2 dehumidifiers to avoid + 3 we recommend

You could easily buy a poor performing dehumidifier if you choose one based on manufacturer claims. We’ve found the amount of moisture dehumidifiers can collect is, on average, only about 30% of the claimed maximum water extraction rate.

That’s because manufacturers test their dehumidifiers at 30°C and 80% relative humidity – conditions very different to a typical New Zealand home.

At Consumer NZ, we test all dehumidifiers at a range of realistic temperatures and humidity levels.

The worst dehumidifiers in our test

Breville LAD208WHT

Average price: $519
Overall score: 59

The Breville LAD208WHT is a small refrigerant dehumidifier. It’s the worst we’ve tested of any size. Yet it costs more than several better-performing models – and the best small dehumidifier we’ve tested is only $31 more.

Breville claims that the LAD208WHT can extract 10L of moisture a day. But we found that it could only extract 1.7L of moisture in 24 hours – on average across a range of temperatures and humidity levels.

And this model scored just 38% in our low temperature performance test, extracting a mere 1.4L in 24 hours at 8°C and 90% relative humidity (RH).

Nouveau NHDH120

Average price: $225
Overall score: 61

The Nouveau NHDH120 is the cheapest dehumidifier we’ve tested – but it’s no bargain!

As with the Breville above, Nouveau claims that the NHDH120 can extract 10L of moisture a day. However, it was only able to collect 2.3L of moisture in 24 hours on average in our tests.

And the NHDH120 extracted just 1.7L in 24 hours at 8°C and 90% RH, giving it a score of only 42% for our low temperature performance test.

Check out our test results below to compare all the dehumidifiers we recommend.