The Takeaway:

1. Our Pick: Friedrich Dehumidifier

2. Runner-Up: Soleus Air TDA70EE

3. Also Great: Ideal-Air CG2 Dehumidifier

Aside from your basement and/or the crawl space under your house, your garage is the place most likely to have a moisture problem. In most parts of the country, your home is more likely to have a garage than a basement, so it’s a natural question: What’s the best dehumidifier for your garage? The answer is: it depends.

In our view, the overall best is the Friedrich D70BP 70 Pint Dehumidifier. We’ll explain why in just a bit, but we also want to go over a few other attractive options so you get a complete picture. Our goal here is to make sure you’ve got all the information you need to make an informed purchasing decision.

Our Pick: Friedrich Dehumidifier

The Friedrich Dehumidifier has everything the Frigidaire has, plus the built-in drain pump.

It’s also Energy Star compliant, has a readout that displays both current temperature and humidity, a 24-hour timer for timed operation, and a removable bucket if, for whatever reason, you didn’t want to use the built-in pump.

It’s also rated for operation in temperatures as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit, making it suitable for cooler climates.

A simply magnificent machine and well worth the asking price.

Runner-Up: Soleus Air TDA70EE Dehumidifier

The Soleus Air TDA70EE Dehumidifier became something of our benchmark, with its 70 pint per day capacity, which is more than enough for almost every garage, no matter what part of the country you live in.

An image of Soleus Air TDA70EE
Soleus Air TDA70EE

Even people with extra-large, multi-bay garages living in humid areas shouldn’t need much more than that. It features an adjustable humidistat, which allows you to set your desired level of humidity and run the machine to that threshold, at which time it automatically shuts off.

It’s also very quiet, which is a big plus if you’re a tinkerer and use your garage day to day. Casters are important too, because where garage dehumidifiers are concerned, you want the ability to move it around freely. Overhead models won’t work for everyone, because some people have garage doors that slide up toward the ceiling when they open, and you may not have the space for an overhead unit.

This unit does have a garden hose connector for drainage, and an automatic shut-off sensor when the bucket gets full. Even so, there’s no pump with this unit, and it only comes with a one-year warranty, which are its two downsides. Even so, it’s well priced, and neither of those are necessarily deal breakers.

Also Great: Ideal-Air CG2 Dehumidifier

The Ideal-Air CG2 170 Pint Dehumidifier is the largest, and most expensive model we’ll be reviewing here. It’s not our top pick because it’s too much dehumidifier for most people.

Remember, a capacity of about 70 pints per day should be fine for most garages, but we wanted to include a larger, more robust model for the subset of people who have large, multi-bay spaces. If that describes you, then this model will handle anything you can throw at it.

An image of Ideal-Air CG2 170 Pint
Ideal-Air CG2 Dehumidifier

Like the Soleus Air 70 Pint Dehumidifier, it’s got handles and wheels, making it easy to move from one area of the garage to another, features an adjustable humidistat and an LCD readout, allowing you to tell at a glance what the humidity of your garage is.

The only downsides to the unit are the facts that it’s probably too large for a majority of customers (at least for a garage setting), and that the housing is plastic. It’s durable, heavy duty plastic, yes, but still plastic. It’s also not rated for use in cold climates, so this isn’t the best dehumidifier for a cold garage.

Note: This model has been upgraded to the new Ideal Air Pro Series 180-Pint Dehumidifier .

Honorable Mention: Frigidaire FAD704DWD

An image of Frigidaire FAD704DWD
Frigidaire FAD704DWD

Well-liked by thousands of satisfied customers and well-reviewed, the Frigidaire FAD704DWD Dehumidifier is a masterful piece of engineering.

With an included washable filter, a 70-pint capacity and backed by the Frigidaire name, it’s easy to see why this unit is so popular. Add in the relatively modest pricing and flexible financing options, and this one’s hard to beat.

It’s only real downside is that you can’t use it with an extension cord, making it somewhat less flexible than it could be, and it’s lack of an onboard drain pump, which may be a deal breaker for some.

What Is The Best Dehumidifier For Garage?

In terms of evaluating products to arrive at the “best” dehumidifier for a garage, we looked at a number of factors. The big ones, of course, were capacity (proper sizing) and maneuverability, but there are other important features as well. In our view, the Friedrich 70 Pint Dehumidifier hits all the marks, and then some, making it ideally suited for garage use. You won’t be disappointed in this one!

References & Resources

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