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(Pocket-lint) - Owning a top dehumidifier allows you to tackle damp and excessive humidity levels - both of which can have a negative effect on your home and health.

If you're struggling to dry clothes inside, want to prevent mould spores appearing on walls or just generally want to bring down the humidity levels around the house, a dedicated dehumidifier is what you need.

Typically, there are two ways that these units will treat the air.

Refrigerant dehumidifiers work by sucking warm air currents out of the air into refrigerated internal coils, which then forces these particles to contract, leaving behind condensation to collect inside the tank. Drier air is then fed back out of the machine. Desiccant dehumidifiers, meanwhile, pass air over to an absorbant material before a heater raises the temperature of this material, which then causes water to collect in the tank below.

Both methods provide the same end result, and your only input in this magic is turning on the unit and emptying it when the tank is full.

Size, and also price, can vary quite dramatically in the world of dehumidifiers, so it's essential to consider the space you're trying to control and just how much you're willing to spend.

With all that in mind, you're ready to discover some of the top options in the space.

Meaco's latest top-of-the-range dehumidifier is the absolute best we've tested, featuring a design that both runs quietly in operation and can operate effectively when up against a wall.

This means there's no need to have it sit in the middle of your room, but, even if you did have to have it more on show, that wouldn't be the end of the world - we think this model is about as attractive-looking as dehumidifiers get.

Thanks to wheels on the base and an extendable handle, it's also very easy to move between different rooms. With the cable tidy section at the rear, it's easy to avoid having the wire trailing behind and acting as a trip hazard, as well.

Performance is always relative to conditions - as every home will have different room sizes and levels of humidity - but, as an example, our home was too damp for clothes to dry indoors before we began testing the Arete One. With this model locked in a room with a hung-up wash, clothes are dry within a few hours, while the 20L tank is big enough to mean you're not emptying it every day.

It is expensive, and the LED screen and controls on the top panel require a bit of learning, but almost everything about this Meaco dehumidifier is outstanding.

While the Meaco Arete One is our top recommendation to those who need help with reducing humidity in their home, it's certainly not the only unit to consider. That's why we've also detailed the four other models below.

We like the futuristic design of this model from Electriq, which also brings solid performance to the table to match its looks.

Like the Meaco models on this list, it's impressively quiet in use, meaning that it's able to run during the day or night without disturbing too much. This is aided by a few features, such as the lights shutting off and noise being reduced in Night Mode, with the front indicator giving you a quick glance at humidity levels in regular use. 

There are also timer functions and a filtering system to trap airborne particles, giving it a few extra tricks up its sleeve, too.

We think this will be an adequate size tank for most users with a humidity problem in their homes, but, as ever, it really is case by case. Just keep in mind that a smaller tank obviously means more frequent emptying.

Meaco's Arete One sits atop our list, but it's not the only model from the British company that's both powerful and efficient.

The MeacoDry ABC has got a nice, clean design - similar to that of the Arete One - that means it isn't an eyesore in the home, and the tank is able to hold 12 litres.

This capacity, at least in our experience, is better for smaller and medium homes (or those with only a relatively mild humidity problem), but the benefit is that the machine's overall footprint isn't too large.

It's also, importantly, one of the quietest models on this list, with plenty of different settings and timers to make it easy to run during day or night.

If you're looking for a smaller unit for tighter spaces, this model has a 7L tank that helps shrink down the overall form factor.

It's ideal for those with condensation issues in mobile and small homes, and the noise levels in the Eco mode are just about low enough for it to not bother you too much if you're in the same room.

With that said, you'll be paying roughly the same amount as models with much bigger capacities and power, which is something to bear in mind if you do opt for it. We also found the lights to be a bit of an issue in low light, since they can't be turned off.

If you want a huge capacity for a reasonable price, this model from Inventor can suck in up to 20 litres, with the option to also attach a hose on the rear to avoid emptying the unit manually.

It's certainly effective at tackling humidity, in our experience, and both the manual and app controls are very handy, but, in operation, this is a very noisy unit.

It's also not the prettiest to look at, in our opinion, showcasing itself as a necessity rather than a luxury household item. Still, for the price, you do get impressive power and performance. 

In order to decipher which are the very best dehumidifiers, we spend hours testing, researching and living with them. We always consider a number of factors when it comes to recommending these units - and apply the same criteria when a new model is being considered for inclusion. It's not all judged on our testing, either - we also try to factor in consumer reviews, brand quality and value.

In all of our roundups, there are also many products we test that don't make the final cut. Since they may be the right fit for some people, however, we've listed them below.

Dehumidifiers may be an essential item to own if you live in an environment with too much moisture, but that doesn't mean you know what to look for in one. That's why we've included a few things to consider before you choose. 

In very basic terms, dehumidifiers pull in the air close by, remove the moisture into a tank and pump the air back into the room.

As we detailed in our introduction, though, dehumidifiers are either refrigerant or desiccant. 

To recap, refrigerant dehumidifiers work by extracting currents out of the air into refrigerated internal coils, which then results in these particles contracting and leaving behind condensation.

The resulting drier air is then fed back out of the unit. Desiccant dehumidifiers, on the other hand, pull in air, pass it over to an absorbent material. A heater then raises the temperature of this material, which then causes water to collect in the tank.

Before you invest in a dehumidifier, it's important to know whether they'll actually solve your issue.

So, if your home is humid and it's preventing your clothes from drying quickly when they're hung up, conditioning the air with a unit (with the door and windows closed) is an ideal solution.

Similarly, if you're noticing condensation on the glass windows or mould spores appearing on silicon, a dehumidifier should be able to prevent this from getting worse.

What a dehumidifier won't really do is eliminate this problem entirely - or, of course, reverse the effects of too much moisture in your environment.

This really depends on two things: how often you can be bothered to empty the tank down the drain, and how much of a humidity problem you have.

If you'll need to keep your unit running throughout the day, we'd suggest opting for a larger tank - something in the region of 20L. 

If you're just going to turn it on periodically to make sure your clothes get dry, though - or, perhaps, after you've run the shower - you can probably get away with something closer to 10L. 

If you live in a home with more than 50% - 60% humidity, you'll have to empty it fairly often, regardless. Keep in mind that, for some dehumidifers, you can also attach a drainpipe and avoid manually emptying the tank.

Every product in this list has been assessed thoroughly to ensure it will perform exactly as a recommended pick should.

There are tons of dehumidifiers on the market, but not all offer the right mix of design, specs and performance, or, indeed, offer a price tag that represents good value.

While it's impossible to account for every scenario, we aim to provide a list of recommendations that suit a wide range of homes and humidity levels.

As with any roundup, though, it's not possible to deliver a list that works for everybody, which is why we lean on the experiences and opinions of the wider Pocket-lint team - as well as thoroughly assessing the areas above - in order to do our best in this regard.

What we always tend to avoid when compiling these picks are needless spec comparisons and marketing lines; we just want to provide an easy to understand summary that gives you an idea of what each charging station is like to use. Our verdicts are concise, but this is purely in the interest of brevity.

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