Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has urged dehumidifier manufacturers to stop publicising claims from tests involving overly favourable conditions after finding that the devices were less efficient in normal household environments.
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The Consumer Council tested 14 commercially available air dehumidifiers as part of a monthly report published on Monday, assessing elements such as the devices’ “daily dehumidifying capacity”.
The term refers to the maximum amount of moisture a device can remove from the air within 24 hours.
The watchdog tested the machines in two different types of conditions.
The first type was a standard environment where the temperature was 26.7 degrees Celsius (80.1 Fahrenheit) and had a relative humidity of 60 per cent, while the second matched typically manufacturer-favoured test conditions of 30 degrees and 80 per cent relative humidity.
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When tested in conditions favoured by manufacturers, the devices reported a higher capacity of by much as 82 per cent, the watchdog said.