Drying Clothes Indoors With a Dehumidifier: Set-Up, Settings and Safety

What happens to the water in a wet load

Wet clothes dry because their water evaporates into the air. If that air is already humid, evaporation slows and the moisture finds the coldest surface instead. GOV.UK lists drying laundry among the everyday activities that put moisture into the air and, if it cannot escape, lead to condensation, and Shelter says drying clothes indoors can make condensation worse. A dehumidifier works on the moisture after it has left the clothes, which is why Which? describes it as removing the moisture that evaporates into the air during drying.

Shelter’s advice is to dry clothes outside or in a tumble dryer if you can, and, if you have to dry them inside, to do so while opening windows or using a dehumidifier. This guide is for that second case.

Setting up the room

Which? advises putting the dehumidifier close to where the clothes hang, setting everything up in a small room, and keeping doors and windows shut so the machine does not have to deal with damp air from outside. It also suggests an extra spin in the washing machine, to remove as much water as possible, and a fan on the opposite side of the room to the dehumidifier to move air across the washing.

Meaco’s ABC manual gives the same advice with more detail. Use as small a room as possible with all doors and windows closed, point the dry air at as large an area of washing as possible, arrange the washing so air can circulate around it, and use a pedestal fan if you have one. Some warmth in the room helps, it says, and it recommends continuous (CO) mode on the highest fan speed.

Placement and clearance

Every maker asks for space around the machine. Meaco asks for more than 20 cm on its ABC model, Pro Breeze for 50 cm behind the air outlet and 20 cm on the other sides, and EcoAir for 40 cm. Which? says most dehumidifiers should be at least 20 cm from walls or furniture, with the Meaco Arete One range an exception because it is designed to stand against a wall.

For laundry there is a second distance: between the machine and the washing. Which? says to place the dehumidifier close to the clothes but not so close that water might drip onto it or the clothes might slip off and fall onto it. EcoAir’s DC12 MK3 manual says never to place wet laundry over the appliance and to dry laundry on a rack at least 40 cm away. Water on an electrical appliance is a hazard, so treat those distances as minimums.

Laundry settings: what the makers describe

Which? says you can use any dehumidifier to dry laundry, that many laundry settings simply raise the power to maximum for a set time and that some are designed to save energy by optimising performance. Without a laundry setting it suggests a target of 30% to 40% and checking the clothes from time to time, so you do not leave the machine running longer than needed.

Makers differ. Meaco’s Arete One laundry mode targets 35% RH on high fan for 6 hours, and the compressor pauses at 32% RH and restarts at 38% RH so the air is not over-dried. The DD8L Pro targets 35% RH on high fan with a wide louvre for 6 hours, with the heater running for 4 hours then resting for 30 minutes. The Pro Breeze 20L Smart runs continuously on a high fan, and the EcoAir DD3 Simple has a Laundry position without stated timings. EcoAir’s DC12 MK3 manual says not to use its laundry mode for long periods or unattended. Meaco’s ABC 10L page lists a laundry mode, but its manual recommends continuous (CO) mode on the highest fan speed instead.

Compressor or desiccant for laundry

Which? says both types are available with a laundry setting, and that desiccant models work better in cold rooms and cost more to run. EcoAir says its desiccant models release slightly warm air, which helps drying, and Meaco’s DD8L Pro includes a heater cycle in its laundry mode. A compressor suits a heated room, where Electrical Safety First says it is generally more energy efficient.

Which? puts a model of 18 L or more in its large band, a sensible choice for a lot of moisture such as laundry dried indoors, but ratings are measured under different conditions and tank size is a separate figure, so check both. Our comparison of compressor and desiccant types goes through the trade-offs in more detail.

Energy use and drying time

Energy use is rated power in kilowatts multiplied by hours. As illustrations, the DD8L Pro drawing 623 W on its highest fan speed for 6 hours would use about 3.7 kWh, and drawing 231 W on its lowest about 1.4 kWh. A 165 W model such as the Meaco Arete One 12L would use about 1 kWh over the same 6 hours, and the Pro Breeze 20L Smart at 330 W about 2 kWh. These are constant-power scenarios from the makers’ printed wattages, not measurements or maximums: actual use varies with the mode, the room conditions and how the humidistat or laundry cycle switches parts on and off, and the figures say nothing about how long a given load takes to dry. Multiply kWh by your own unit rate to get a cost.

Which? measured drying time with and without a dehumidifier, and found it almost halved. On cost, Which? says that even the cheaper-to-run dehumidifiers it recommends would cost more and take longer than the most cost-effective tumble dryers, and that if you own a tumble dryer it is far more likely to be the cheaper option. That comparison is with energy-saving heat pump dryers, and Which? says vented and condenser dryers cost considerably more per load than heat pump ones, so it is not a verdict on every dryer. The result also depends on the size of the load and how long each method takes, and Which? adds that desiccant dehumidifiers are more expensive to run than refrigerant ones. Compare kWh per load, which needs your own timings, not watts.

Dehumidifier, heated airer or tumble dryer

Which? sets out the trade-offs. Tumble dryers are the fastest, from 14 to 40 minutes per kilogram in its tests, and the best choice for big loads, though vented and condenser models can be costly to run and a poorly made condenser can leak humid air. Heated airers draw typically 200 W to 300 W, take typically four to five hours for a small cotton load, are cheap to run with small loads and need ventilation because the moisture does not disappear. A dehumidifier lowers the risk of damp in the room, and has a tank to empty and a fan to hear.

Which?’s verdict on dehumidifiers is that they suit a home with damp or mould issues or poorly ventilated bathrooms, where adding indoor drying would make things worse, while a tumble dryer remains the better choice for large loads. Compare load size, how often you wash, the existing damp, the size of the room, the noise you will tolerate and the space to store the machine.

Safety around water and electricity

Electrical Safety First advises placing a dehumidifier where air can circulate freely, emptying the tank after each use and before moving it, keeping the cable tidy and out of reach of children and pets, keeping air inlets and outlets clear, and using a socket with RCD protection or an RCD plug. It says to avoid running a dehumidifier overnight or while you are away unless the maker says it is safe for unattended use.

Manuals add points of their own. Several say the R290 refrigerant is flammable and ask you to keep the unit away from ignition sources. EcoAir’s DC12 manual says not to use the laundry mode for long periods or unattended and to keep laundry at least 40 cm away. Meaco’s manual says to make sure water from the laundry cannot drip onto the dehumidifier. Read your own manual before relying on any setting overnight.

If you rent and have no outside space

Shelter England says a landlord should not ban you from drying clothes indoors if you have no outside space, and could help with a solution such as a dryer or a dehumidifier. If the moisture from indoor drying is causing condensation or mould, tell the landlord in writing, as Shelter advises, and keep a record. Our guide on dehumidifiers and condensation sets out what to report and what a landlord should do.