GE Energy Smart 35 Pint Dehumidifier review

GE’s Energy Smart 35 Pint Portable Dehumidifier is small, sleek, and easy to move around your space. It got humidity under control quickly in small spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms. In that sense, it ticks the important boxes a dehumidifier of this size needs to tick.

But, it lacks the advanced features that other best dehumidifiers in this price range all seem to have. Including things like an app to control the unit remotely, and an auto-shut-off feature. It’s also louder than all the other dehumidifier units I’ve tested.

If you’re looking for basic functionality to get control of humidity in a small room and don’t mind the noise, the GE 35 pint dehumidifier gets the job done. But for the money, you can get a similarly-sized unit with more features. 

GE 35 Pint dehumidifier review: Price and availability

The GE Energy Smart 35-Pint Portable Dehumidifier costs $219 if you buy directly on the GE website. It is also available on Amazon for $209 and various retailers including Home Depot. If you purchase the unit through GE’s website, the dehumidifier ships free and comes with a 1-year limited warranty. 

GE 35 Pint dehumidifier review: Design

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The GE 35 Pint dehumidifier is small and sleek. The clean white box makes it easy for this unit to fit into any room’s aesthetic, and it won’t take up too much space in smaller rooms like your bathroom. Casters and molded handles make it easy to move the unit around.

While GE’s website does not list a specific square footage maximum, other retailers do list the unit can handle up to 3,000 square feet, putting it in the same category as much larger units. 

To handle that big duty, GE includes a hose port for continuous draining, but the hose itself is not included. If you choose to use the bucket instead of continuous draining, the GE unit includes an empty bucket alarm so you know when it’s time to dump some water. There’s also a filter replacement reminder built in.

The GE 35 Pint dehumidifier does not feature an auto-shut-off function. Instead, GE includes a Smart Dry feature, which automatically adjusts the fan’s speed according to how humid the room is. But the unit will continue to run unless you turn it off manually. The humidistat is adjustable, so you can set the unit to the desired humidity level. GE recommends 40% humidity for ideal comfort. 

In order to do that, you’ll need to be in the same physical space as the dehumidifier, because GE does not include any app functionality in this unit. There are digital LED controls on the top panel of the dehumidifier, and you’ll need to use these exclusively to control the unit.

GE 35 Pint dehumidifier review: Performance

I set the GE 35 pint dehumidifier up in my basement bathroom, which measures approximately 100 square feet. During and after showers, it gets pretty humid in there — up around 85% to 90% humidity without the overhead fan running. 

During my first test, the humidity level did reach about 90%. I turned on the dehumidifier, and within an hour and a half, the GE dehumidifier had gotten the room down to 35% humidity. 

When I checked in on the unit, it was still running, even though the unit had reached the set humidity level. This dehumidifier does not feature an auto-shut-off, so it will continue to run even after it reaches the set level. I found that a bit strange, since that means more babysitting of the unit. 

The second test produced similar results: In just over an hour, the humidity level dropped from 90% to 35%. In the larger basement space of about 700 square feet, the unit ran for about an hour and forty minutes to achieve its humidity setting of 35%. But keep in mind that the humidity level when I turned the unit on was right around 65%, so there was less humidity to contend with. 

GE touts its Smart Dry feature, which adjusts the fan level to the humidity level in the room. When I checked in on the unit after an hour and a half of running, the fan seemed to be running at the same speed as it was when the humidity was much higher. I double checked the decibel reading, and it read the same as it did when I had first turned the unit on. It’s possible the low setting is just as loud as the high setting, but it seems like an indication that the fan had not changed speed. 

Speaking of that decibel level reading, my meter read 66 decibels on average. That makes the GE Dehumidifier the loudest unit I’ve tested so far, by about 10-15 decibels. GE says on its website that the lowest sound level is 47 decibels, and the highest is 50 decibels. My numbers do not hit that range, by a fairly large margin.

When the dehumidifier is running on the high fan setting, it pulls about 315 watts, according to my smart plug. That’s about what I expected from a unit this size. If you’re running this dehumidifier occasionally, you probably won’t see a marked difference in your electricity bill. If you’re running it constantly for days or weeks on end, expect a small bump. 

I have been testing this dehumidifier for a few weeks with no problems. But it’s worth noting that many consumer reviews across various retailer sites mention complaints about a faulty sensor after 2-3 months of use. That appears to be indicated by an E1 code. If this happens to you during the 1-year limited warranty period, be sure to get in touch with GE for a replacement. 

GE 35 Pint dehumidifier review: Verdict

The GE 35 pint dehumidifier handled excessively humid spaces, as long as those spaces were quite small. Think of a small or medium-sized bathroom or bedroom. But it’s louder than other units of its size, and it is on the small side for larger spaces — certainly far less than the 3,000 square feet advertised on some retailer sites. 

This dehumidifier also lacks some key features like auto-shut-off and an app to control the unit remotely. In which case, you're probably better opting for the HomeLabs 22 Pint Dehumidifier that has such features. And if you're looking for  value for money, the Midea 20 pint cube dehumidifier performed well as our best budget option. However, this does have a smaller pint capacity, in comparison.

In any case, the GE 35 pint dehumidifier performs well in small spaces like my basement bathroom, there are units in this size and price range with more convenient features, and quieter operation.