A basement is where most dehumidifiers end up, and it asks more of them than a bedroom does. The air is cooler, so the unit removes less water than its label suggests. The damp is often worse, so it needs more capacity. The water has to go somewhere, and nobody wants to carry a bucket up the stairs every day. And in a lot of houses, somebody sleeps directly above it.
Our parent guide to quiet dehumidifiers is written around a bedroom, where a 22-pint unit on low is usually enough. This guide starts from the basement. We read the spec sheets and owner's manuals for GE, Frigidaire and Danby's larger units, checked each one against the ENERGY STAR dataset, and ranked them on what a basement needs: capacity in cool air, a drain or a pump, low-temperature operation, and the lowest published figure at the fan speed you would actually run.
Our picks are listed above, with full specifications for each.
Start with capacity, not decibels
ENERGY STAR's sizing table gives a range for each level of damp. For a space under 2,000 square feet:
- Slightly to moderately damp, 50 to 75% humidity: 20 to 30 pints a day.
- Very damp, 75 to 90% humidity: 25 to 40 pints a day.
- Wet, 90 to 100% humidity: 30 to 50 pints a day.
For a space over 2,000 square feet, ENERGY STAR says 30, 40 and 50 pints or more for the same three levels.
Most unfinished basements with a real damp problem sit in the bottom two rows. That is why this guide leads with 50-pint and 35-pint units, and why the quietest 22-pint unit is here only for a small, finished room that is slightly damp.
There is a trap in the capacity figure, and it matters more in a basement than anywhere else. Since June 2019, the Department of Energy has tested portable dehumidifiers at 65°F instead of 80°F. ENERGY STAR says the change was made "to more accurately reflect expected performance in a basement setting", and that a unit tested the new way "will likely report a smaller capacity". Its own example: a unit rated 50 pints under the old test is about 30 under the new one.
Some makers still quote the warm figure. Waykar sells a unit as 34 pints, measured at 95°F and 90% humidity. ENERGY STAR lists the same model number at 10.16 pints a day under the DOE test. In a 60°F basement, the second number is the one that describes your room.
GE and Danby print 50, 35 or 22 pints with no test condition beside the figure. Frigidaire does the same on its spec sheets, but ENERGY STAR lists its units, so we can check: the FHDP5033Y1 is listed at 49.95 pints a day, and the FHDD3534Y1 at 35.85. We found no ENERGY STAR listing for GE's APYR50LC, ADYR35LC or ADYR22LC, or for Danby's DDR050BSPWDB. That does not mean their figures are wrong. It means we cannot check them against the cool test.
A dehumidifier's noise comes from two sources: the fan, which you control, and the compressor, which you do not. The published figures move with the fan speed. Here is what each maker says.
- GE lists low and maximum. The APYR50LC is 47 and 50 dBA, the ADYR35LC 46 and 49, and the ADYR22LC 43 and 45.
- Frigidaire lists every speed. The FHDP5033Y1 is 49 dBA on low and 51.5 on high. The FHDD3534Y1 is 48, 50 and 51.
- Danby says 49 dB for its 50-pint pump unit, and does not say which of its two speeds that is.
So the fair comparisons are GE against Frigidaire, speed for speed. On low, the GE 50-pint pump unit is 2 dBA quieter than the Frigidaire. At the top speed, it is 1.5 dBA quieter. Those are small gaps. Roughly every 10 dBA sounds twice as loud, so 2 dBA is noticeable side by side and easy to lose once a floor is in the way. The bigger gap is between speeds on the same unit: 3 dBA on the GE, 2.5 on the Frigidaire.
Danby's 49 dB cannot be placed in that ranking. It may be the low speed, which would make it louder than the GE. It may be the high speed, which would put it between the two. Danby does not say, and it does not state the weighting either.
What makes a basement unit loud at night
Auto modes that change the fan speed. GE's manual says Smart Dry "compares the set humidity level with the actual humidity and adjusts the fan speed automatically". In a damp basement, that can mean high speed. Danby's manual says its Dryer mode runs "in Continuous dehumidifying and high fan speed mode". GE's own advice is to set the fan to High for maximum moisture removal and to Low "when the humidity has been reduced and quiet operation is preferred". In a basement under a bedroom, a sensible pattern is high during the day and low at night, chosen by hand.
Compressor cycling. A dehumidifier with a humidity setting turns off when it reaches it, and on again when the air gets damp. GE's manual describes a protective delay of up to 3 minutes before the compressor restarts. In a cool basement there is a second cycle: frost on the coils. GE, Frigidaire and Danby all say the same thing about it, in nearly the same words: the compressor shuts off and the fan keeps running until the frost clears, then the compressor comes back. Each restart is a change in sound, and a change is easier to notice at night than a steady hum.
Sounds the makers call normal. Frigidaire's use and care guide lists them: rushing air from the fan, a "gurgling or hissing" noise from refrigerant, dripping water, and a "high pitched chatter" that it says today's high efficiency compressors may make. None of those is in the dBA figure.
Alarms. GE says a full or missing bucket sets off an alarm for about 10 seconds. Danby's display shows P2 and beeps 8 times. A pump or drain hose keeps the bucket from filling, which is one more reason to run one.
How the noise reaches the room above
Every figure in this guide describes sound in the air around the unit. The makers do not state a distance or a standard, and none of them publishes anything about sound carried through a floor.
That second path is the one to worry about in a basement. A compressor on a wooden platform, or on a floor that is not level, passes vibration into the structure, and joists carry it upstairs. Danby's manual warns that a surface that is not flat and sturdy "could result in damage or excessive noise and vibration", and it lists "Floor surface is not level" among the causes of noise. GE asks for a smooth, level floor strong enough to hold the unit with a full bucket.
So, practically:
- Stand it on the slab. Concrete is a better base than a wooden shelf or a platform built off the floor.
- Do not put it under a bedroom if the basement gives you a choice. A few feet toward the furnace or the laundry corner can matter more than 2 dBA on a spec sheet.
- Leave clearance. GE asks for at least 18 inches on all sides, Danby for 16 inches at the outlet, front and rear, and Frigidaire's guide for its 50-pint FHDD5034Y1 for at least 12 inches around the unit. A unit pushed into a corner has to work harder, and a wall close to the outlet reflects sound back into the room.
- Close the doors. ENERGY STAR says doors and windows to the space should be closed while the unit runs. A closed basement door also stands between the unit and the rest of the house.
A basement is also a different room to listen in. During the day, a furnace, a water heater, a washing machine or a sump pump may run near the dehumidifier, and a 47 or 50 dBA unit may barely register. At night those stop, and the room above is quiet. The figure that matters then is the low-speed one, heard through a floor.
Drain or pump
ENERGY STAR describes two ways to get rid of the water: the removable bucket, and a hose to a floor drain or sump pump. In a basement, the bucket is a poor choice. It needs emptying every day in wet weather, and when it fills the unit stops, which is exactly when the basement needs it.
A gravity drain is silent and cannot fail, but the hose must run downhill all the way. Danby says to cut the garden hose so it is no more than 6 feet long, and that any bends or upward motion will stop the water. If your floor drain is beside the unit, the GE ADYR35LC or the Frigidaire FHDD3534Y1 is all you need.
A built-in pump pushes the water up and out. GE rates the pump in the APYR50LC for a maximum lift of 16 feet, and Danby gives 16 feet as the maximum distance and rise for its pump hose. That covers a laundry sink or a window well in most houses. No maker publishes a noise figure for the pump itself, and the dBA figures do not say whether the pump was running when they were taken.
Low-temperature operation
ENERGY STAR says that if a space is typically below 65°F, frost can form on the coils and affect performance, and it can make the compressor cycle on and off repeatedly without removing moisture. That describes a lot of basements for half the year.
GE's manual says to place its units where the temperature will not fall below 41°F. Danby rates its 50-pint pump unit between 5°C (41°F) and 32°C (90°F). Frigidaire's spec sheets say "Low Temperature Operation: Yes" for both of its picks here, without a minimum.
Two things follow. First, a basement at 45°F is inside the rating but will still frost the coils now and then, so expect the defrost cycle described above. Second, GE's manual says lower room temperatures reduce the moisture removal rate. That is another reason to buy more capacity than the square footage alone suggests.
The trade-offs
Quiet costs something here, as it does everywhere.
Low speed moves less air. GE lists 190 CFM on high and 135 on low for the APYR50LC. A unit on low will take longer to dry a wet basement.
Bigger units are louder at every speed. The quietest figure in this guide belongs to the 22-pint GE, and it would not keep up with a wet basement. A 50-pint unit on low is a better answer than a 22-pint unit on high.
The quietest pump unit may not stay on sale. GE's page data flags the APYR50LC, and its 35-pint and 22-pint siblings, as obsolete. GE's current 50-pint pump model, the ADHE50PWF, publishes no sound level at all.
Warranties are short. GE covers parts for a year and labor not at all. Frigidaire gives a year of parts and labor. Danby gives two years of parts and labor, which is the strongest argument for a unit whose noise figure we cannot place.
How we chose
We read the manufacturer's product page for every unit, and the spec sheet or owner's manual wherever one is published. We recorded each noise figure in the maker's own words with the fan speed it describes, and we did not rank a figure with no stated speed against one with a speed. We looked up every model in the ENERGY STAR certified dehumidifiers dataset and used its DOE capacity wherever a listing exists. We then ranked for a basement: enough capacity for a very damp or wet space, a drain or pump, a stated low-temperature rating, and the lowest published low-speed figure within each group.
New to the units? Read dBA explained. Wondering why two brands' figures do not line up? See why you cannot compare dB ratings across brands. To decide what figure to aim for, see how quiet is quiet enough, room by room.
We did not measure decibels ourselves, and we did not install any of these units in a basement. Every figure here is the maker's own, quoted with the fan speed it describes where the maker gives one, and every capacity is the maker's or ENERGY STAR's. Prices and stock are as shown on the makers' sites on the day we checked, and GE's larger units in particular may sell out.
