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What size dehumidifier do you need for drying clothes?

Sized in US pints per day, with the conversion from the liter figures the UK guides quote.

By Scooter M.Last reviewed September 2, 2026How we pick

We have not tested these products and we do not pretend to have. Here is what we did instead. Links to Amazon earn us a commission at no extra cost to you - disclosure.

A home dehumidifier in a bright room
What size dehumidifier do you need for drying clothes? - ranked
#RackBest forOpen footprintPrice
1
VEAGASO Dehumidifier, 28 Pints, 2000 Sq Ft
VEAGASO Dehumidifier, 28 Pints, 2000 Sq FtTop pick28 pints a day on a published 158 W draw - the best pints-per-watt figure here, and quiet enough at 38 dB to run in a bedroom.
Drying a load overnight10.6"D x 6.7"W x 15.9"H
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2
Waykar 34 Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier, 2000 Sq Ft
Waykar 34 Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier, 2000 Sq Ft34 pints a day and 62 cfm of airflow on a published 230 W - more capacity and much more air movement than the VEAGASO, for more watts.
A whole damp apartment9"D x 12.2"W x 20.9"H
Check price#ad
3
BEDRED Dehumidifier, 95 oz Tank, 1000 Sq Ft
BEDRED Dehumidifier, 95 oz Tank, 1000 Sq FtA thermoelectric unit at a published 85 W. Quieter and cheaper to run than a compressor, and it pulls a fraction of the water.
A small closed room6.7"D x 8.7"W x 14.6"H
Check price#ad

Dehumidifier sizing is quoted in pints per day in the US and liters per day nearly everywhere else, which is why the best written guidance on this question is in units US buyers cannot shop with. Here it is in pints, with the conversion.

The sizing table

Dehumidifier capacity by room and condition, for drying laundry
SpaceSlightly dampModerately dampVery damp
One room, up to 500 sq ft20 pints20-25 pints25-30 pints
Studio or 1-bed, up to 1,000 sq ft20-25 pints25-30 pints30-35 pints
2-bed apartment, up to 1,500 sq ft25-30 pints30-35 pints35-45 pints
Whole home, 2,000 sq ft and up30-35 pints35-45 pints45-50+ pints

For laundry specifically, size to the room the rack is in rather than to your whole home, because you close the door and run it in that room. That is why a 28 pint unit is enough for most apartment drying even though the apartment as a whole would suggest a larger one.

The conversion from liters

Liters per day to US pints per day
Liters/day (UK and EU rating)US pints/dayRoughly equivalent US model
10 L21 pints20-pint
12 L25 pints25-pint
16 L34 pints30-35 pint
20 L42 pints40-45 pint
25 L53 pints50-pint

How to read a pint rating honestly

This is the part that matters. A dehumidifier's headline pint figure is measured under test conditions - one unit here publishes its 34 pint rating at 95 F and 90 percent relative humidity, and states so. Your apartment is not at 95 F and 90 percent.

In a normal heated room at moderate humidity, expect meaningfully less than the headline figure. That is not a manufacturer being dishonest; it is a standard test condition, applied consistently, which makes the numbers comparable between units even though none of them describes your room.

How much you actually need to remove

The other three specifications

  1. Wattage - sets the running cost. 158 W and 230 W among the units we compared, which is 23 and 34 cents for an eight-hour session.
  2. Airflow in cfm - a unit moving more air also does part of a fan's job. 35 cfm against 62 cfm is a real difference here.
  3. Noise in dB - 38 dB is bedroom-quiet, 45 dB is noticeable but tolerable overnight.
  4. Drainage - a continuous hose option means you never come back to a full tank and a stalled dry.

The picks by size

VEAGASO Dehumidifier, 28 Pints, 2000 Sq Ft

Top pick · Drying a load overnight

VEAGASO Dehumidifier, 28 Pints, 2000 Sq Ft

28 pints a day on a published 158 W draw - the best pints-per-watt figure here, and quiet enough at 38 dB to run in a bedroom.

What the manufacturer publishes

Open
10.6"D x 6.7"W x 15.9"H
Folded
Not applicable
Drying line
Not applicable
Load capacity
28 pints per day
Material
Compressor dehumidifier
Rated wattage
158 W

Costs 2.9¢ an hour to run - 14.5¢ for a 5-hour session, at 18.34¢/kWh (US residential average, June 2026).

Figures from Manufacturer listing on Amazon, retrieved 2026-09-02.

A dehumidifier does not blow air at your laundry; it removes the water your laundry has just put into the room. That is why it dries a closed room full of washing and a fan does not.

158 W is the number to compare against a heated rack. Running it for eight hours costs about 23 cents at the current US average rate - roughly what a 270 W heated rack costs for five.

38 dB is quiet enough to sleep through, which matters because the natural way to use one is overnight in a closed room with the rack.

This is a compressor unit, not a thermoelectric one, which is why it can pull 28 pints where the small desktop units manage a fraction of that.

Good

  • 158 W published - the running cost is calculable
  • 28 pints per day
  • 38 dB quiet mode
  • 16.5 lb, portable between rooms

Not so good

  • 35.3 cfm airflow is modest, so it works best in a closed room
  • Compressor units lose capacity in a cold room
  • Tank needs emptying or a hose run

Skip this if your drying room is under about 60 F. Compressor dehumidifiers slow down badly in the cold - that is a physics limit, not a brand problem.

Waykar 34 Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier, 2000 Sq Ft

Pick 2 · A whole damp apartment

Waykar 34 Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier, 2000 Sq Ft

34 pints a day and 62 cfm of airflow on a published 230 W - more capacity and much more air movement than the VEAGASO, for more watts.

What the manufacturer publishes

Open
9"D x 12.2"W x 20.9"H
Folded
Not applicable
Drying line
Not applicable
Load capacity
34 pints per day (at 95 F, 90% RH)
Material
Compressor dehumidifier, Energy Star certified
Rated wattage
230 W

Costs 4.2¢ an hour to run - 21.1¢ for a 5-hour session, at 18.34¢/kWh (US residential average, June 2026).

Figures from Manufacturer listing on Amazon, retrieved 2026-09-02.

62 cfm against the VEAGASO's 35.3. That airflow is not incidental - a dehumidifier that moves more air through itself also moves more air past your laundry, so it does double duty.

230 W for eight hours is about 34 cents at the current US average rate. More than the VEAGASO, and still less than most heated racks over the same period.

The 34 pint rating is quoted at 95 F and 90% relative humidity, which is the industry test condition and not your apartment. Every dehumidifier's headline pint figure is quoted this way; expect less in a real room.

The 90 degree manual airflow swing lets you aim the outlet at the rack, which turns it into a dehumidifier and a directional fan at once.

Good

  • 230 W published, Energy Star certified
  • 62 cfm - nearly double the VEAGASO's airflow
  • Adjustable 90 degree airflow direction
  • Continuous drain option

Not so good

  • 230 W, so it costs more per hour than the smaller unit
  • 28.7 lb
  • Headline pint rating is a test-condition figure, not a room figure

Skip this if you only need to dry one rack in one small room. The lower-wattage unit does that job for fewer cents.

BEDRED Dehumidifier, 95 oz Tank, 1000 Sq Ft

Pick 3 · A small closed room

BEDRED Dehumidifier, 95 oz Tank, 1000 Sq Ft

A thermoelectric unit at a published 85 W. Quieter and cheaper to run than a compressor, and it pulls a fraction of the water.

What the manufacturer publishes

Open
6.7"D x 8.7"W x 14.6"H
Folded
Not applicable
Drying line
Not applicable
Load capacity
95 oz tank
Material
Thermoelectric (Peltier) dehumidifier
Rated wattage
85 W

Costs 1.6¢ an hour to run - 7.8¢ for a 5-hour session, at 18.34¢/kWh (US residential average, June 2026).

Figures from Manufacturer listing on Amazon, retrieved 2026-09-02.

Thermoelectric is a genuinely different technology, not a smaller compressor. It has no moving compressor, so it is near-silent, and it extracts far less water per hour.

The listing publishes a tank size, not a pints-per-day extraction rate. Those are not the same number and cannot be compared with the compressor units above.

85 W is real and low. For a small closed bathroom with one rack in it, this is enough. For a bedroom full of wet laundry it is not.

Good

  • 85 W published - the cheapest to run here
  • Near-silent, no compressor
  • Small enough to sit on a shelf
  • Auto shut-off when full

Not so good

  • Publishes a tank size, not an extraction rate
  • Thermoelectric units extract far less water than compressors
  • Loses effectiveness in a cold room even faster than a compressor

Skip this if you are drying a full load in a bedroom. Buy a compressor unit and accept the noise - this is a bathroom-sized device.

Common questions

What size dehumidifier do I need to dry clothes?

For one room and one load, 20 to 30 pints per day is plenty. Size to the room the rack is in, not to your whole home, because you close the door and run it in that room.

How many pints is 10 liters of dehumidifier capacity?

About 21 US pints. The conversion is liters times 2.113, which is worth knowing because much of the best guidance on this quotes liters.

Is a bigger dehumidifier better for drying clothes?

Not necessarily. A laundry load releases 2 to 5 pints, which even a 20-pint unit handles. Buy bigger for a damp home, not for a big wash.

Why does my dehumidifier collect less water than its rating?

Because the rating is measured at a standard test condition - one unit publishes its figure at 95 F and 90 percent humidity. Real rooms are cooler and drier, so real extraction is lower. The ratings are for comparing units, not for predicting your tank.

Sources

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