Why do dehumidifiers turn off and stop collecting water? This is something that callers ask us over and over again. I think that once someone has invested in a dehumidifier they want it to collect water on a daily basis and they are disappointed when it stops collecting water. Before I explain why the dehumidifier not collecting water is perfectly normal lets switch to another piece of equipment that we use in the house that we have a greater understanding of – our central heating.
An explanation – with the aid of the central heating example.
When we set the thermostat to say 22°C our radiators become hot, if we were to put our hands on the radiator later and found it to be lukewarm or cool then we would not think that the radiator is faulty, we would just accept that the room temperature is up to 22°C and the radiator has been turned off by the stat. We know that when the room temperature drops the radiators will turn on again and they will once more be hot to the touch.
Back to the dehumidifier and the same thing is happening, albeit in reverse. You select your set point and the dehumidifier dries the air down to this point, when the relative humidity falls below this level the dehumidifier stops working. When the relative humidity rises again the dehumidifier will turn itself on and start to collect water again.
Hopefully that makes sense and you now know why your dehumidifier sometimes stops working.
Products featured: dehumidifiers
311 responses
I have a 12l meaco
It’s louder than I expected and blows cool
Air
It does collect water. Or I would think it’s broken
Is it supposed to blow cold. Even after a few hours running?
Is there an option to blow warm?
Thanks
Lynn
Lynn,
Thank you for your enquiry and a common concern and question, about “cool air being blown out”.
Please note that the dehumidifier does not have the capability to cool a space. However, as the air circulates, it may feel cool, especially if your space is already a bit cooler. While the air passes through the unit, it actually warms up by about 1°C, but the airflow can create a cooling sensation in a cooler room. Try introducing heat to your space and you should notice the difference!
Kind regards,
Omar@Meaco.
Hi. I purchased an areate two 12lt three days ago. Left it for the 6 hours to settle as per instructions. Now it’s been running for the three days on my landing and the humidity level has only decreased by 3 bars. It also wavers up and down. It’s working and collecting water so why is it taking do long to reach the 55 setting. And why wavering ?
Christine,
Thank you for your question. This is a common concern regarding the humidity levels and the wavering readings.
It’s normal for the humidity level to fluctuate as the unit adjusts to the new environment, especially in spaces with high moisture. The 55% setting is a target, and depending on the initial humidity level, it can take some time to reach that point, especially if you haven’t frequently been using a dehumidifier.
If the unit is collecting water, it indicates that it’s functioning. If you continue to see limited progress in a week, please let us know, and we can help troubleshoot further or discuss your options.
Kind regards,
Omar@Meaco.
I love Meaco products, but my arete one has suddenly stopped extracting water, the filter is not blocked, my house is old and is damp, so it’s not related to heating being on etc, (heating not been on either) it’s in same place as, it does extract a small amount of water, but nowhere near the amount it normally does, the settings haven’t been changed, it’s staying at around 73/75 when it normally comes down to around 58, I normally empty a full tank of extracted water or more per day, it’s an arete 12, I have a small house, and baffled why after 16 months of excellent extraction it’s not working properly, I registered my warranty, I think the product has 2 or 5 years warranty, but wanted to check if its something simple before I contact warranty.
Our toddler has pushed a small paintbrush into the fan from the vent on top of the unit, is there a way to open up the unit to take it out?
Steve,
Individuals who operate or work on the refrigerant circuit must have the appropriate certification issued by a national accredited organisation that ensures competence in handling flammable refrigerants according to a specific evaluation recognised by national associations in the industry and compliant with the latest R32 guidance. Servicing should only be carried out by a Meaco approved engineer using original Meaco parts to prevent damage to the unit and potential injury to the engineer, contact our customer service team if you need this serviced, for reference, no safety issues, rather it will be potentially annoying if it is clipping the fan blade.
Kind regards,
Omar@Meaco.
My 3 month old 12L is not filling up – shuts off after half full – using on both modes – readings are still high so really it should fill up before shiutting off ?
Gill,
Thank you for your enquiry, if I understood correctly, your query is about your dehumidifier turning off before the water tank has filled.
Our dehumidifiers stay on until they are 3%rh below the target to ensure that things are stable and to take into account the accuracy of the sensor. So what you are seeing is normal.
I would advise you check the target, against the reading, and you should be seeing water in the tank and be patient with the results.
Lastly a few tips when using your dehumidifier:
– Situate your dehumidifier in a central area (e.g. a landing or hallway)
– Keep your dehumidifier running 24/7
– Keep all internal doors open
– Keep external doors and windows closed
I hope that helps, kind regards,
Omar@Meaco.
Hi,
My Meaco ABC 20l constantly switches to sleep mode. Doesn’t matter how many times I reset the device it turns back the sleep mode after a few seconds. How I can fix this problem? Cheers
Hi Jack, this could be becuase you are not pressing a second button within 30 seconds of pressing the timer button.
So you will need to press the timer button for 2 seconds, and then press another button within 30 seconds to confirm coming out of sleep mode. Alternatively, you could unplug the
dehumidifier for 40 minutes.
I hope that helps 🙂
April
Brought a dehumidifier/ air purifier and have been using consistently over 24 hours to dehumidifier the house. We pressed it so it went to smart mode of 55. It isn’t working anymore though. I could under stand when display said 52 as that’s 3% below but its on 57 and silent. Not sucking anything in. Could anyone tell me why please?
Hi Emma, thank you for getting in touch. How long has the machine been silent? As in Smart Mode the dehumidifier will go to sleep for 30 minutes after the relative humidiity has been reached. After 30 minutes, it will wake back up for 5 minutes to measure the relative humidity and then if above target, it should come back on.
I hope that helps. Let me know if not.
April
Brand new 25l model. Night mode worked fine for a week, but now after 1 wk night mode just as loud as normal mode. Is there a reset method?
Christo,
Thank you for your recent purchase. An increase in fan speed during night mode would indicate one of two factors, a humidity increase resulting to the fan temporarily using the higher fan speed until humidity is within control, or the second, being a decrease in temperature, a drop in temperature could cause the unit to use the higher fan speed to continue extracting moisture at the target level. Once one of these have been achieved, you should notice the fan returns to the lower fan speed setting.
I hope that helps, if you wish to discuss further give us a call.
Kind regards,
Omar@Meaco.
Hi, we’ve had our Meaco now for around 3 years.. we’ve moved into a new home about a month ago.. the dehmidifer was working fine up until now. For some reason it’s staying on 61 and isn’t shutting off or collecting water.
6 month old Meaco DD8L… using proper silicon hose to drain external, last few weeks it is draining to tank despite external hose fitted.. filling up and switching off.
Cut back hose 30mm and refitted. Had meacos for last 7 yrs always with same setup, never had issues before.