It’s presently winter period, and the colds are biting hard most especially in our houses. Everywhere is cold and wet, with the high tendency of molds and mildew growth. Bad odors are being released all around in several parts of your house most notably in the water prone areas like the basement. This translates to you having to find a solution to this persistent problem urgently, and you are on the search for best dehumidifier for cold basement which has led you to this page. Congratulations, you are on the right track because we’ve done all the researches for you.
Do you need to run a dehumidifier in basement in winter?
I know you would want to ask this but I have you in mind already. YES, you can but it depends on the temperature and the huidity level. You can operate your dehumidifier in the cold weather, yes, you can. Dehumidifiers are essential because they actively reduce the elevated relative humidity levels that occur during this time.
It is crucial to pay constant attention to the gadget because the coil is extremely sensitive to temperature and might freeze if not properly cared for. If the temperature drops below the ideal level, you should turn it off
In short, you should examine your humidity level very well before starting the dehumidifier. If you have the relative humidity above 50%, you could start the dehumidifier but if it is lower than 40% in cold weather, you may want to wait till the humidity level has increased
But I need to tell you what dehumidifiers does in a basement during cold. They prevent overdamping of apartment with moisture, thereby preventing growth of molds and mildews.
During winter, dehumidifier tends to be more specific in action due to environmental changes. In other words, some dehumidifiers may only be effective in a particular setting, such a room or garage, while they may not work well in a basement, especially a chilly one. Henceforth, the need for the best cold basement dehumidifier.
Recommended Post: How to dry out a basement fast : a fast step by step guide
GUIDES TO PICK THE BEST COLD BASEMENT DEHUMIDIFIERS
1.) Basement Temperature range:
A dehumidifier needs to be able to survive the harsh climatic conditions of a basement during cold weather when temperatures can dip as low as -4 degrees Celsius in order to operate properly.Henceforth, It is necessary to first measure the level of temperature in your basement before deciding which dehumidifier to buy.
No need to worry about that as we have researched and reviewed the best dehumidifiers suitable for your basement condition. Dehumidifiers must operate at an average or higher temperature than that of the basement in order to function correctly, as those that operate at lower temperatures might not work as well there.
2) What Size is the dehumidifier’s water tank:
The size of the water tank of the dehumidifier matters a lot when deciding which dehumidifier to buy. If you buy a dehumidifier with a big tank size, it will give you the freedom of not running it for days or even weeks without draining it. Else, if you buy a dehumidifier will small water tank, that will give you the frequent problem of having to frequently and continually empty it daily or every two days.
For example, if a dehumidifier with 70-pint capacity damp vapor at 10-pint per 24 hours but has a 7-pint water tank, this will lead to a need for constant draining of the water tank up to six times within a short period (probably every seven days) when functioning maximally.
Frequent water tank draining causes stress and reduces quality of life. The user has two options for draining the water tank: mechanical draining or using gravity to reduce unneeded stress.
The size of the water tank also affect the size of the dehumidifier to use in the basement. This help to judge how effective the dehumidifier will work. By size, we mean the space area (sqft) of the basement in relation to the the dehumidifier efficiency.
3) Automatic restart and Continuous mode:
A good dehumidifier for cold basement should have and I quote “an auto restart” command function in case of a temporary power outage for whatever and should be able to restart itself when power is restored. Failure of the dehumidifier to restart itself when power has been restored will lead loss of efficiency and value.
The automatic continuous mode helps the dehumidifier to automatically detect the level of relative humidity in the air and still continually operate efficiently as required without any interruptions.
4) Built-in pump or gravity drainage:
The dehumidifier must have built-in gravity drainage functionality and a little rubber pipe connecting it to the floor drain of the basement in order to drain the dehumidified vapor into the exterior drainage system of the house.
Dehumidifiers with integrated gravity drainage minimize the need for pumps, saving money that would have been spent on pump purchases. Dehumidifiers with built-in drainage are therefore preferable to those without it.
5) Defrost mode and desiccant:
The basement is most likely to be the coldest part of the house and this is likely to affect the effective functioning of the dehumidifier. The best dehumidifiers work effectively by defrosting in temperatures at the defrost mode to avoid the built-up frost in the compressor impairing its efficiency. This feature is a very important determinant factor in distinguishing out the best dehumidifier for a cold basement.
You, however, do not need to worry about frost build-ups in dehumidifiers if the humidifier is a desiccant type and they also have a larger operating temperature range. Desiccant humidifiers are recommended over compressor ones.
6) Warranty:
Generally, Products with Warranty are more reliable and when considering which basement dehumidifier to buy. Warranty gives you the power to confidently buy any product without having to panic about faulty show-ups.
7) Price:
Getting the right product for the right price, thereby saving money is the cost-effectiveness of any dehumidifier in the market. We only rated high basement dehumidifiers that offer a good value for the right price, since you would love to spend wisely. Also, in this review, we avoided cheap dehumidifiers with inferior quality were all avoided and excluded from the top rated.
Read this: What does a dehumidifier do in a a basement
Recommended Top Dehumidifiers for finished or unfinished cold basement
1) HomeLabs 70 Pint Dehumidifier – Best User- friendly
The newly created dehumidifier efficiently eliminated moisture and dampness, brought my basement back to life, and stopped musty odors. I will liken its 70-gallon water tank to a sucking beast basement dehumidifier.
It has a product dimension of 15.4 x 11 x 24.3 Inches and its 1.6 gallons (6 liters) tank capacity is a super plus to the product. The dehumidifier automatically restarts itself just like Frigidaire in the case of power outage; the water storage tank helps hold about 1.6 gallons of water helping put off worries of having to empty it several times in a day.
It auto shuts down itself when the water tank is full and instantly auto restarts when the water tank has been emptied. Also, I was able to control the humidity level that I wanted in my basement, and If you want it to drain the water continuously, you could set it to connect the garden hose to it and gravity-drain it.
One super feature that endears me to home Labs 70-pint dehumidifier is its easy-to-use feature, the only setting I needed to do before using it was just to plug it and walk away, just like that! If you are looking for an easy to use dehumidifier in the basement, this is just the right one for you.
Pros
- 2-year warranty
- Automatic shut off and restart.
- Digital speed, temperature and humidity control.
- 24-hour timer.
- Noiseless.
- less expensive compared to other units of the same working capacity
Cons
- The Auto-defrost does not work well sometimes.
2) Ivation 70 Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier – best Highly durable
This dehumidifier for cold basements ensured that there was no growth of mold, mildew and structural wall crack-ups in my basement and helped keep it warm. It sucked up all damp water out of my concrete basement and its in-built water pumps discharge dehumidified water against gravity up to 16.4 feet; the water can be emptied through the 15 feet hose into the floor drain.
Against all the odds, this unit is highly recommended because of its high-quality materials. You may need to remove water for about 3-4 times a day just because it removes an enormous amount of water compared to other units.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Easy to install
- Highly durable and long lifespan.
Cons
- Lack of large water storage and continuous drainage
- It is heavy.
- Instruction manual leaflet has wrong diagram descriptions.
- Makes noise
3) Danby DDR070BDWDB Energy Star 70 Pint Dehumidifier – Very efficient and portable
This dehumidifier helps improve the comfort level of the home; it operates automatically with few settings necessary. It is portable and helped remove about 70 pints of damped air from my 1600 square feet basement daily.
It runs on very low energy and hence saves money on electricity bills, it has a low-temperature operation and also has 2 years’ warranty; it is also energy efficient and has an automatic reset.
What I call the Danby features are the auto defrost and the digital countdown. The auto-defrost works when the temperature drops below 41°C.
Pros
- Material has a durable quality
- It is energy efficient.
- It has in-built gravity drainage which is super easy to access, and garden hose can be easily connected to it.
- It can lower humidity level in the basement by 45 percent within 1 to 2 hours.
- It has an automatic turn off when the water tank is full.
Cons
- It may start over freezing and popping with time (after 2 years of usage)
- It does not have large water tank storage and hence needs frequent drainage.
4) Tosot 70 Pint Dehumidifier – fast and energy saving
This is the last but definitely not the least. Although tosot is not well known to many, I still prefer it to many of the units out there in the market. Why?
This dehumidifier worked greatly in our unfinished basement of approximately 1500sqft, sucking up about 4 gallons of water in 24 hrs. To my wow, all these were done quietly as though nothing was working in the basement.
The energy-saving feature is a plus on tosot, I noticed a very striking save of up to 30% reduction on the energy bill. Everything about tosot is much like a win-win deal because it is also effortless to fit and replace
Although the water bucket is small, I would recommend that you connect a hose to it so that the water could drain easily into a sump pump. Even though my basement doesn’t smell and not damp at all, this unit helps maintain the humidity level to 40-43%
Pros
- Noiseless, and I can’t even hear it running from above 1 floor;
- Very fast;
- Energy saving
Cons
- Can’t run in the intervals
- Doesn’t have a pump which means it cannot be placed just anywhere
- it is Expensive
BOTTOM LINE: Best Dehumidifiers for cold basement
Having dotted the Is and crossed the Ts, we have compared several units of dehumidifier noteworthy before concluding on the best dehumidifiers that work best in the basements. The best of them all is:
HomeLabs 70 Pint Dehumidifier because it is the most User- friendly dehumidifier and it is not expensive when compared to others.
Recommended reviews:
