes to fit with your home and budget.
What Is A Dehumidifier?
A dehumidifier is a simple yet clever appliance that removes lots of moisture from the air. It draws the warm, moist air in and cools it quickly. This action turns the moisture into droplets, which are then collected in a water tank, to be emptied as and when is required.
A dehumidifier can be used to lower the humidity level and dry clothes very easily. You simply place it in a room where you hang your wet laundry.There are usually two types of dehumidifiers - desiccant and compressors.
Types of Dehumidifiers
The two main types of of dehumidifiers are desiccant dehumidifiers and compressor dehumidifiers. Both of these work in different ways.
Desiccant dehumidifiers use a small heater and an adsorbent (desiccant) to attract water molecules in the air. The adsorbent material is usually non-toxic silica gel - just like those small bags in food stuffs we're told not to eat.
Compressor dehumidifiers (aka "Refrigerant dehumidifiers") work a bit like a fridge. A fan attracts damp, warm air that hits cold coils. The air condenses and the squeezed-out moisture drips into the water tank.
What Size Dehumidifier For Drying Clothes?
The size that you need for drying clothes comes down to where and how you're going to use it. If you're thinking about using it in a utility room or a spare room, a dehumidifier that can handle 10 - 12L per day should do the trick.
When we talk about the size of a dehumidifier, we're really talking about how many litres of water it can pull out of the air in a day. You've got your smaller 10L models, which are super portable and great for places like flats and small offices. Then you've got your big guns, the 20L models, which are perfect for larger homes, and the even larger 30L ones that can handle big office spaces.
Now, if your goal is more than just drying clothes—if you're also dealing with damp issues or trying to keep mould at bay—you're going to want to go for a larger size. Something with a tank that can hold at least 1.8L will give you a longer running time and better control over moisture, making your clothes dry faster and keeping your room healthier.
Which Dehumidifier Features To Look Out For?
In our research, we specifically targeted dehumidifiers that can dry clothes quickly. So it's a real plus if it has a special laundry mode.
Another important feature is a quiet mode. It will need to be left on for a few hours, and something rattling and humming loudly can become annoying after a few minutes!
Energy efficiency is another major concern. It's kind of counter-productive if the model you buy ends up being more expensive than a tumble dryer in the long run.
A automatic timer is also a great feature to have. The best dehumidifiers have a 24-hour timer so you can program it to work at night and in sync with your laundry.
How easy it easy to empty the water tank is also another factor. You don't want one that's hard to take out and slops water everywhere when you're carrying it. Similarly, an auto shut-off feature will stop the tank from overflowing.
Finally, air ionizing is a really good "Nice to have" feature. This will really benefit asthma, hay fever and allergy sufferers the most.
However, fresh, clean air is something the whole family should have and enjoy.
The Best UK Dehumidifier Reviews
Ebac is a best-selling brand of dehumidifiers and they're also British Made.
They have a wide range of models. but we we have chosen the 2650e as it has a setting specifically for laundry use.
The "Laundry Boost mode", brings added power to the dehumidification process, and makes it perfect for dealing with wet clothes in a confined space.
As it's British made, it's designed with the damp British climate in mind. This makes it really effective at drying clothes, and users report it's between 70 - 90% faster than using an airer alone.
Ebac claims that this is the best-selling dehumidifier in the UK, and we can see why that may be.
The 2650e is a compact machine, measuring just 27 x 34 x 55cm so it will not take up too much space. This also makes it easier to move around your home, and put away when not drying clothes.
It’s easy to use and has an impressive 18 litre extraction capacity. When it's not drying clothes, it's about as loud as a refrigerator. On the clothes setting, it is slightly noisier, but many people still say it's very quiet.
This model also has an energy saving mode which uses smart technology to power down once enough moisture has been removed. There's also and indicator so you can instantly tell when the water tank is full.
The Ebac 2650e may not the cheapest dehumidifier, but it's quiet, easy to use and excellent at drying clothes.
To seal the deal, Ebac offer a 5-year manufacturer's warranty, so you're certain to get your money's worth from this model.
The EcoAir DC18 is a great dehumidifier for your laundry.
There is a specific laundry setting, so it will keep working until the large 3.5L water tank is full - or you turn it off.
It's a really easy-to-use 18L dehumidifer with a 3.5L water tank capacity.
So it removes just under 32 pints of moisture from the air in just one day.
This makes it faster and cheaper to heat your home and much quicker to dry you laundry.
It's large capacity makes it ideal to put in your utility room or bathroom.
It will also remove the condensation from the air which prevents mold...so it won't feel like you're in the Amazon rain forest when you go to get the laundry.
When it's full you'll hear a couple of beeps and it will automatically turn off.
There's also a filter which catches dust and this needs to be cleaned fortnightly. You can just run it under water or run a vacuum over it.
A light turns on to let you know you need to do this - which is a great feature.
Another big plus with the DC18 is there is a continuous draining hose. So if this set this up it will drain all by itself. If not, you'll need to empty the tank at around 4 hours of continuous use.
This dehumidifier has wheels and that makes it much easier to empty. The water tanks can get quite heavy when full it's hard to stop water slopping around everywhere.
On the noise front, it's about the same as a fan oven. I've read people have slept quite easily with it whirring away in the bathroom next door.
And it terms of running costs, it's rated at 230 watts. So that means you can run it for 4-hours and it will cost you 15.5p (depending on your tariff).
The only downside is at 50cm high by 20 cm deep by 30cm wide, you can't really put it on a shelf. But if you're looking for the best dehumidifier on the market, this one is definitely in the top two.
Next up is this XL 20 litre dehumidifier from Duronic.
This is another design that has a "Laundry Mode" and some other neat features that make it stand out.
It's rated at 320W, which on the surface makes it more expensive to run than the EcoAir model reviewed above.
However, it has some smart settings that will help conserve your electricity. When it reaches it's target humidity, the compressor will automatically shut down. The fan will stay on at a low speed while the unit monitors the humidity levels in your room.
As you would expect for this price point, it does come with a drainage hose. So you can "Set and forget" if you have a sink or drain for it to go into.
The water container is a very large 4L capacity. That means you'll have to empty it every 6-hours of continuous use. I really like the container is shaped like a jug and has a handle. That might sound stupid, but I've emptied some before that are rectangular-shaped. Not only does that make it really hard to take out of the machine and hold, it's also tricky pouring the water out and not having it go everywhere.
As with the EcoAir model, this one will automatically shut-off when the reservoir is full. There's also wheels which makes it easier to move to where your washing is.
The only downside with this one is the placement of the digital control panel. You'll notice others on our list have their displays on the top. There's a reason for this...
Having it on the front means you have to squat down much further to see what it says and to adjust the settings....
That aside, people love how powerful this dehumidifier and how it makes their walls and windows feel much drier.
This is a smaller dehumidifier that packs a lot of punch.
It's perfect if you're specifically looking for something for your laundry room or bathroom. Many people also say it works really well in their flats...so let's dive in.
This Netta model has an effective drying space of up to 20 square-metres.
When you consider the average sized bathroom is 40 square feet - and that's only 3.7 sq metres.
And the best thing to do is to put a dehumidifier in the same room and then close the door.
So even though this is the smallest on the list, it's got all the power you need.
To give you an idea of it's drying process, users report it helps dry king size bedding, 3 bath towels and 3 hand towels over night.
And when you're not using it to dry clothes, they've also noticed it's helped transform a 3-bedroom house and (it seems) lots and lots of flats.
Just like the larger models, there a hose for continuous drainage. But it also has an ionizer which many other don't have.
This will help improve your indoor air quality and is great if you have pets or family members that suffer with asthma or allergies.
In terms of energy consumption, Netta 12L Dehumidifier uses 220W, so it costs around 30p to run for 4 hours (depending on your tariff, based at 34p kw/h).
However, there is a 24-hour timer so you can set it to work during the night to take advantage of cheaper rates like "economy 7".
The only downside to this one is the instruction manual is of the "Chinglish" variety...but all these appliances are pretty straight-forward to use so hopefully that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Ariston is a brand you've probably heard of and they've been making electric water heaters and appliances since the 1960's.
As you could expect, this 16 litre dehumidifier is well-made and has a number of winning features.
First up, it's got a large 16 litre capacity which is good for spaces up to 38 meters-squared.
That's about the size of 5 double-sized bedrooms!
There is a laundry mode, a built-in timer, and an electronic thermostat to precisely measure humidity in your home.
At 42 dbs, this is one of the quietest ones on our list. To put it into perspective, that's about as loud as a small desk fan.
There's also an anti-odour filter. So as well as removing the condensation and protecting your home from mould, it also improves the air quality.
At 53cm by 40.5cm by 29cm, this Ariston model is about as big as a carry-on suitcase. And it has wheels so you can move it around your home easily.
It uses 289 watts - and that's slightly more than the EcoAir - which is 2 litres bigger. So that is a concern, though Ariston claim their electronic thermostat helps improve the energy efficiency.
There is a continuous use function - but the hose required for drainage is not included.
However, the water reservoir is sized at 3 litres so it can collect a fair amount of water before you need to empty it.
And finally, you get a 2-year guarantee - where most generic competitors only give one.
To round out our list we have this excellent 3-in-1 from Inventor.
It's an air-ionizing, laundry-drying and dehumidifying machine that thousands of people love.
Here's why...
Not only does it have a laundry setting, it has a "Turbo" mode to help dry your clothes faster.
This helps it dry a fully-laden airer of clothes overnight - and that includes jeans and jumpers.
As you can see from the picture, unlike others on our list the 3 litre reservoir is transparent.
There is an alarm to tell you when it's full. But I think being able to see the progress (and that it's working away) is nice to have.
There is a quiet setting, but even if you leave it on the standard one it shouldn't stop you from sleeping. Or cause those annoying vibrations on the floor like similar appliances can.
Aside from drying laundry, people love how quick the Inventor Eva II makes a difference to their homes.
Without only a couple of hours of switching it on, you should notice a real difference with condensation and the air inside your home will smell fresher.
The only downside with this one is there's no timer.
However, like all these products it has a continuous setting. So you can just switch it on before bed and leave it running throughout the night. Finally, at 260W it's pretty economical in terms of power consumption.
All in all, this is a fabulous "All Rounder" that you'll be able to enjoy even when you're not doing the washing.
