Quick Review Summary

The Gurin DHMD-210 is one of three mini thermo-electric dehumidifiers and one of eight total thermo-electric dehumidifiers we tested and reviewed in 2015. It’s a very quiet, highly portable, smaller sized thermo-electric dehumidifier. The DHMD-210 doesn’t remove moisture very quickly and it can’t dehumidify severely humid large rooms, but, if you have a very small space that you need to dehumidify and the space isn’t too humid, then the DHMD-210 can certainly work to fit your needs. Note that we’ll be comparing the Gurin to the other two mini thermo-electric units we tested throughout our review. These units are the Ivation IVADM10 and the Eva-Dry EDV-1100. Which one of these three is the dehumidifier we recommend if you’re looking to purchase a small thermo-electric dehumidifier for under $60 (approx.) ? Should you pay a little bit more and get a “heavier duty” thermo-electric dehumidifier instead? We hope to answer these questions and many more in our comprehensive review below.

Performance Test Results

Noise Output

The DHMD-210 was the quietest thermo-electric dehumidifier we tested. It was measured at 44.5 dB of noise output at close range (sound meter placed right above and in front of the dehumidifier). For comparison, the IVADM10 was the second quietest thermo-electric unit we tested – it was measured at 47.2 dB of noise output. The EDV-1100 was the fourth quietest – it was measured at 50.9 dB of noise output. The average noise output for all eight of the thermo-electric dehumidifiers we tested was 53.2 dB.

The Gurin is an excellent choice if you’re looking for the absolute quietest dehumidifier on the market. In addition to it being the quietest thermo-electric dehumidifier we tested, it is also the quietest dehumidifier we’ve tested overall. It’s measured noise output at close range of 44.5 dB is over 10 dB lower than the quietest compressor based dehumidifier we’ve tested at the same range. The very quiet Frigidaire FFAD3033R1 was measured at 55.4 dB at the same range on low fan speed. On high fan speed (the speed at which this unit removes a maximum amount of moisture from the air) the FFAD3033R1 was measured at 62.1 dB, almost 20 dB louder than the almost silent DHMD-210.

The fact that the Gurin is so much quieter than even the quietest compressor based dehumidifiers has to do with the technology that enables it to dehumidify. Compressor based dehumidifiers are comprised of two parts that produce noise – a compressor (the biggest culprit of discordant cacophonous noise) and a much larger higher CFM fan (loud but producing a much less jarring noise) than what’s found on your average thermo-electric dehumidifier. The only part that produces noise on a thermo-electric dehumidifier is a very small low CFM almost silent brushless fan, and the DHMD-210, as evidenced by our test results, has the quietest fan of all the thermo-electric dehumidifiers we’ve tested (a sample of eight dehumidifiers that represents the most popular thermo-electric dehumidifiers on the market).

The bottom line – the DHMD-210 is the quietest dehumidifier we’ve tested, period. If it’s very low moisture removal rate (which we’ll talk more about below) is sufficient for your needs and you want the absolute quietest dehumidifier solution, then this is your dehumidifier.

Moisture Removal Rate

To test this dehumidifier’s moisture removal rate we placed it in a 50 square foot room and measured the time it took for the dehumidifier to dehumidify the room from 80% down to 75% relative humidity. Because the DHMD-210′s moisture removal rate (and that of the IVADM10 and EDV-1100 as well) is so low we had to limit the parameters of our testing to the 80% to 75% range. When we test a compressor based dehumidifier we record the time it takes each unit to dehumidify the same 50 sq ft space from 90% down to 40% humidity. We can do so because a compressor based dehumidifier can actually dehumidify within these parameters within a reasonable time frame – it takes a 70 pint dehumidifier about 11 minutes to do so. If we used these same test parameters for the mini thermo-electric units we tested, we’d have to conduct testing over several days as it would take several hours for one of these units to dehumidify the same space from 90% down to 40% humidity. Thus, we limited our test parameters to time how long it would take each mini thermo-electric dehumidifier we tested to dehumidify our 50 sq ft test environment from only 80% RH down to only 75% RH – these parameters were set with the goal of finishing each trial in under 20 minutes.

What we found, unfortunately, is that we probably should have limited our test parameters even more than we did as we were unable to obtain relevant moisture removal rate test data even within this very limited humidity range. Here’s what happened: As a control for the test we measured how long it would take the test room to dehumidify naturally (with no dehumidifier in the room) from 80% down to 75% RH – this took 18 minutes. Naturally, we expected that this time would be lowered if we placed a dehumidifier in the room (and turned it on of course). When we placed the IVADM10 in the room our expectations were met – the IVADM10 reduced the time it took the room to dehumidify by a third. It dehumidified the room from 80% down to 75% RH in about 12 minutes (the average of 3 different trials), 6 minutes faster than it dehumidified naturally. When we tested the DHMD-210 and the EDV-1100, however, we saw no difference in the time it took the room to dehumidify from 80% down to 75% RH. In other words, both the Gurin and the Eva-Dry had absolutely no measurable impact on room humidity even within these very forgiving test parameters. We turned the Gurin on, measured the time it took for the room to dehumidify down to 75% (from 80%), and found it to take exactly as long as it took with no dehumidifier in the room – 18 minutes. We did the same with the Eva-Dry and again it took just as long for the room to dehumidify from 80% down to 75% RH with the EDV-1100 actively “dehumidifying” in the room as it took for the room to dehumidify with no dehumidifier in the room – 18 minutes.

In summary, we were unable to find a measurable real world moisture removal rate for the DHMD-210. All our test results told us was that for one, the Ivation IVADM10 is faster at removing moisture than both the Gurin and the Eva-Dry at the tested humidity range (80% to 75% RH) and at the temperature at which we conducted our testing (82° F). The second thing our testing told us was that the Gurin and the Eva-Dry dehumidify at essentially the same rate under these same conditions – a result that is substantiated by each unit’s manufacturer specified moisture removal rate which we’ll discuss below.

Area of Coverage

Gurin doesn’t specify a recommended area of coverage for the DHMD-210. Similar units, the IVADM10 and the EDV-1100, are specified by their manufacturers to be able to dehumidify rooms as large as approximately 100 square feet. Our recommendation is that you don’t use any one of these three mini thermo-electric dehumidifiers in any space larger than approximately 50 sq ft. This means small bathrooms, small laundry rooms, small RVs, etc. are fine but even a large bathroom (such as the bathroom found in the master suite of your average larger sized single family home) is too large for the DHMD-210 to have any meaningful impact on the room’s humidity.

Manufacturer Specified Moisture Removal Rate

The DHMD-210′s manufacturer specified moisture removal rate mirrors that of the EDV-1100. Both units are rated to be able to remove up to 8 ounces of moisture per day at 86° F and 80% RH. This temperature and humidity level represents ideal conditions. Should the environment in which you use the dehumidifier be at a different temperature and/or humidity level (which is much more likely than not), you’ll see any one of these units remove less than 8 ounces of moisture per day. The IVADM10 has a manufacturer specified moisture removal rate of approximately 6 ounces per day. Should you use it in less than ideal conditions, it will also remove less than the manufacturer specified amount of moisture per day.

Again, since they remove so little moisture per day these units are designed for very small rooms with very mild humidity. If the room size is large and/or if your humidity problem is severe then a thermo-electric dehumidifier simply isn’t an option for you. The average thermo-electric dehumidifier removes between 5 and 25 ounces of moisture per day. Small capacity compressor based dehumidifiers remove up to 30 pints of moisture per day – that’s close to 500 ounces of moisture removal per day. Larger capacity 70 pint units remove over 1000 ounces of moisture per day. In other words, the DHMD-210, with a moisture removal rate of 8 ounces per day, removes less than 1% as much moisture per day as your average $200 70 pint compressor based dehumidifier. If you’re thinking about buying the DHMD-210 make sure you’re buying it for the correct application – a small room with very mild humidity.

Included Features, Functionality, Build Quality, Warranties, and Value

Power Draw

The DHMD-210 has a manufacturer specified power draw of 22.5 watts. The EDV-1100 is rated at 22 watts while the IVADM10 is rated at 13.5 watts. Yes, the Ivation draws 9 watts less power than the Gurin but this difference, while appearing to be large in terms of percentage, is completely insignificant in terms on the overall impact it will have on your monthly power bill. Any one of these three dehumidifiers draws less than half as much power as your average light bulb. We thought it would be interesting to do the math to see just how much it costs to run the DHMD-210 for a full month, never turning it off except to empty the condensate collection bucket.

Americans pay on average 12 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity (for more information click here). 22.5 watts = 0.0225 kilowatts. To find how much running the DHMD-210 for a whole month would cost we simply multiply 12 cents per kilowatt hour by 0.0225 kilowatts by 24 hours (the number of hours in a day) by 31 (the number of days in an average month). The number we get is 200 cents or $2. Thus, it costs a maximum of $2 per month to run the DHMD-210 non-stop for a full month. The IVADM10 draws 60% as much power (13.5 watts is 60% as much as 22.5 watts) and so it costs about 0.6 * $2 = $1.20 per month to run the IVADM10, a difference of about 80 cents per month.

Durability (Build Quality)

General Impressions

The DHMD-210 is a very simply designed appliance, just like every other thermo-electric dehumidifier on the market. It has a plastic shell that protects the dehumidifier core. This core consists of two heat sinks that surround a Peltier module. Clipped onto one of the heat sinks is a generic 12V fan. There’s nothing more to it – very few parts make up the assembly of the dehumidifier and all of the parts involved are very simply designed. The result is an appliance that’s inherently reliable. For more of our thoughts on thermo-electric dehumidifier reliability, in general, see the relevant buyer’s guide here.

In speaking about the DHMD-210, specifically, there’s really not much to say. It has exactly the same design as every other thermo-electric dehumidifier on the market – it has the same plastic shell and dehumidifier core. The only difference is the size of that shell, the size of the heat sinks, and the size/quality of the fan.

Ease of Use

Setup Difficulty

The only parts of this dehumidifier that you’ll interact with are the on/off switch and the condensate collection bucket. Simply hit the switch to turn the dehumidifier on. When its condensate collection bucket is full a warning LED will illuminate and the dehumidifier will stop dehumidifying. Simply remove the condensate collection bucket, empty it, and put it back in the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier will then automatically resume normal operation.

Manual Quality

The DHMD-210 has a very amateurish instruction manual. It contains low resolution grayscale pictures instead of the illustrated diagrams found in manuals for higher end dehumidifiers. Fortunately, you won’t really need to reference this unit’s manual in order to use it because it’s so simple to use (as we explain in the paragraph above).

Water Tank Size

The DHMD-210 has a 16 ounce condensate collection bucket or water tank. The EDV-1100′s tank has exactly the same capacity (16 ounces) while the IVADM10′s water tank is slightly larger (17 ounces). Recall that this unit removes approximately 8 ounces of moisture per day. Thus, it’s water tank capacity is such that you’ll have to empty it once every 2 or so days. Keep in mind that the dehumidifier won’t actively dehumidify if it’s water tank is full (there’s a float that activates a switch to turn off the dehumidifier when the tank is full) so you’ll definitely want to keep track of when you last emptied the tank and when you’ll need to empty it again to maximize “uptime” for the dehumidifier.

Portability

At approximately 2 pounds and under 10 inches tall each, the DHMD-210, IVADM10, and EDV-1100, are the most portable dehumidifiers on the market today. If you want a small dehumidifier you can easily put in a closet, under a sink, or up on a shelf in your laundry room then any one of these dehumidifiers is an excellent choice. As far as portability is concerned, not one of these three units stands out from any one of the others. All three are light, small, and therefore highly portable.

Warranty (Manufacturer’s)

As is the case for Eva-Dry dehumidifiers, you’ll have to go to the manufacturer’s website (Gurin’s website in this case) and fill out an online form to register your product to be eligible for its warranty. The exact terms for the warranty are not explicitly stated anywhere on the manufacturer website or in the documentation that comes included with your dehumidifier purchase. We can only surmise that this unit comes equipped with an industry standard one year limited warranty.

Value

The Gurin and the Ivation are tied for being the most inexpensive dehumidifiers we’ve tested thus far. Both the DHMD-210 and the IVADM10 retail for about $40 each. The EDV-1100 is about $20 more expensive, retailing for about $60. You can pick up the more heavy duty version of the EDV-1100, the EDV-2200 for about $80 and the more heavy duty version of the DHMD-210, the DHMD-310 for about $85 (you can click on the model numbers for our review of these units).

Final Thoughts

Both the Eva-Dry EDV-2200 and the Gurin DHMD-310 are more than twice as powerful as the DHMD-210. They both remove approximately 20 ounces of moisture per day compared to the 8 ounces of moisture the DHMD-210 can remove per day. However, both are also at least twice as expensive as the DHMD-210. The DHMD-210 retails for about $40 while both other units retail for at least $80 (approx.). Thus, whether you purchase the DHMD-210 or the more heavy duty EDV-2200 or DHMD-310 comes down to whether you really need the extra dehumidification power and whether you’re willing to pay twice as much to get it.

If you have a very small mildly humid space that you need to dehumidify our recommendation is that you get either the DHMD-210 or IVADM10 (the EDV-1100 is disqualified from this discussion because we don’t feel it’s worth the approximately extra $20). If you have a larger bathroom, laundry room, storage space, etc. that you need to dehumidify then our recommendation is that you get either the EDV-2200 or the DHMD-310. Of course, if your humidity problem is severe or if the space you need to dehumidify is larger than “small” then our recommendation is that you read our general buyer’s guide and purchase a more expensive compressor based dehumidifier.