Best Dehumidifier for an Apartment
Most apartments have no floor drain, so the water ends up in a bucket you carry to the sink or in a hose a pump pushes there.
For a moderately damp apartment, buy the Frigidaire 35-pint. It has the lowest price here on Amazon, it covers 20 to 30 pints a day of need on ENERGY STAR’s table with room to spare, and its app tells you when the 1.7-gallon bucket is full. If the apartment is very damp or wet, sits on the ground floor, or you would rather not carry water at all, buy the Midea Cube 50-pint with pump: it ships with a 16-foot drain tube that can run to a sink or tub. In a studio where the unit runs on low near the bed, the Perfect Aire 22-pint has the lowest published low-fan figure here, 46.5 dB in its maker’s sheet.
The apartment smells musty, closets grow mildew, or a hygrometer reads over 60 percent. EPA’s mold guidance says to keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50.
You have a free outlet and a floor spot at least 16 inches wide and 15 deep, with a few inches more behind the Midea Cube.
Water is coming in through a wall, window or ceiling. A dehumidifier dries the air; it won’t fix a leak, and in a rental that repair belongs to whoever maintains the building.
Only the bedroom of a larger apartment is damp; the bedroom guide covers smaller units for one room.
| Frigidaire 35-Pint (FHDD3534Y1) | Midea Cube 50-Pint with Pump (MAD50PS1QWT) | Perfect Aire 22-Pint (3PFD22) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Most apartments | No carrying water | Studios |
| Advisor Score | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.0 |
| Water removal | 35.9 pints a day | 49.7 pints a day | 22.3 pints a day |
| Rated coverage | 3,000 sq ft | 4,500 sq ft | 1,500 sq ft |
| Where the water goes | 1.7-gallon bucket, or a hose you supply | Pump through the included 16-ft tube, or a 4.2-gallon bucket | 6.3-pint bucket, or a hose you supply |
| Pump lift | No pump | 16.4 ft | No pump |
| Noise | Not published | 48.0 dB low, 49.5 high (front) | 46.5 dB low, 52 high |
| App and voice control | Wi-Fi app, Alexa, Google Home | Wi-Fi app, Alexa, Google | None |
| Size (W x H x D) | 14.7 x 19.8 x 11.1 in | 14.8 x 15.0 x 14.5 in | 15.5 x 19.75 x 10.25 in |
| Lowest rated operating temperature | 41°F | 41°F | 41°F |
| Warranty | 1 year, parts and labor | 1 year | 1-year full replacement |
| Buy | Frigidaire on Amazon, bucket alerts by app Frigidaire at Abt, $229.00 | Midea Cube with pump on Amazon, 16-ft tube | Perfect Aire at Sylvane, $219.00 |
Size it by how damp the apartment is
ENERGY STAR’s table calls for 20 to 30 pints a day in a slightly to moderately damp space under 2,000 square feet, 25 to 40 if it is very damp, and 30 to 50 if it is wet. An apartment under 2,000 square feet sits in that first column, so dampness picks the size. A musty smell that comes and goes points to the Frigidaire; damp patches on walls, sweating windows every morning, or a ground-floor unit against cold soil point to the Midea Cube: the Frigidaire’s 35.9 pints sit near the 40-pint top of the very damp range, and ENERGY STAR’s advice between sizes is to go bigger. The makers’ coverage figures (3,000 and 4,500 square feet) are generous next to that table, so I size by pints.
Frigidaire 35-Pint (FHDD3534Y1)
ENERGY STAR measured it at 35.9 pints a day, comfortably above the 30-pint top of the moderately damp range. It rolls on casters and restarts on its own after a power cut. The Frigidaire app shows humidity and bucket status on your phone, and the unit also works with Alexa and Google Home.
The bucket holds 1.7 gallons, or 13.6 pints. A moderately damp apartment gives up far less than the full rating, but on a day it runs flat out, that bucket fills about two and a half times. There is a drain port for a garden hose, though in an apartment that only helps if a floor drain sits lower than the unit’s drain port and within reach of the hose.
Frigidaire publishes no decibel figure, so if the unit will run near where you sleep, start it on a low fan; the rest of its specs are in my Frigidaire review.
Midea Cube 50-Pint with Pump (MAD50PS1QWT)
The built-in pump pushes water through the 16-foot drain tube in the box, up and over the edge of a kitchen sink, a tub or a laundry basin. Midea’s sheet for the Canadian version lists a lift of 16.4 feet; the US page doesn’t give one. Set the tube where it can’t slip out, since a loose end empties onto the floor.
ENERGY STAR measured 49.7 pints a day, close to the top of the wet range. Switched to bucket mode, it holds 4.2 gallons, about two-thirds of a day at full output. The sheet gives 48.0 dB on low and 49.5 on high from the front, and 54.5 from the back on high, so face the back toward a wall and away from where you sit.
Owner ratings are its weak point: 3.4 out of 5 from 219 reviews on Amazon in November 2026, against 4.2 for the Frigidaire. If that worries you, Frigidaire’s own pump model is the alternative I compare in the pump guide.
Perfect Aire 22-Pint (3PFD22)
Perfect Aire’s spec sheet gives 46.5 dB on low, the lowest published low-fan figure on this page, and 52 on high, above the Midea’s 49.5 front reading though below its 54.5 from the back; Perfect Aire doesn’t say where or how far away it measured, so run it on low at night. The flat panel is 10.25 inches deep. ENERGY STAR measured 22.3 pints a day, inside the 20 to 30 pint range for a slightly to moderately damp space.
Its 6.3-pint bucket is under half the Frigidaire’s; at full output it would fill about three and a half times a day, and there is no app to say it is full, though it shuts itself off. For a studio that is only somewhat damp, the trips are fewer. I compare it with two other small units in the bedroom guide.
Running cost
ENERGY STAR’s yearly estimates are 379 kWh for the Frigidaire, 515 for the Midea Cube with pump and 278 for the Perfect Aire. At 18.16 cents per kWh, the US residential average for August 2026 (EIA, preliminary), that is about $69, $94 and $50 a year. If the landlord pays the electricity, check the lease before running one around the clock.
Where the Advisor Scores split
The Midea Cube with pump scores 4.3: 5 for coverage and 5 for drainage (a hose in the box and a bucket over 3 gallons), 4 for its 41°F rating and 3 for a one-year warranty. The Frigidaire scores 3.5: 4 for its 41°F rating, 4 for coverage, 3 for drainage, since its hose is sold separately, and 3 for warranty. The Perfect Aire scores 3.0, losing two points on coverage for its 1,500-square-foot rating and otherwise matching the Frigidaire; both buckets fall under the rubric’s 3-gallon mark, so the size gap between them doesn’t change the drainage score. The coverage marks come from the makers’ figures, which is why I size by pints alongside the score. I start most apartments on the Frigidaire anyway, for its price and its bucket alerts, which the score doesn’t count.
Where should a dehumidifier go in an apartment?
Put it in the dampest room with interior doors open, so one unit draws air from the rest of the apartment. Keep the intake clear of curtains and furniture, and give the Midea Cube’s back some space from the wall, since that side is the loud one.
Can I drain a dehumidifier into the kitchen sink?
With a pump, yes: the Midea Cube’s tube can run up into a sink or tub. Without a pump, a hose only works if the sink or drain sits lower than the unit’s drain port, which on a floor-standing unit is rarely true, so you empty the bucket.
Final verdict
The deciding question is how many trips to the sink you will put up with. In a moderately damp apartment the Frigidaire’s 1.7-gallon bucket fills fewer than the two and a half times a day it would at full output, and its app tells you when; that is my default. If you want no trips at all, the Midea Cube’s pump and 16-foot tube are worth the extra. The Perfect Aire belongs in a studio where the low-fan noise figure matters more than bucket size.
Specifications come from Frigidaire’s, Midea’s and Perfect Aire’s product pages and spec sheets, checked against Amazon, Abt and Sylvane listings in November 2026. Capacity and yearly energy come from ENERGY STAR’s certified product data; the electricity price is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (August 2026, preliminary); owner ratings are from Amazon. 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.