When temperatures plummet, moisture & humidity in your house can quickly drop from comfortable to parched. By adding moisture with the quietest dehumidifiers, you can keep yourself healthy by alleviating ailments including chapped skin and allergies or cold/flu-related symptoms.
For most people, the volume of a dehumidifier is often their first consideration. If the unit is to be used in a living area or public space, the last thing anyone wants is obtrusive noise. That is why we have listed the top 4 quietest humidifiers in three categories; 70-pint, 50-pint, and 30-pint models.
The quietest dehumidifiers you can buy today are the 30-pint Dehumidifiers at 46dB, the 50-pint Frigidaire FFAD5033R1 at 47dB, and the 50-pint Friedrich D50BP also at 47dB. As you can see from the tables below, the 12 best dehumidifiers on the market vary from 47dB to 56dB.
Our favorite of the quietest dehumidifiers is the Frigidaire FFAD7033R1. It produces 49dB of sound on a low fan setting at a distance of 10 feet. This 70-pint model is the most powerful offered by the brand and therefore the most versatile. It also has the best reviews and ratings from customers on both eBay and Amazon.
What do humidifiers do and why do people use them?
A humidifier’s job is to add water or moisture to indoor air. This is of most use during the winter months when the air is often very dry.
Compared to a few years ago, modern humidifiers are easier to maintain, much quieter, and have now omitted the mineral dust which often caused respiratory issues for users.
The cold air in winter holds less moisture, and when it’s then heated becomes even drier. This can cause dry skin, sinus problems, dry irritated eyes, and so on. Most experts recommend that indoor humidity levels during the winter months should be between 30 and 40%.
Benefits of humidifiers
- Keep nasal passages moist to relieve cold, allergy, and asthma symptoms
- Relieve dry and painful sinuses and prevent nosebleeds
- Can help to alleviate the intensity of snoring
- Prevent dry and itchy skin
- Limit the amount of static electricity in the air
- Protect wooden furniture and floors from water-related damage
- Reduce heating costs by retaining your home’s heat better using moister air
Do I need a dehumidifier?
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that dehumidifiers are a cure for an extremely humid living space or particularly damp basement. They are a convenient and affordable way to lessen the symptoms until such a time that you can fix the root cause of the issue.
Moisture is a common problem in many homes for a variety of reasons. It’s a bad thing because it encourages mold growth, can damage any wooden parts of your home, can lead to insect infestations, and even cause health problems for people with allergies or respiratory problems.
There are a few things you can do to reduce moisture from getting into your home. You can adjust your guttering, change the grade around your home or seal out moisture by installing a brand-new concrete slab with a vapor barrier.
Dehumidifiers are recommended for those that can’t afford permanent fixes to problematic damp spaces in their home (often basements) that are exposed to mother nature.
Inside your home, the heat and air conditioning should keep the humidity at a tolerable level, but in less extreme weather, it can be challenging. During these times, a good quality dehumidifier is a great way to lower your home’s humidity.
Do dehumidifiers make noise?
Dehumidifiers can be quite noisy. They can produce a horrible humming sound up to about 65dB (sixty-five decibels).
And that’s why we have written this article. This one is for those that want the benefits of a dehumidifier but don’t want the annoying sound.
Best quiet dehumidifier – Frigidaire FFAD7033R1
In our opinion, the Frigidaire FFAD7033R1 is the best quiet dehumidifier you can buy today.
Frigidaire 70-Pint Dehumidifier with Effortless Humidity Control, White
It’s extremely effective at drying air, maintains a perfect level of humidity, and it’s one of the quietest dehumidifiers you can buy. It has an excellent interface (with big buttons), a sturdy handle, and smooth-rolling wheels.
Compared with the competition, the Frigidaire FFAD7033R1 is very simple to set up. It’s equipped with a power button, a fan-speed button (with three speeds), buttons to raise or lower the humidity level, and a button that tells the machine that you’ve cleaned the air filter. And If the bucket is at its capacity or it is not inserted correctly, a light on the unit blinks so there can be no mishaps.
The noise levels quoted in this article are based on the unit being used on a low fan setting and taken 10 feet away from the unit. When the unit is running with the highest fan setting, the noise level rises to 51dB. As well as being one of the quietest dehumidifiers on the market, the machine does not make any obtrusive sounds. The same cannot be said about many other dehumidifiers that are so noisy it can be difficult to have a conversation when standing next to the machine.
Draining the machine is a breeze thanks to its automated drainage system. This is a much better option than manually emptying the reservoir as a typical room can make around 10 pints of moisture each day. If you don’t have access to a drain, the bucket is easy to take out, empty down the sink and then replace.
A great feature of the Fridgaire is its portability. It’s fitted with a sturdy and durable handle and strong wheels for when you need to move it from room to room.
Regarding its appearance, the Frigidaire looks pretty modern when compared to its rivals. If you only have a dehumidifier for your basement, then it doesn’t matter what it looks like but if you intend to use it in a living area or bathroom, the cool appearance may be more important to you.
Consumer Reports tested the unit and gave it the following ratings:
- Water removal and energy efficiency – Excellent
- Noise – Very good
- Humidity reading – Good
- Cool-room performance – Fair
At the time of writing, the FFAD7033R1 is one of the pricier 70-pint dehumidifiers but you get what you pay for with this machine. It’s one of the quietest dehumidifiers you can buy and has a simple, easy-to-use interface. The company offers an excellent warranty and premium support.
A final note is that the 70-pint version is good for rooms/basements up to 1000 square feet. If your area is smaller, you may only need the 50-pint model which is good for up to 800 square feet or the 30-pint model which is fine if your room is up to 400 square feet in size.
Runner-up – Keystone KSTAD70B
Keystone KSTAD70B 70 Pt. Dehumidifier
- Room dehumidifier removes up to 70 pints of moisture from the air per day
- Designed to dehumidify a room up to 4500 square feet
- Electronic controls with LED Display and 24-hour timer
- Auto-restart saves your settings during a power outage
- Room dehumidifier removes up to 70 pints of moisture from the air per day
- Designed to dehumidify a room up to 4500 square feet
- Electronic controls with LED Display and 24-hour timer
- Auto-restart saves your settings during a power outage
- Settings include Normal, Turbo and Auto-Defrost
Just 1dB quieter than the Fridgairre is the very capable Keystone KSTAD70B. Rated by many tech websites as the best humidifier on the market, this unit does the job with very little maintenance and offers continuous drainage.
When the humidity gets too much, the Keystone combines power with energy efficiency to remove moisture from your home. It can remove up to 70 pints of moisture within 24 hours. The manufacturer claims that the unit can cope with areas up to an incredible 3,800 square feet! This makes the Keystone a great choice if you need a dehumidifier for your whole house. It’s also suitable in mancaves, utility areas, basements, or garages.
As we mentioned, the Keystone has continual water drainage, so there are no buckets to empty. You can just fix any garden hose to the drain spout and put the other end in a nearby drain or sink and forget about it.
This unit has a two-speed fan. On the lowest setting, the machine is super-quiet at just 48 dB (at a distance of 10 feet). But note that it will take longer to reduce humidity on the lower setting. The higher fan setting is a little noisier at 50dB (at 10 feet). This is extremely low compared to its rivals and comparable to the sound of moderate rainfall.
For safety, the Keystone KSTAD70B has a built-in settings memory. If you should lose power, the unit reverts to its previous setting before the power went out. It comes with automatically regulated humidity levels and an auto-restart function if the power was lost and comes back on. It also features a Clean Filter warning so you are assured of getting the best air all of the time.
The Keystone is also pretty efficient. We love that it automatically shuts off when the humidity in the area/room reaches the required setting. It’s also a great choice if you’re worried about your machine icing up as it comes with an auto-defrost capability. This enables you to use it in your workshop or basement without any worry of ice building up on the machine.
The digital display is neat and tidy and allows you to select the desired humidity level in increments of five percent. There is also a handy 24-hour timer for when you are particularly busy.
On to the machine’s bad points. There’s only one and that is the size of the water-collection reservoir. It unfortunately only holds 10 pints of water, so needs to be emptied frequently.
Overall, The Keystone KSTAD70B dehumidifier is a great choice for those that need a powerful humidifier that doesn’t make the noise of a small aircraft.
On top of great quiet performance, the Keystone looks pretty good, needs very little monitoring, and comes with solid one-year parts and labor warranty & a five-year warranty that covers the (expensive to replace) sealed system.
The Keystone also comes in a 50-pint version if you’re home isn’t so big or you are on a tighter budget.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also like our post about the quietest robot vacuums you can buy today from our tech section.
