5 ways to disguise a dehumidifier to keep your home damp (and eyesore) free

If you’re looking for ways to hide a dehumidifier in your house, you've come to the right place. While a handy piece of kit, they're not always the most aesthetically pleasing appliances. Fortunately, we have become experts at blending them into our homes discreetly.

Over the years, the Ideal Home team has tested some of the best dehumidifiers on the market, and it’s fair to say that the benefits of this home appliance are unmatched. They’re essential for keeping condensation at bay and banishing damp from your bedroom, and they can even help you dry your washing. 

Thankfully, you don’t have to sacrifice this appliance’s dehumidifying properties to keep the aesthetics of your home intact. We've rounded up our top tips to help you blend a dehumidifier seamlessly into your home’s interior design.

5 ways to disguise a dehumidifier 

Hiding a dehumidifier isn't as easy as hiding a vacuum cleaner in your home. ‘The main issue with wanting to hide a dehumidifier is that dehumidifiers realistically need to be placed away from any walls and furniture, in the centre of a space in order to work effectively,’ explains Nicholas Auckland from Trade Radiators.

‘It's also vital that you don't cover the vents of a dehumidifier, as this could impact how effective it works, too.’

We've kept this in mind with all our tips below so you can be reassured that your efforts to hide your dehumidifier won't hinder its performance.

Nicholas Auckland

Nicholas Auckland is a heating and energy expert with over 10 years of experience in the industry, as well as the Managing Director of Trade Radiators. Nicholas is dedicated to finding the best heating solutions for every need, as well as optimising energy usage, reducing costs and helping others live with lower-cost energy bills.

1. Consider the colour

When trying to hide a dehumidifier, the colour of this appliance (and your house) should definitely be considered. But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. Instead, there are two options you can choose from.

Of course, you could lean into the primarily-white appliance and try to blend the white colour seamlessly with your white walls and cream carpets. But it’s fair to say that white appliances can sometimes cheapen a room. That’s why we’d always suggest choosing something sleek and black when buying a dehumidifier. 

In our opinion, black appliances always look more elegant than white appliances - and this Russell Hobbs Fresh Air Mini 600ml Compact Dehumidifier from Dunelm is the perfect example of that. 

With the right styling and against the right backdrop (feature wall, anyone?), these black dehumidifiers can look as though they’re meant to be part of the room and disappear into the walls behind them.

2. Think about placement

If you want to avoid these common dehumidifier mistakes, placing your dehumidifier somewhere it can work to the best of its ability is important. Unfortunately, that means that you can’t just shove it in a cupboard. You can still switch up the placement, though.

James Bryant from Cut My, explains, ‘Due to a dehumidifier's size and shape, it can be tricky to find solutions to hide them from sight but still allow them the airflow they require to work efficiently.’

‘Place them in rooms or areas of the house where they are less of an eyesore, like kitchens or an upstairs hallway. If you have a smaller unit, you could place a slightly larger coffee table over it. This makes use of the space it takes up and still allows a good amount of airflow to help with moisture issues. Plus, it’s still easy to empty the water tank when full.’

3. Push up against a wall

In most cases, you have to keep a dehumidifier at least 30-40cm away from a wall for it to work efficiently. But in a world where dehumidifiers are becoming increasingly popular, dehumidifiers are also becoming increasingly high-spec. 

Our favourite dehumidifier that we’ve tested is the MeacoDry Arete One Dehumidifier. It’s taken the number one spot at the top of our best dehumidifiers guide, and it’s quiet, easy to use, and very energy-efficient compared to other compressor dehumidifiers.

It’s also sleek and curvaceous, meaning we’d happily leave it out on show if needed. But more than anything, we love the fact that it doesn’t have to be placed in the middle of a room like some of the other dehumidifiers on the market. 

The Meaco website explains, ‘Dehumidifiers are often placed in a hallway or landing; and, for most of us, getting this 30-40 cm away from the wall is very inconvenient. With Arete® One, none of this is a problem. You can push Arete® One right up to the wall, and it will work as normal. Flush and out the way, just like another piece of furniture.’

Not only that, but you could even shove it in the corner if you’re looking for ways to disguise a dehumidifier. 

4. Go smaller

You know what they say: go big or go home. But what if you’re already at home and sick of the sight of your giant dehumidifier in the middle of the room? In that case, a smaller one might be better. 

Nicholas explains, ‘You could buy multiple smaller dehumidifiers, which you can place in different rooms in order to get the full dehumidifying effect. Although this does mean you'll have more dehumidifiers on show, it's easier to hide a smaller one than it is, say, a big 50l one.’

Of course, you need to be careful when you’re reducing the size of your dehumidifier. It’s important to understand how big of a dehumidifier you need, and you can do this by understanding the extraction rate needed for your home and the room size limits for the appliance. 

Then, you can substitute one big dehumidifier for a couple of smaller dehumidifiers. And, personally, we’re huge fans of the best-selling ProBreeze 1500ml Mini Dehumidifier, which can reduce moisture levels in rooms under 15m².

And when you have smaller dehumidifiers, they’re much easier to hide - especially when you’re not using them. You can hide them in cupboards, you can slide them behind books, and you can even pop them under the sofa.

Just remember that if you choose this option, you’ll be dealing with two lots of dehumidifier running costs and having two separate tanks to empty. So, this might not work for everyone.  

5. Hide it in plain sight

Suppose you’ve yet to buy a dehumidifier, or you’ve been weighing up whether to add another to your collection. Might we suggest buying a dehumidifier that doesn’t look like a dehumidifier? This way, you can hide it in plain sight without sticking out like a sore thumb.

Take the Absodry Duo Family, for example. Ideal Home’s Assistant Editor, Thea Babbington-Sitt, has previously reviewed this dehumidifier and was pleasantly surprised by how much it didn’t look like a dehumidifier.  

She said, ‘When I first saw the Absodry Duo Family, I honestly thought it was a speaker. The Scandi minimalist design brings a contemporary twist to the product, and I especially love the colour options.’

‘I didn't especially want a shiny, white machine in my bathroom, but a sage green object looks pretty nice. It's also available in denim blue, blush pink and grey, so there's a colourway for every scheme.’

Opting for a dehumidifier that doesn’t look like a dehumidifier opens up a whole world of opportunities. You could keep it on your bedside table, you could stick it on a bookshelf in your living room, or you could keep it on your kitchen countertops.

Thea’s not the only one who thinks this, either. Cristina Raboj, Global Proposition Manager at Philips, says, ‘Let’s flip what we think we know about dehumidifiers and purifiers on its head, and instead of hiding them - bring attention to them to make a stand-out feature which guests will envy.’

‘In recent years, dehumidifiers and air purifiers have become more sleek and streamlined than their original iterations, meaning there’s a range of fashionable, small and stylish options on offer, which will fit in seamlessly with your interiors.’

FAQs

Where not to put a dehumidifier?

Many dehumidifiers on the market will struggle to work to the best of their abilities if they are pushed up against a wall. In most cases, they need to be at least 30cm away from a wall to successfully reduce the moisture in a room. This is because they need consistent airflow to suck in this excess moisture. 

However, this isn’t the case for all dehumidifiers. Some high-spec dehumidifiers now have the ability to be pushed up against a wall, making hiding them even easier. 

Just remember to be safe when hiding a dehumidifier. Nicholas says, ‘I wouldn't recommend hiding it in a box or anything like that, as this can restrict the airflow and can have negative effects. You also need to remember that your dehumidifier is going to need to be emptied frequently, so there's no point in building anything around it if it's going to make it difficult to empty and clean.’

Where is the best place to put a dehumidifier?

If you’ve bought a dehumidifier to tackle specific damp areas in your house, placing the dehumidifier in that particular room will work in your favour. 

But if you just want to reduce the overall humidity of your home, placing the dehumidifier in a central location will suit you best. Somewhere like the hallway or the landing, will help the appliance reach multiple areas of the home. 

So, how will you be hiding your dehumidifier?