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 recently bought the 20l LE model after reading so many great reviews. I was excited for it to arrive.
    It has been running non stop since I received it, (48 hrs) I set the level to 40 so it would continue to , yet I am having to use my window vac again in the mornings on the windows as it is not clearing them of condensation, which is the very reason I bought it.
    I feel really disappointed as I was expecting far better and especially as I do have another non branded far cheaper dehumidifier which is smaller that is capable of clearing the windows.
    I can only think this machine has a fault on it?..

    1. Lee,

      Thank you for your purchase but 48 hours is not long enough to expect condensation to disappear especially with the cold weather we are having. The dehumidifier needs to dry the air, deal with the moisture that you will be putting into the house each day and dry out the contents of the house once the air is dry. This process does take weeks.

      Tips for getting good results are;

      Keep windows/blinds open during the day
      Leave internal doors open as much as possible.
      Run the machine 24/7 somewhere central in the home.
      Keep the filter clean.
      Try to reduce how much moisture you put into the house through cooking, bathing, showering drying washing etc.
      Open windows after bathing and showering for 15 minutes.
      If you dry washing on a clothes horse then use the dehumidifier to dry the clothes on the rack in a small room with the door closed.

      Please note that the older your windows are the more condensation you will get and if you have single glazed windows then you will always get some condensation.

      Hope this helps.

      Chris

      1. Hi, Chris, I have a 3 bed house and it has no vents on the windows so upstairs in the morning the windows are bad, we bought this week the 20l and it has been great, but we want to sleep and the noise can be heard, especially my daughter.
        Can we move it from upstairs on the landing to the hall below and still expect the same service? We will keep the doors open. It will just be quieter at night.

        1. Danny,

          Thank you for your purchase. The only way to find out to be honest is to give it a go, if the doors are open and the curtains open then you should be fine.

          Chris

      2. I completely agree with the comment about keeping the filter clean. I found black mould im the corners of my livong room today, and realised the water tank on my 20l low energy dehumidifier was empty. It had been weeks since it was emptied, so I couldn’t work out how I had black mould, that was consistent with a previously diagnosed condensation issue, but my unit was empty and reading 47% rh.

        So after doing a bit of digging, I realised how dirty the filter was. Cleaned it up, and now the rh % is up at 70, and it is pulling water into the tank again.

        Relatively simple fix, but not something I’d even considered

  2. I have. Meaco platinum 20l and 12litre. Both worked fine for 6 months and now the 20l model shows humidity at 21-23% and does not activate , whilst the 12 litre model shows 55% and is running virtually constantly. What is wrong with the 20 litre model and how do I fix it ?
    It’s still under warranty.

    1. Chris,

      On the 20L check that the filter is clean and run it on CO right next to the 12L also running on CO and see what readings you get after 2 hours. If you need more help then please do call us on 01483 234900.

      Chris

      1. Hi Chris, thank you for your reply.
        I ran both for two hours, after 15 mins readings of RH were 75% (12litre) and 30% (20 litre) dropping to 45% (12 litre) and 20% (20 litre) after 2 hours. Both collected water but the RH sensor on the 20 litre model appears to read incorrectly. What do you advise ?
        Thanks

        Chris

  3. Hi Chris, I have bought a 12 L dehumidifier. The unit does not auto switch off at the set point. I can set it at 80 and it will show 65 and still keep on.

    1. Adrian,

      Thank you for your purchase, two things here.

      Please press the button under the display and see what number flashes up, this is the target that the machine is working to.

      80%rh is far too high, mould will still grow at that level. A more sensible figure will be 50 / 55%rh.

      Chris

  4. I’ve had my Meacodry ABC for just over a year – just noticed that it now won’t work, it is plugged in but the display panel appears to be dead. If I take out the water tank it does bleep 3 times. Any ideas

      1. If the machine still bleeps then it is alive and it suggests that the Power button is being held down too long. It just needs a quick press. If that fails then please call 01483234900 so that customer service can organise a repair for you.

  5. Hi, we recently bought Meaco Low Energy 12 Litre Dehumidifier. My husband turned in on and after few minutes it stopped working. He took the water tank off and placed it inside again and worked again. It keeps repeating. The level of the humanity is 70 so it shouldn’t turn off? Please advise!

    1. First thing to check is the target you have set it to. Use the up or down arrown under the display and press that once to see the target you have set and then keep pressing it until you see 50 on the display. The dehumidifier will only run if the target is below the room humidity.

      Hope this helps.

      Chris

  6. Hello. I have a DD8L Junior, it still runs ok but will occasionally switch itself off and the red alert triangle will appear. Is there a faulty part or does something need cleaning inside?

    1. Sarah,

      Either the filter needs cleaning, the rear of the machine is too close to a wall or furniture or the water sout is becoming blocked.

      Chris

      1. My DD8L worked perfectly a couple of years, but now it suddenly stops with Alarm led (beside power led). Have to unplug/plug power and then push start again. Then ok for a while. Filter is clean (washed and blown)! Drain is ok (no frost)! Anything else to check?
        As I have it in my boat where I’m not able to check every day now in winter, this is a bit problematic.
        I love dry boats (inside)!

        1. Brynjar,

          Make sure that the filter is clean and that the spout is not blocked. Then try running it in single fan speed and the thumbs up setting. If the problem persists then call us on 01483 234900 so that we can help you further.

          Chris

  7. Continuing..
    My set target % is always lower than the numbers in the display and this is probably not so strange when no water is collected.

    1. If you set target percentage is lower than the room humidity then you should be collecting some water.

  8. καλησπέρα έχω τον meaco 20l platinum και δείχνει στην οθόνη του -7 την μπορεί να φταίει

  9. Hi we just bought a 20l Meaco dehumidifier and I set the relative humidity to 50. It’s at 46 and it hasn’t turned itself off which I thought it was meant to when it had reached its target humidity? Am I doing something wrong? It’s not on continuous mode from what I can see. I set it to 50. Thanks so much

    1. Kathryn,

      Thank you for your purchase and your comment. Your dehumidifier will turn off shortly. We allow the relative humidity to go a few percentage points below the target to ensure that the relative humidity is stable and to take into account the accuracy of the relative humidity sensor. You will soon see it go to rest and then wake up again.

      Chris

      1. Hello. I have bought my meaco arete20 in August, worked amazing until now. I have noticed this week in Smart Laundry mode that is not collecting water, it worked for a couple of minutes and then the dehumidifying indicator button is not on, only smart humidity mode/air purification is on. Turned it on and off, unplugged it, switched to smart humidity mode and happened again after a few minutes the dehumidifying indicator it was off again. Temperature in the room is around 18/20 C , i have taken out the Hepa filter as it was old and grey ( new ones are out of stock) and I still have that problem.

        1. At the moment the humidity levels are very, very low, this is because of the freezing temperatures. If you are seeing numbers in the 30s on the display or lower, then don’t expect water to be collected. These numbers will increase as the weather warms up next week.

  10. Hello,
    I bought a 20l low energy dehumidifier after my DD8L stopped working (after 6 years use). I ran it for 2 hours last night on 30% (to dry some laundry) and an hour this morning and there no water has been collected in the tank. Is this normal? The DD8L would have collected a considerable amount of water in the same time frame. Am I doing anything wrong? I called up customer service and they advise letting the dehumidifier run for 24 hours straight to let it adapt to the environment. I am doing this and will report back. Thanks, Mary

    1. Mary,

      Thank you for your purchase and your message. You have been given good advice but two hours and one hour is not long enough for a compressor dehumidifier, especially if it is in a small room. Things to check are;

      Is the room humidity on the display higher than your set target?
      Press the up or down button once to check the target humidity is set as you thought.
      Make sure that the filter is clean so that air is actually getting through and onto the coils.

      If you run it for 24 hours and the relative humidity is above 50%rh then you should get water.

      Please do contact customer service again tomorrow and let them know what has happened.

      Chris

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