Dehumidifier for kitchen UK

How much moisture does cooking add to a UK kitchen?

A lot. Boiling a litre of water on the hob adds roughly a litre of water vapour to the air. A family cooking two meals a day can add several litres of moisture daily from cooking alone, before showering, laundry and breathing are factored in. In a well-ventilated kitchen with a working extractor fan, this moisture disperses safely. In a kitchen with poor ventilation no extractor fan, small windows, or a layout that traps steam that moisture settles on cold surfaces as condensation.

Signs your kitchen has too much moisture after cooking: water droplets on kitchen cabinets, windows that stay fogged for more than 30 minutes after cooking, mould growing in the corners of kitchen ceilings, a persistent musty smell near the sink or inside cabinets, and damp tea towels or dishcloths that do not dry overnight.

Ventilation first before buying a dehumidifier

A dehumidifier is useful in a kitchen but it should not be a substitute for proper ventilation. These steps cost nothing and make a significant difference:

• Use the extractor fan ? every time you cook, even for small meals, and leave it running for at least 15 minutes after turning off the heat
• Open a window ? above or near the hob when cooking even a 5cm gap allows steam to escape rather than condensing on surfaces
• Cover pans ? with lids to reduce the amount of steam released into the kitchen air
• Choose back burners ? when possible steam from front burners rises directly into the kitchen air rather than being captured by an overhead extractor
• Do not leave the kitchen window permanently closed ? in winter if there is no extractor fan a small gap is better than nothing

When a dehumidifier helps in the kitchen

A dehumidifier is worth considering if:

• Your kitchen shows signs of persistent condensation and mould despite good ventilation habits
• You cook frequently for a large household and the kitchen generates significant humidity throughout the day
• The kitchen has no extractor fan or the existing fan is ineffective and you cannot install a better one (common in rented properties)
• The kitchen is open-plan to a living area humid air spreads from the kitchen into other rooms, affecting the whole ground floor
• You have a kitchen-diner or kitchen in an extension where the room tends to stay cooler

What to look for in a kitchen dehumidifier

If you have decided a dehumidifier is worth having in the kitchen, these are the features that matter most for that specific use:

• Continuous drainage: Essential for kitchens. Cooking produces a large amount of moisture quickly a tank can fill in under an hour during a big cooking session. A drain hose plumbed to the sink or a floor drain means the unit can run continuously without you needing to empty it.
• Appropriate capacity: A small to mid-range kitchen dehumidifier (1016 litres/day) is usually sufficient for a standard UK kitchen. Use our size calculator to check.
• Noise: Kitchens are social spaces and the unit may run during meal preparation. Quieter models are preferable if you cook often during evenings or mornings.
• Grease resistance: No dehumidifier is fully grease-proof, but keeping the unit away from direct hob steam and using a splatter guard over the hob reduces grease particles reaching the filter. Clean the filter regularly if you cook with a lot of frying or roasting.
• Laundry mode: Some dehumidifiers have a dedicated laundry mode, which runs the fan continuously to help dry laundry indoors. If you also use the kitchen dehumidifier for this, look for a model that handles both uses well.

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