As the holidays pass by, the season also changes, with winter leaving comes autumn, walking in slowly and bringing in a lot of moisture in the atmosphere along with it. Whether you would be going for college or have kids that would need to leave for boarding school, it’s essential you carry along the best dehumidifier for dorm room, as you would really need one.
Although a bucket list for dorm packing contains many useful items, it mostly doesn’t include things that would make you comfortable outside the home like a dehumidifier. It’s primarily tricky when you have a comfortable home petite dehumidifier that helps keeps you healthy at home, only to move into a dorm room without the same, you might need to take time to adjust, and your body would react to the highly humid environment.
Top 5 Dehumidifiers for Dorm Rooms
1) Pro Breeze Electric Mini Dehumidifier
Special features: 2200 cubic ft room effective, auto shut off, low energy, whisper quiet and large water tank
The Pro Breeze Dehumidifier works really well, pulling in a surprisingly large amount of water from the atmosphere. Assuming a room with a humidity content of about 80%, in 24 hours it can drop the humidity content as low as 73%.
It works great and can fit into a room with small spaces, although it doesn’t work in a super fast manner, it does pull a considerable amount of moisture from the air and averages a full water tank every few days or once every week depending on the frequency and extent of usage. This makes it great for dorm rooms.
With the pro breeze easy to use is the order of the day, you just need to plug it and walk away. It is easily unnoticed due to its miniature size and can be moved around with ease, works well in rooms as well as bathrooms. Of allits features, what intrigue me much is its ease of emptying by a small plug at the corner which you can just flip open with a dry finger.
The effectiveness of this unit can be defined by its ability to remove about 1.5 cup of water in the first 12 hrs of operation and 3/4 cup of water daily in the 5 days of use
Pros
- High moisture extraction per day; up to 9 ounces
- Energy efficient
- Auto turn off on a full tank
- Ultra-quiet Peltier technology
- Small and portable
Cons
- Not good for large dorm rooms
2) MSJ Portable mini Dehumidifier
Special features: Whisper quiet peltier technology
Dust mites are one of the major enemies of people suffering from asthma and allergies. The MSJ mini dehumidifier is one of the best products to combat this and is great for rooms with hot, wet and moist air, i.e., the room is really humid. The device is also prone to bacteria build-up since it sucks in damp air, so you have to clean it often
It is small and portable, suitable for dorm rooms while running with really quiet operation. You can only hear the sound when you come really close. The device pulls moisture efficiently in a room, meaning that even though you live beside a lake, there wouldn’t be any problem.
The MSJ also has a fairly large water tank which can store up to 500ml of water inside and collects up to a 250ml maximum of water per day depending on the atmosphere and you can use it for up to a week before emptying the tank. As a student in a dorm room with a small closet, this product is best for you.
Pros
- 2-year warranty
- Small and compact
- Quiet
- Energy efficient,
- Auto shutoff
Cons
- Prone to bacteria buildup
3) HomeLabs Small Space Dehumidifier
Special features: Thermoeleectric, Energy efficient, Auto shutoff and low noise thermoelectric peltier
The hOmeLabs Dehumidifier is a small device but works great in small places like dorm rooms and bathrooms. If you have mite allergy or have your closet really close to your bathroom, then this is the right product for you because it draws water out of the air efficiently at a fair amount.
The device is slick in design and runs quietly and can run for a really run while, easy to empty whenever it’s needed and has a small green light that indicates operation at night. It is quiet, ok for dorm rooms, and works well in a bathroom dropping the humidity level enough for the air to feel dry.
It might do ok in a very small closet or bathroom, but we don’t recommend it for anything larger than 40 square feet.
Pros
- 2-year warranty
- small and compact
- Quiet
- Energy efficient
- Auto shutoff timer
Cons
- Low extraction rate than other models
4) Hysure Portable Mini Dehumidifier
Special Features: High efficiency, environmentally friendly, compact, quiet and auto shut off
The Hysure dehumidifier is easy to use, lightweight and can run for days without a significant spike in your power bills. It doesn’t occupy much space and can be placed in the corner of the home, plus it is portable and lightweight to be moved around with relative ease.
It is a really great product for small rooms and bathrooms, pulling out moisture from the air in a reasonably efficient manner for its size and keeping the atmosphere dry. Works in a whisper quiet operation and easy to use.
The amount of power spent by the dehumidifier to operate is an also relatively low compared to some other devices although you should keep it away from plants because it could have adverse effects.
Pros
- easy to use,
- Auto shut-off,
- portable and lightweight,
- quiet operation,
- energy saving.
Cons
- low moisture removal rate
- Only suitable for small rooms
Read Also: What does a dehumidifier do in a basement
5) New and Improved Eva-Dry E-33 Renewable
Special Features: 100% renewable, highly durable and efficient
When this device is placed in a dorm, bathroom or kitchen, it works and lasts for about two weeks before a recharge is needed after the beads turn greens, you should plug till they turn orange. Recharging takes about 10 hours. It is a pretty device that is discreet; can be placed anywhere in the room due to its small size and impressive looks.
It is completely sealed, therefore not needing much maintenance and highly recommended for student dorms because of the features it possesses and easy usage. Size is also not an issue, as the device is really portable and easy to move about.
The E-33 is also efficient when placed in cars and guns safe, helping to avoid molds and preserve your ammo. Also works well in closets.
Pros
- 5-year warranty
- could work up to 10 years
- doesn’t need power or batteries to work
Cons
- Low moisture removal rate
How to reduce humidity in humid college dorms
Of a truth, most dorms have existed long ago, and though it is cleaned regularly, there is a good chance that over time, it develops a permanent musty smell that could be both harmful and disgusting.
This is caused by molds and mildew, all they need is a surface to grow on, darkness, warmth, oxygen, and moisture, which are all found in almost all dorm rooms. From all these, humidity is the biggest problem and if you can deal with is, there is an excellent chance of you avoiding the whole mustiness.
The best way to deal with the increased air humidity that causes the musty smell is to use a dehumidifier. You should make sure you purchase the best product for dorms, as certain dehumidifiers have some room’s specific qualities.
After purchasing it, you need to locate the origin of the smell and place the dehumidifier next to it. For quicker effect, you should consider cleaning all molds you can find in the room.
Types of dehumidifier for college dorms
- A thermoelectric model which is also called Peltier or Peltier effect technology
- Desiccant model
- Compressor based model
Compressor based model isn’t for dorm rooms as it is usually large and more suitable for more significant areas. The Peltier model although ideal for dorm rooms but you need to attend it to regularly. They pull in much moisture from the atmosphere, therefore filling the water tank very quickly and it might be inconvenient to go down the hall every time you need to empty the tank if your bathroom is far away from your room.
After considering all these, the best dehumidifier for a dorm room is the desiccant model with really low humidity to water conversion rate. Although the desiccant doesn’t draw in as much moisture from the atmosphere as the others, it allows you to not worry about attending to your unit during the day because of the absence of water tanks.
The desiccant dehumidifier uses a silica gel technology that absorbs moisture from the air, which is kept within the beads until the unit is ready to renew. These beads can last up to 10 years if you can maintain the device for that long and doesn’t require you change the outer filter or empty a water tank.
Also Read: Dehumidifier placement upstairs or downstairs?
Since the students would be busy with classes and academic duties during the day, not having much free time, you might want to purchase the desiccant type dehumidifier that needs less attention or those humidifiers that produce little water quantity per day.
Qualities to consider when picking best dehumidifier for dorm room
Size: Since you would use in a dorm room, it must be really small and portable due to the unavailability of space. Dorm rooms are mostly about 100/ 150sqft to about 300sqft which the desiccant dehumidifier is great for any size more would probably require a larger humidifier. The dehumidifier device should also be portable enough to be moved around with ease.
Dehumidifier type: As said earlier, the desiccant humidifier is best for dorm rooms, due to their size and ease of operation.
Noise: Imagine trying to study with a constant bussing sound, how discomforting it can be while making you read for a longer time. That is what you get when you use a noisy dehumidifier, which you should avoid at all cost.
Efficiency:Dehumidifiers for dorm rooms should be able to sufficiently cater for the need of the room, i.e., conveniently removing the excess moisture in the dorm room. Though it might be small, it should also perform well, if not what’s the point in investing in it.
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Final Verdict: Best Mini Dehumidifier for Dorm Room
For your dorm room, we would recommend the Pro breeze electric mini dehumidifier due to it being effective than most of the same sizes. This means you can get the same quality of delivery at a smaller size in the pro breeze. It is also portable and easy to use while producing very little quantity of water per day.
The next product we would recommend is the MSJ Mini Dehumidifier because of its quiet operation style, auto turns off and small size.
Also Read: Best dehumidifier for cold basement