Best Dehumidifier for a Wet or Moldy Basement
For a wet basement under 2,000 square feet, I’d buy the Midea Cube 50-pint and run its included hose to a floor drain. ENERGY STAR sizes that basement at 30 to 50 pints a day; Midea rates the Cube at 50, and ENERGY STAR’s listing gives 49.67.
Stop water coming in through the walls or floor before buying anything; seepage keeps adding water no matter what the unit pulls out. Then, for a wet basement under 2,000 square feet, or a very damp one of any size, that stays at 41°F or warmer, buy the Midea Cube 50-pint if there’s a floor drain and the Cube with a built-in pump if there isn’t. A wet basement over 2,000 square feet needs at least 50 pints a day, which the Cube only just reaches on its label, so if it has a drain and holds 50°F or warmer I’d buy the AprilAire E100 instead; without those, no unit here is sized for it and the Cube is a stopgap. A wet or very damp basement that drops below 41°F has no exact match here either.
| Best for | Pints a day, DOE rating | Lowest rated temperature | Drainage | Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midea Cube 50-pint | Wet under 2,000 sq ft or very damp any size; floor drain; 41°F and up | 49.67 at 65°F | 41°F | Hose included, 4.2-gallon tank | Midea Cube on Amazon, hose in the box |
| Midea Cube 50-pint with pump | Same, with no floor drain | 49.67 at 65°F | 41°F | Built-in pump, 16-ft tube included | Midea Cube with pump on Amazon |
| AprilAire E100 | Wet, over 2,000 sq ft, drain, 50°F and up | 85 at 73°F (whole-home test) | 50°F | Drain port, no hose with the base model | E100 at Sylvane, $1,873.00 |
Which row of ENERGY STAR’s table you’re in
ENERGY STAR sorts a basement by what you can see. Very damp: it smells damp all the time and damp spots show on the walls or floor, at 75 to 90 percent relative humidity. Wet: the walls or floor sweat, or water seeps in, at 90 to 100 percent. Under 2,000 square feet, very damp calls for 25 to 40 pints a day and wet for 30 to 50; over 2,000, at least 40 and at least 50.
Fixing the seepage can drop a basement from the wet row to very damp, but walls that still sweat keep it wet. Size for what the basement looks like after the water is under control. At its rated 65°F a 50-pint unit covers both rows under 2,000 square feet, and a cooler basement eats into that margin, so I give one pick for both and skip the 35-pint units. Standing water after a storm isn’t on the table at all. It’s a drainage job for a sump pump, gutters that empty away from the foundation, or regrading, and the sizing guide covers why it comes before any dehumidifier.
If there’s already mold
EPA’s mold guide says to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours and to keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50. A dehumidifier brings the air down to that range and keeps it there once the water is under control; mold already growing on drywall, wood or stored boxes still has to be cleaned or thrown out. EPA puts the do-it-yourself limit at about 10 square feet of mold; past that, or after heavy water damage, it points to its remediation guidance and a contractor with mold cleanup experience.
Midea Cube 50-pint (MAD50S1QWT-A)
Midea rates the Cube at 50 pints a day, and ENERGY STAR’s listing of the DOE test at 65°F gives 49.67. Under 2,000 square feet that sits at the top of the wet range and above the very damp range; over 2,000 it clears the very damp floor of 40, but at the wet floor of 50 Midea’s label just meets it and ENERGY STAR’s 49.67 falls a third of a pint short. For a large wet basement I count it as undersized. Running near its rating it pulls a little over 6 gallons a day into a 4.2-gallon tank, so in a wet basement it has to drain continuously. Midea puts the hose in the box; over a floor drain the water leaves by gravity.
The Cube is rated to 41°F and shouldn’t run colder. The two units rated lower, in the cold-basement guide, are rated about 35 pints a day at 65°F, low in the wet range before the cold cuts them further, and they suit a basement that only smells musty some of the time. A wet or very damp basement below 41°F has no exact match among the units I cover; reducing the water coming in is the step that helps.
Midea Cube 50-pint with pump (MAD50PS1QWT)
With no floor drain, the alternative to this model is emptying a 4.2-gallon tank by hand more than once a day, so I’d pay for the built-in pump. It comes with a 16-foot drain tube. Midea’s US page doesn’t give the lift height; the sheet for this model’s Canadian twin gives a 16.4-foot lift. ENERGY STAR lists it at the same 49.67 pints as the plain Cube. In a wet basement over 2,000 square feet with no drain it’s a stopgap, undersized for the reason above; the pump guide compares it with Frigidaire’s pump model.
AprilAire E100
ENERGY STAR lists the E100 at 85 pints a day under the whole-home test, run at 73°F, and AprilAire sizes it for up to 5,500 square feet. It dehumidifies only when the incoming air is 50°F or warmer, and it has no tank, so it needs a drain; the base model doesn’t include a hose. Sylvane recommends professional installation, and AprilAire’s spec sheet gives a five-year warranty. I’d also reach for it in a smaller basement where a 50-pint unit has run nonstop for weeks without getting to 50 percent, once the water coming in is ruled out, as long as the same drain and 50°F conditions hold. The whole-house vs portable guide compares it with the Santa Fe Classic.
Do I still need a dehumidifier after waterproofing the basement?
ENERGY STAR’s wet row includes walls that sweat, which can go on after seepage stops, and its very damp row covers a basement that smells damp all the time. Read a hygrometer for a few days, after rain as well as in dry weather, before deciding.
What humidity should a wet basement be kept at?
EPA’s mold guide says below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50. I’d set the humidistat at 50 to start; if the unit runs around the clock for weeks and never gets there, either more water is coming in or the basement needs more capacity.
How much water will a dehumidifier pull from a wet basement?
At its rating, a 50-pint unit removes about 6 gallons a day, more than the Midea Cube’s 4.2-gallon tank holds, so plan on a hose or a pump from the first day. A basement colder than 65°F gets less than the rating.
Which one to buy
The Midea Cube covers a wet basement under 2,000 square feet, or a very damp one of any size, that stays at 41°F or warmer, in the pump version if there’s no drain. The E100 is worth its price only for a wet basement over 2,000 square feet, or one a 50-pint unit has already lost, that has a drain and holds 50°F. A large wet basement without a drain or below 50°F, or any wet basement below 41°F, has no unit here sized for it.
Capacity figures are the DOE ratings in ENERGY STAR’s certified product data; sizing ranges are from ENERGY STAR’s dehumidifier page and humidity guidance from EPA’s mold guide, both read in November 2026. Other specifications are from Midea and AprilAire. This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, Dehumidifier Advisor may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for details.