Hisense Dehumidifier Review: A Budget

I tested the Hisense dehumidifier with and without a drain hose for two weeks. Check out what I think about it in this in-depth review.

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Confession time: I live in a 100-plus-year-old house with an unfinished basement. In that basement, I operate my woodworking shop.

Because of the home’s age, it frequently leaks. Despite several upgrades over the years, it’s still drafty in the winter and damp during the Minnesota summers, especially in the basement. I struggle with combinations of humidifiers in the winter and dehumidifiers in the summer to maintain humidity control in my shop.

Having more than thirty years of experience in home remodeling and repair has allowed me to see the effects of humidity in houses that aren’t protected by dehumidifiers. In severe cases, I’ve found situations that included material deterioration and mold occurrences—Minnesota’s crazy weather can do that with ease.

I tested the Hisense dehumidifier, which proved to be a worthy opponent to the excessive moisture in my space. Check out the full 4-1-1 on this dehumidifier to see if it’s the right choice for you.

This easy-to-use dehumidifier can handle spaces up to 4,500 square feet.

What is the Hisense dehumidifier?

The Hisense 50-pint dehumidifier claims to control humidity in a home as large as 4,500 square feet. My basement and my home combined are not quite 2,000 square feet. However, with the level of performance I demand from the dehumidifiers I use for woodworking, it’s a pretty fair comparison.

Honestly, I’m a bit doubtful that any of the machines I tested could dehumidify a large home on their own without another method of circulating the air; they’re simply not large enough to move air through that big of a space.

This is where the Hisense makes sense (hehe, get it?). Costing up to $100 less than more well-known brand names, the Hisense is affordable enough to put one on each floor of the house (if needed). I would expect the Hisense dehumidifier to handle a single story with ease, with or without a wood shop involved.

Compact yet full-sized, this machine offers a generously sized condensation tank, which minimizes the need to empty it constantly. The machine also has the ability to bypass the reservoir with a drain hose to avoid the task altogether. It’s relatively heavy at 40 pounds or so, and the handles for carrying could be designed better. However, it’s on wheels for easy transportation, and it’s one of the quietest dehumidifiers that I’ve come across.

50-pint water reservoir for high-capacity moisture removal

Continuous drain option with hose connection

Auto shut-off when reservoir is full

Built-in wheels for easy room-to-room mobility

Molded carrying handles (functional, but not ergonomic)

Rear-mounted micro-mesh filter for quick access

Exposed coil fins for easier deep cleaning (with a coil fin brush)

Compatible with coil fin brush for maintenance

Automatic operation with adjustable humidity settings

Digital display with timer and sleep mode

Filter cleaning reminder indicator

Two fan speeds (quiet low, louder high)

The testing process for dehumidifiers in my home and woodworking shop seemingly never ends. In efforts to control humidity for this purpose, I’ve gone through a number of them over the years. For this review, I used the Hisense dehumidifier for two weeks, including one week with the reservoir and one week with the drain hose.

I set to the lowest possible setting of 30% humidity. Using the reservoir, I had to empty the machine at least once per day after a period of heavy rainfall. A few days during testing required me to empty the reservoir once during the day and again before bed to ensure it ran all night.

I liked the machine better with the drain hose attached, which meant I could set it and forget it, like you can with a self-draining dehumidifier. My only complaints are that the filter-cleaning indicator would turn on once every couple of days, even when it didn’t appear to require cleaning, and the reservoir, while functional, seemed somewhat flimsy, including the handle. While it’s likely just fine, I would have liked something that felt a little more beefy. Other than that, it ran like a champ, hovering at between 30% and 32% humidity anytime I checked.

Super quiet low-speed operation

Large capacity water reservoir

Reservoir bypass option for continuous operation

Accessible coil fins for deep cleaning ability

Carrying handles could be designed better

Water reservoir handle and construction are a little flimsy

4,500-square-foot capacity seems a bit overstated

Among dehumidifier reviews on Lowe’s, 60% of customers who purchased the Hisense model gave it five stars.. Positive reviews cite the dehumidifier’s efficient operation even after up to five years. However, some negative reviews point to a seemingly common problem with the unit.

Several customers complain of receiving an E9 code in the machine’s display within or after a year of operation or so. The E9 code means the machine can’t communicate with the humidity sensor, rendering the machine mostly unusable.

While the sensor is replaceable, it’s likely more trouble than most homeowners want to deal with. Fortunately, this situation, while noted in the reviews, seems to affect only a very small percentage of units sold.

Hisense Dehumidifier vs GE Dehumidifier

The Hisense 50-Pint 2-Speed dehumidifier is a full-sized unit designed for use throughout a home for overall humidity control. The GE dehumidifier is more of a one-room-at-a-time model. While both products appear in our review of the best dehumidifiers for basements, the GE model is perhaps better suited for small spaces.

The GE dehumidifier has a 20-pint capacity compared to the Hisense’s 50-pint bucket. However, you can attach a drain hose for continuous draining. The GE offers an auto defrost option, which isn’t available on the Hisense. However, the two machines are really best for different types of humidity-control needs.

If you’re looking to effectively control the humidity in one room at a time, the GE is more portable and efficient than the Hisense. On the other hand, if you need a dehumidifying workhorse for a large area, consider the Hisense.

While there may be some concerns about the Hisense reviews stating trouble with the E9 codes, the problem is limited to a small number of machines in the big picture. My testing revealed the machine to be hard-working enough to handle my needs for controlling humidity in my woodworking shop, which isn’t an easy task.

Customers looking for a powerful dehumidifier that can handle big jobs at a budget-friendly price might do well choosing the Hisense dehumidifier.

I wouldn’t recommend the Hisense for doing the work of one of the best crawl space dehumidifiers—they have a hard job. But because of how powerful the Hisense is, I recommend attaching a drain hose to it for continuous draining, especially in homes with high humidity levels.

The Hisense dehumidifier is available at Amazon, Tractor Supply and Lowe’s for around $260, although it’s frequently discounted.

What should I set my Hisense dehumidifier to?

The humidity setting you choose for your dehumidifier depends on what feels comfortable to you. While many dehumidifiers can be set as low as 30%, some homeowners find that setting too low, and the air becomes too dry for comfort. For those who live in humid locations, a setting of 50% is usually adequate to feel a difference from the outdoors. In any case, for your home’s well-being, choose a setting between 30% and 50% for the best results.

What is the continuous mode on a Hisense dehumidifier?

Understanding what a dehumidifier does can help you understand continuous mode on your Hisense machine. When operating your dehumidifier at a particular humidity setting, the machine will stop removing water from the air when it reaches the desired level.

In continuous mode, the machine will keep running to remove as much water vapor from the air as it can, regardless of the humidity setting. The feature is useful when trying to dry out a room or an area that’s been affected by large amounts of humidity for a short time.

How do I get my Hisense dehumidifier to drain through a hose?

Getting your Hisense dehumidifier to drain through a hose is a simple matter of connecting a hose with a garden hose fitting onto the provided drain attachment. The fitting is found behind a small access door on the left side of the machine and is visible when the water reservoir is removed. There’s no need to remove the reservoir or make any other adjustments once the hose is attached.

Deane Biermeier brings more than 30 years of hands-on experience in residential construction, remodeling and home repair. After decades of helping homeowners uncover potential in their spaces, he transitioned into writing to share that expertise with a wider audience. His work focuses on giving readers clear, practical guidance so they can confidently tackle home projects, maintenance, and purchasing decisions, like choosing the right dehumidifier for their space.

Paul Rankin, Content Updates Editor at Family Handyman, updated and contributed research to this article. Paul also writes for Reader’s Digest, Bob Vila and Taste of Home and has written shopping guides since 2021.