Dehumidifier not working – that’s ok, it’s normal

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

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311 responses

  1. I have a 20l dehumidifier that is 6 months old. It is now running and displaying a setting LC then after a few minutes the display goes blank and the machine carries on working for a period of time. Up until now I set a humidity level and the machine automatically came on and switched off as required but there was always information on the display?

  2. Hi I have the Medco 20L model and though I emptied the tank, the “Empty tank” light stays on and the unit is not starting up again, I tried to take it out and put it in again lots of times but to no avail.

    Any suggestions, please?
    Thanks Very much and best regards
    Joseph

    1. Joseph,

      Please make sure that the float inside the tank is free to move up and down and that dirt is not making it stick in one place. If it is moving freely then please call the office on 01483 234900 so that we can help you further.

      Chris

      1. Hi I have a Meaco abc 12l for about 6 months all was working well with what I bought it for which is mainly to dry my washing but in the last 2 weeks there has been no water collecting at all, what should I do please?

        1. Jaime,

          Check that you filter is clean. What reading are you seeing on the display when the fan is running? If it is below 40 then that will be why you are collecting any water. Are you using the Laundry mode or are you running it on a humidistat setting?

          Chris

  3. I’ve had the Meaco DDL8 for about a week now, its doing a good job. However it switches itself off? I thought at first it must have reach the relative humidity, However it doesn’t appear to switch its self back on and there is no lights to suggest it is in Standby. If I manual switch it back on in starts working again? Please can you advise?

    1. Michele,

      Thank you for your purchase, if there is anything wrong with the dehumidifier then the red light next to the warning triangle will come on, if this is not lit up then the machine is fine. So it sounds like it is responding to the humidistat, when it next switches off if you have it set to the thumbs up setting (50%rh) then try changing the stting to the three droplets (40%rh) and see what happens. If it is in it’s sleep cycle (up to 30 minutes) you will have wait for half an hour to see how it responds.

      Hope this helps.

      Chris

  4. I’ve bought at Meaco 20L Low Energy Platinum Dehumidifier and it’s been running for two days and there has not been one drop of water collected. What could the problem be?

    1. Ryan,

      Thank you for your purchase. Check the number on the display, if the fan is running then this is the room relative humidity. Press either the up or the down arrow once and this is the target relative humidity you have set. If the target is higher that the room reading then that is why you are not collecting water. You can us the down arrow to lower your target if you wish.

      If the fan is running and the room reading is higher than the target then you should get some water as long as the airflow coming into the machine is not blocked.

      For more detail and help then please call us on 01483 234900.

      Chris

      1. Hi Chris, we have Maeco Dehumidifier 10L for the last two and a half years, but since last night it started to beeb non stop and the display is flashing, humidity percentage change constantly and then the display dies but the device still working. Non of the buttons are working. We can only turn it on/off from the mains. Please any advice what to do. Thanks

  5. Hi
    I bought the Medco 20L model last week.
    I have it set to run to 50%.
    The building is a small 2 bedroom bungalow.

    For the first couple of days it captured about half a talk of water every day, and dropped humidity to almost 50%. For the last 2 days however, it reads 60 or above, and has only collected in those 2 days about 3cm of water. The fan is continually on and doesn’t seem to be capturing water at all anymore.

    I’ve put it in a room with a bedroom as a test, with smaller airspace, and it still won’t read below 60, and isn’t capturing water.

    What should I do?

    Thanks

    Brian

    1. Brian,

      As long as the dehumidifier is collecting water and you are not getting ice forming on the coils behind the filter then it is working fine and all is ok. What you are seeing is more likely to be a slight change in temperature effecting the relative humidity but the moisture content remains unchanged. Drying a home out takes about a month and you are better off leaving it in a central location, keeping the internal doors open and letting it run. It will react as it needs to and you will see a massive difference over the course of 6 weeks or so.

      Chris

  6. Hi there,

    We purchased a Meaco 12l low energy unit this week for our 1-bedroom flat. The humidty level we originally saw when turning it one was over 90% in the flat.. Overnight this dropped to around 75 but the water tank only filled once over about 10 hours.
    We emptied it, then turned the unit back on for the day. Again, the humidity level dropped a bit to around 60 but it took longer to fill the water tank this time.
    So far we’ve been running the dehumidifier almost continuously for 36 hours. Humidity level is still hovering between 65-70 and the water tank has only filled 2 1/2 times. Is this normal?

    1. All sounds normal and ok. It takes several weeks to dry a home out when a dehumidifier is introduced. Please set the humidistat to 50 or 55%rh and let it run. It will gradually get there and you will see a big difference in the air quality and the amount of water collected over time.

      Chris

  7. Hi there I have a Meaco 20 Lt Low energy dehumidifier I am going on holiday and I put I hose in the back of the machine to set up continuous drainage but no water coming out of the hose, only into the front container as normal?

    1. I put washing machine stabilizer feet under the front wheels. This allowed the water to drain easier out of the hose and stopped the dehumidifier vibrating so much

  8. Hi, I purchased a DD8L in February 2017 and after 18 months it has suddenly stopped working for a couple weeks now. I have changed the fuse and cleaned the filter but this has not helped. There isn’t even a light to indicate the problem. Any ideas?

  9. Hi,

    We have two of your 10l dehumidifiers. One is about ten and the other is about five years old and they have both been excellent. The elder of the two does not seem to detect higher humidity any more (we tried swapping them over to check) but will run continuously on the maximum or laundry settings only. I presume the humidistat on it has gone. Is it worth repairing or do you think we should we just buy a new one? Fantastic product though. I really can’t complain if you think it’s knackered. Thanks.

    1. Kate,

      To be honest when it is that age there is no real point in repairing it. If you call the office on 01483234900 then you will be offered a loyalty discount when you buy the new machine.

      Chris

    2. Hi I recently bought the 12L low energy dehumidifier and set it at 50rh on the AP setting. It has been running continuously for the last 48 hours and hasn’t collected any water, even though it is showing that the room humidity is at 58. The manual states at a room temp of 20 degrees and a room humidity of around 60 it can collect 4+ litres a day so I’m a little worried as to why it’s not collecting anything. Could you offer any advice? Many thanks

  10. hi Chris,

    is it possible to change the 30 minute cycle to 15 minute please?
    my place gets cooled quickly and needs checked often.

    thanks

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