Can anyone recommend a good dehumidifier?

[DanielaDressen]

So we have a Meaco one downstairs which I have to say I’m not impressed by. Cost nearly £200. It runs 24/7, never seems to get the humidity below 65% and only needs the little tank emptying out every few days so doesn’t actually seem to suck much water up. Which is odd as it has good reviews.

im after another one for our bedroom now as am fed up with the smell of damp (I have bedroom window open all day currently and this isn’t helping). So figured I’d try shutting the window and running a dehumidifier instead?

We have the heating up to 20 degrees as below that we get mould. So I’m heating and airing the house.

so yes if anyone is happy with their dehumidifier and it actually seems to fill the water tank up any recommendations much appreciated.

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If you're short on time, here are the top dehumidifier recommendations from this thread:

• MeacoDry Arete® One 12L dual Dehumidifier & HEPA air purifier, from £160
• Russell Hobbs RHDH1001 10 Litre/Day Dehumidifier, £89
• Inventor 20L/Day Dehumidifier, £146
• EcoAir DD1 Classic MK6 Grey Desiccant Dehumidifier, £243
• Blyss 16l/d Dehumidifier WDH-316DB, £190

For more Mumsnetter-approved dehumidifiers, take a look at our round-up of the UK's best dehumidifiers.
MNHQ

I haven't used this website but this is mine, the 20l one
It pulls humidity down from 80+ if I'm drying clothes and the tank fills up fairly quickly

kettleandtoasterman.co.uk/product/black-and-decker-20-litre-dehumidifier-bxeh60004/?srsltid=AfmBOoq7e8QGLWbh8Wx7HxKRx04xEXEqvC4Zx0U5burBkWOHo2yXJtG5IRw

My house gets damp really easily so I have 2 Meaco ones and they both work really well, so it may be worth contacting Meaco about the one you have. I found their customer service was really good when I had an issue a few years ago

I would also contact Meaco about your one. Mine is fantastic and the tank fills to the brim every day.

I have this one and it's brilliant- really makes a difference in my damp house
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inventor-Dehumidifier-Continuous-Drainage-Consumption/dp/B097MK7KQX

I bought another for my daughter to help dry washing in her student flat as it has a laundry mode

Have you hoovered and scrubbed the filter at the back? Meaco usually gets rave reviews so it sounds like a fault rather than brand issue.

That being said I'm very happy with my new ProBreeze dehumidifiers, I've just got a 10l for upstairs and 20l for downstairs/laundry room. The smaller has a 2l tank and is full within 24 hours, similar to the downstairs although that's 4l tank but I do use it for laundry.

I bought a Meaco one after mumsnet rave reviews and regretted it.
It was so loud compared to my previous one and it has no wheels on the bottom so is a pain to move from room to room.

I bought 3 Russell Hobbs RHD1001B off Amazon for £115 each. I hate it that twice a year (autumn and spring) we struggle so much with indoor humidity. So I've got one for downstairs, one for the room we hang our laundry in to dry, and one to move about from bedroom to dressing room, etc. They're only 10L but they're doing a great job and they are light enough to transport about the house. My only complaint about them is that the automatic shut off when they're full is quite late in my opinion. This is quite a compact little unit and they haven't left much room for error, so I try to keep an eye on it to empty sooner than that! I shut them off once they've got to mid 50's, as I'm comfortable with that. I read that 30 to 60 is an ok humidity level.

Thanks everyone, i bought it in 2019 so not sure Meaco will help much as out of warranty. Saying that i dont think ive cleaned the filter in ages so will give that a go….not that i ever remember it filling up quick even when new.

Yes, it’s quite heavy. I lugged the Meaco upstairs today and can’t be doing that too often!

Have you double checked you've not put it on a random setting IE have you set it to 65%? That was just my first thought when I read your post. I'm not sure they have a "factory reset" button but Google might help.

I don’t think it has such a setting and if there was one I’d have thought it would turn off. It runs constantly until the tank eventually fills up. Bedroom is currently 77% damp according to the screen and it’s been running a few hours in there. I emptied the tank before moving it up there, will see how much water I get out. Haven’t done the filter yet. Then tomorrow I’ll clean the filter and see if it makes a difference.

Very interested in this as we've just bought a very old house and I'm worried about drying clothes in the winter. OH wants to drape sopping wet clothes on the radiators which I am NOT having. I don't really know anything about dehumidifiers so this is very useful, thank you.

We have this model and it’s great. You need to clean the filter regularly otherwise the motor is under strain trying to bring in air.

MeacoDry Arete® One 20L Dual Dehumidifier & HEPA Air Purifier

Ok so after about 4 hours the humidity has gone down from 77% to 76%. I have given up and took the filter out and hoovered it. Doesn’t look any cleaner, do they need actual washing? Should I buy a new filter. They’re £37 for three!! Edited, had found them cheaper on spares2go.

So another 4 hours after hoovering the filter. Humidity still 76% so it’s done nothing. There’s maybe another 100mls of water. So it’s extracting 500mls a day max I reckon.

I have a 2ltr Meaco and it's great. Gets down to 51% and, on a rainy day, the tank needs emptying after running overnight.

Strange, Im really happy with my Meaco. I can’t remember which model it is but it was the cheapest one.

I boughtbit in January this year, btw.

I always mention this on these types of post, have a look at piv units. Positive input ventilation. They go in your attic a blow air through out your house. Ours is a nuaire piv. I know quite a few people who have them and are happy with them, we used to get water every morning on our windows which we don't now. Worth checking if it's suitable for you

I have bought dehumidifiers from Aldi and B&Q (own brand), and they have worked fine, as has my daughter’s random brand from Amazon. They’re not very complicated machines, and don’t need much maintenance. My oldest one is about 20 years old and still works fine, except for a dodgy castor, so I keep it in one place.

So, I recommend you to just get a mid range one of reasonable size, and follow the instructions.

I’ve been nagging dh about one of these for years

We have had ours 10yrs now, recommend them to everyone 😁, obviously there's more modern ones on the market than mine.

@Thatwouldbeme do you find it’s a cold draught coming from the unit? Dh worries about the cold loft air making the upstairs freezing. I know you can get one with a heater unit but one review said it could be £3 a day if running all the time!

And also our thermostat is on the landing so if there’s cold air blowing in then the heating will be on constantly and cost a fortune?

We’ve got a meaco arête 1 25litre, it is fantastic and probably one of the most life enhancing things I have ever bought, it has transformed our chilly damp house into a not-damp house😆

It really sounds like there’s someone wrong with yours, because when it’s really damp mine needs emptying every 12 hours or so. Meaco are very highly regarded, it can’t hurt to drop them an email and ask what can be done to fix it?

However, the instruction booklet does clearly say you should hoover the filter weekly and replace it wvery 3 months- if you haven’t do it at all since 2019 maybe it’s just gunked up inside?