hOmeLabs 8 Pint Portable Wi-Fi Dehumidifier – Up to 1,000 Sq. Ft, Ultra Quiet & Compact for Home, Bedroom, Bathroom & Office – Smart Humidity Control with Drain Hose Included

Worth More Than A Sub-$100 Dehumidifier, Much More Powerful At Reducing Humidity
Here’s my story: I live on the Gulf Coast, and in the late spring and early summer, the humidity down here soars. Perhaps my apartment isn’t the best insulated, because the digital hygrometer in my bedroom routinely shows humidity readings above 75 percent during warm seasons. While my apartment unit has a decent central AC unit, I’d like to see the humidity down around the 45 to 50 percent range. So I recently figured that purchasing a dehumidifier would be a good option for accomplishing that. I really mainly wanted the appliance for my bedroom, to increase the comfort level when I’m sleeping.I tried the $65 ToLife TZ-C2 Dehumidifier (also available here on Amazon). The price was right, and it was an attractive, compact, quiet unit. The problem was, as some others have mentioned, it didn’t do an effective job of removing much moisture and humidity from the air. So after some research, looking for a brand I could trust – with an actual corporation and web site behind it – I decided on Homelabs (their cutesy trademark is rendered “hOmelabs” for some reason) at nearly 3X the price. But…it’s rated for 3X the space.The first thing I noticed right away about the Homelabs unit is that it’s pretty darn large. And HEAVY, weighing in at 40 pounds (!). This is not some little thing you can slide onto a shelf – it’s an actual appliance a little taller than a mini-fridge.Reading the enclosed manual (which I do suggest) was also an eye-opener. It offers MANY cautions and warnings (especially about keeping the thing away from sources of flames) because apparently this unit contains refrigerant chemicals. That probably explains why both the box and the user manual request you let the unit sit upright and outside the box for a FULL 24 HOURS. Yep, you won’t be able to just switch it on right away, so plan for that (or get a smaller unit from another manufacturer instead).First impressions are that this device is well built. It’s certainly attractive in its own right, and has not just handles on either side, but rolling casters for moving the item across the floor. Again, at 40 pounds, those little conveniences become big.The control panel with the power button is on top of the unit. The water tank to be emptied faces front (logically). The power cord is thick and is the three-prong variety with the grounded pin, so your home MUST have grounded outlets to use this device. The manual says to plug it directly into a wall socket rather than through any kind of extension cord.In actual operation, I have been very pleased! This unit sucks plenty of moisture from the air in under an hour – often 20 to 25 percent relative humidity, knocking a room from 80% down to around 60%. A caution: if you’re hoping to close in on much drier conditions – like in the 40% to 45% RH range – I question whether this unit can do that. I’ve set it for 50% RH and it’s come close at 52% but I’ve not gone for less than that. But I have found the 50% to 60% RH range to be a huge improvement on northwards of 70%.The unit I got DOES NOT have the pump or drain hose feature, so it must be emptied fairly often, but if you get in the habit of doing that once or twice a day, it’s no big deal, and the designers thoughtfully included a nice, sturdy handle that allows you to lift the water tank a bit more easily. A red, plastic floater shows in a thermometer-style gauge on the front of the unit to indicate how full the water tank is.SAFETY SUGGESTIONS: ALWAYS unplug the unit before removing the water tank or servicing the filter. Do everything SLOWLY – pull the water tank out slowly and smoothly, then carry the tank low near the floor, and when you get to a dumping place (like a bathtub), dump slowly and smoothly. After replacing the tank, I personally think it’s a good idea to do a quick wipe down of the exterior of the unit with a towel or dry cloth. Also, when rolling the unit from one room to another, I suggest slightly lifting the unit by its top side handles and, again, rolling slowly. As it’s 40 pounds, I’d strongly suggest making use of those thoughtfully added casters underneath the device that I mentioned above.I like the decent length power cord that’s included; the instructions suggest plugging directly into a wall socket – no extension cords, please, as this is a powerful unit.There are NINE variations of this dehumidifier at the time I wrote this review, with room size ratings running from 1000 square feet all the way up to 4500 square feet. Clearly, Homelabs has been doing this for a while, so I’d be inclined to trust them over some fly-by-night operations with unpronounceable business names.There’s a reason the 3000 square foot model carries the “Amazon’s Choice” marker. Take a good look at this one if you want drier air in your home.I also want to answer some of the other comments I’ve seen about this device, just to give some of you a little more to consider.First of all, many of the reviews you’re reading cover NINE DIFFERENT MODELS of the Homelabs devices, rated for rooms from 1000 SF all the way up to 4500 SF. I think it’s not a reach to say the smaller the unit, the greater the likelihood of disappointment, especially for larger living situations. I opted for a unit rated at 3000 SF even though my whole apartment is maybe 750 SF total, and my bedroom – the only room I really care about for this – is just 150 SF. Keep that in mind as you’re reading the reviews – I saw a one-star review for the 8-pint appliance whereas mine can hold 8 times that much water.I’m stunned to hear someone proclaim that 3 years of service is NOT a long time. For an item costing $200 (roughly what I paid, just under that), that works out to about $5.50 a month, or the cost of an expensive boutique coffee. Sure, it would be nice if anything we bought lasted forever, but for a unit to stretch into over 2 years of service to me suggests it has some degree of longevity. If you think that 2 to 3 years of use is lousy, read the reviews of cheaper units running under $100. I bought and returned one from ToLife ($71) the same week I bought this Homelabs one. The difference is night and day. One review even said, “Was working good then just stopped…Only lasted 6 years.” OMG, most CARS in the States don’t even last SIX YEARS. Perspective, folks, perspective. I only run my unit for a few hours each day. This is not a central AC system, it’s an appliance.Second, I can certainly appreciate the crapshoot that modern manufacturing is. It sucks getting a lemon, because you the consumer have to repackage the thing and ship it back, then (if applicable) speak with customer support. It’s a shame that rolling the dice comes up craps for some people and 7’s for others, but a product line with tens of thousands of ratings that maintains a 4-star average out of 5 indeed moved the needle for me. I looked at some fly-by-night outfit that’s been around since 2021 called “Aerbyon”. Couldn’t find a blasted thing about the company, their corporate structure, anything. Scoff, if you will, at “big companies” like Homelabs, but I can assure you that smaller brands don’t guarantee anything either.I also want to call out and compliment the customer who wrote the review that got over 9,000 “helpful” markings. THAT is how you write a detailed review, and my hat’s off for going to such trouble. I didn’t agree with absolutely everything written, but I loved how thorough it was. One quick point of disagreement I have, though – I love it that the Homelabs unit registers RH changes by increments of 1% vs 5%. There is something awfully reassuring about seeing that number tick downward in closer to real-time. I have a digital hygrometer, but I don’t think it’s as accurate as the unit in the Homelabs device. Still…GREAT review, and I hope mine is just as helpful!

Amazing after 5 years
This thing is a work horse. I purchased it in 2019, stuck it in my basement and walked away. It has literally been dumping gallons of water out of the air since then. It’s now 2025. You can either let the internal catch-tank collect the water and you then dump it out every day. Or you can attach a hose to it and put the hose in the sink (or what we did- the basement floor drain) and it will continuously drain. A few times I’ve turned it off for a couple days to see how the basement would feel and you can tell the difference. When it’s off, the basement is cold and damp. When it’s on the basement feels dry and warm.

I found this dehumidifier works well. The noise level is fine. I have it in the basement, so it is not really a factor, but I am not sure I would have it in my bedroom and on when I wanted to sleep. It appears to drain well and I use a hose to drain directly to a drain pipe in the basement so I never have to worry about the container filling up.A perfectly good product and works as required.

Works great for our basement. Keeps it nice and dry. Bought the hose that was advertised with the unit and that was a waste of money. The hose did not fit and we needed to get parts to make it fit. The hose was for a high pressure washer. Should have bought the display gadget that was advertised for about $20.00. All in all great machine and does what was promised.

I was having condensation on my windows. This is not good as it can lead to mold problems. This has cleared my issue right up and also it redistributes warm air into my apartment as an added bonus. It’s sleek and stylish and I wish I had gotten it years ago. It’s energy efficient. I have been running it 24 hours straight since I got it and my hydro bill is still within range. It shipped great and the ppl I bought it from were super helpful too!