Mould and condensation are often a cause for concern at this time of year, with more rainy and colder days our priority is to keep our homes warm and comfortable to live in. One way of preventing mould, condensation and damp inside your home is by using a dehumidifier, but with so many options on the market it’s important to make sure you are buying one that will not only help combat the problem of excess humidity, but which also has a long lifespan.
Before buying your dehumidifier, we recommend that you look for tell-tale signs of excess moisture in your home as there are always clear indicators of high humidity; for instance mould on walls, condensation on the windows, or musty smells to name a few.
Things to think about when choosing your dehumidifier:
How many rooms does your house have?
Firstly, you will have to understand the size of the house and which dehumidifier to use according to this – usually near the kitchen or just outside the bathroom with the door open are the more humid areas.
Will you want to move your dehumidifier around? If so, a dehumidifier with wheels is probably preferable. Are you using it in a small flat or home? A more compact dehumidifier would work for this, like our MeacoDry Arete 12L with its small, lightweight and compact design complete with castors.
When considering which dehumidifier to buy, you might want to think of the size of your house and read the specifications of the dehumidifier you want to buy (ours can be found in the instruction manual or on the technical overview tab on each product page).
Up to 2 bedroom flat/house | Up to 3 bedroom house | Up to 4 bedroom house | Up to 5 bedroom house or townhouse | |
Slightly damp 50%-60% relative humidity Light mould/condensation | 10L | 12L | 20L | 20L |
Moderately damp 60%-70% relative humidity Musty smells/regular mould/condensation | 12L | 12L | 20L | 25L |
Very damp 70%-80% relative humidity House always cold/mould & condensation in multiple rooms. Drying washing. | 12L | 20L | 25L | 25L x 2 |
Wet 80%-100% relative humidity Condensation on walls, mould on furniture/clothes. | 20L | 20L | 25L x 2 | 25L x 2 |
Energy efficiency
With high energy bills affecting us all these days, we are always looking for ways to reduce our electricity bills. When buying a dehumidifier, it’s important to consider the running cost over the initial price of the unit as it could save you a lot of money in the long term.
None of our products are energy draining products, in fact we have the most energy efficient range of dehumidifiers in Europe and we are proud to be leading the way in low energy dehumidifiers. That is why we encourage our customers to always look at all the technical information when buying any electrical product, as you could save yourself hundreds of pounds every year in energy consumption.
Read more about how buying a Meaco dehumidifier could save you over £700 in 5 years.
For Meaco, being transparent with our customers is our priority. We are more transparent than anyone else in the industry, that’s why the running costs are available for each model on the Technical Data tab on each product page. For more product specific details, please refer to the product page.
Will you be using your dehumidifier to dry your laundry?
Smaller flats or homes usually don’t have room for a tumble dryer, so the laundry tends to be hung to dry on a drying rack, the radiator or the back of chairs. In the colder months we keep our windows closed to prevent the heated air from escaping.
This results in the moisture from the clothes staying inside the home and the relative humidity starts to build up. Mould and condensation will then appear on cold surfaces around the home, on your windows or north facing walls.
If your flat or home doesn’t have an extractor fan in the bathroom or in the kitchen above the hob, the build up of humidity will be even worse.
Desiccant or compressor dehumidifier?
Another feature to consider when buying your dehumidifier is whether you want a desiccant or compressor dehumidifier. For a cold room (below 10°C) , you will want to buy a desiccant dehumidifier. For use in a warm room, the compressor dehumidifier is better for you.
Desiccant dehumidifiers are lighter and quieter in their low fan speed. They have a heater inside and they have a consistent performance regardless of the temperature; the air released from the desiccant dehumidifier is around 10-12°C warmer. So they are better if you’re using it in a cold hallway as they’ll warm the space up.
Compressor dehumidifiers work better in spaces that are already warm, above 10°C, if you are using a large compressor machine (20/25L) or above 16°C for a smaller compressor dehumidifier (10/12L). If you’re using it in a room that’s already nice and warm, the compressor is the best and will release air that is around 2°C warmer and will use less energy.
Look for customer reviews or press reviews
As with all purchases, it’s always best to have a look at reviews written by other customers or articles by press reviews or other product testing companies. Not only will they reveal the benefits of using the product, but it might also help give an idea on where to use it.
We are very proud to have won many awards for our dehumidifiers, notably Which?, Good Housekeeping Institute and QuietMark, but the great feedback that we receive on a daily basis about our dehumidifiers and the support from our customer support team. Reviews will always give you a more objective opinion and more detailed idea of your product. Our reviews can be found under ‘reviews’ on the product pages.
Have a look at one of our recent press reviews of our MeacoDry Arete from Expert Reviews (which won dehumidifier of the year!).
92 responses
I have managed to get a meaco arete 12l,I live in a 1 bed flat, should I leave it centrally or put it in different rooms with door shiut. At moment it’s in hall way.
I had no condensation on windows this morning apart from bedroom because door shut.
Thanks for advice
I would put it somewhere central and leave the internal doors open. Remember to use it to dry laundry if you are drying clothes indoors.
I’ve just read that for the 12l it needs to be in temps for 16 degreea or above is that true?
Doesn’t have to be, but it performs best above 16C.
I have a 4 bed detached property and find that the the windows in the bed rooms, lounge, kitchen, landing are always ringing wet in the morning. The one lounge particularly has a musty smell particularly noticeable in the morning.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Get a 20L or 25l dehumidifier and start to use it as soon as you can. If you are drying laundry indoors then use the dehumidifier to dry the clothes as well.
Hi,
I live in a 3 bed bungalow approximately 100m2.
We are 2 adults and 2 children.
We need to do cloths indoors in the winter on a heated dryer.
We are getting humidity between 70 and 80 percent at times in the bedrooms and lounge. (Particularly at night and evenings)
We have water running down the minnows and mould on the ceiling and walls by the windows developping at times.
Do I need a 20l dehumidifier for this situation? (Or will a 12l be fine?
Dom
You need a 20L and use it to dry that washing because at the moment the moisture from the clothes is being allowed to cause issues around the house.
Chris
Hi there, we live in a green bedroom semi detached house. There are two adults and two children, plus a dog. In winter We suffer with a lot of condensation on our aluminium bifold doors. These are in a room next to our utility room, where we do occasionally hang washing as well as using our tumble dryer. We ideally want a dehumidifier that will sit on the side, rather than take up space on the floor, so guess 12 or 20litre compressor type??
Ben,
A 20L compressor unit would be too large to put on the side, I would either go for a 10/12L compressor machine or na DD8L Junior depending whether you want some extra warmth in the space (from the DD8L) or just the cheapest to run (the compressor machines).
Chris
Hi, I’ve finally bagged an Arete One 25L for a 4-bedroom, detached, modernish build with 2 upstairs bathrooms, a family of 4 and washing on all the radiators! Being new to the dehumidifier bandwagon, I’m struggling to find info on the best or most efficient place to leave the unit, upstairs or downstairs? Any thoughts/advice?…
Paul,
Thank you for buy the dehumidifier.
First thing to do is get the washing off the radiators and place it on a clothes rack in a small room and use the dehumidifier to dry the washing. This will stop the moisture from the clothes from travelling arounjd the house and causing issues.
Place the dehumidifier somewhere central, either top or bottom of the stairs, when it is not drying the washing and leave the internal doors open, so that the damp air migrates to the dehumidifier.
Set the dehumidifier to 50%rh and leave it to run.
Chris
Which dehumidifier would you recommend for a 3 bed flat which has condensation on the windows which tend to drip down forming small puddles on the window sills. The balcony door in the lounge tends to get condensation on the wall to one side of the door, which leads to mould forming all the way down. The main bedroom also has an issue with condensation all the way down in one corner of the room. These rooms face north west, so they are particularly cold and so susceptible to condensation, damp and mould. Both rooms are 4.87m x 3.26m or 16′ x 10’8.
I have to hang my washing in the hallway of my flat, which doesn’t help the situation. Please advise. Thank you.
It is the laundry that is the big issue so use a dehumidifier to dry the laundry and make good use of any extraction you have in the kitchen and bathroom. If you are on your own in the flat then a 12L will be fine, if there are more of you then get an Arete 20L. The Arete is still quiet enough to use in a flat.
We have a house on 2 levels, 3 beds and one bath on the first floor, front room and open plan kitchen-diner-conservatory on the ground floor. Our washer dryer are outside the house. We’ve been struggling with penetrating damp on the north facing walls on the first floor (inside wall fitted wardrobes). We need to get exterior work done but if we wanted to also install dehumidifiers what would you recommend please?
A 12L machine if there are 3 people or less in the house, a 20L if there are more and you don’t have good extraction in the kitchen and bathroom.
The loft in our three bed semi is producing a great deal of condensation and we have a lot of stuff stored such as camping equipment. We do have roof vents which have been sufficient in the past but now I am trying to dry my washing without the tumble dryer and the heating is on less than we’d like, it’s really becoming a concern. Could you advise if a dehumidifier would help please? It’s very cold up there as the house is a fairly modern timber framed, brick skinned ‘super warm’ home and highly insulated. Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks
Two separate issues really. You need a dehumidifier to look after the house and to stop moisture from escaping into the loft in the first place. Get a 20L Arete for drying the washing (available today from QVC).
This website has lots of good advice on the loft issue – https://www.petercox.com/our-services/condensation/loft/#:~:text=Insulation%20causing%20condensation%20in%20the%20loft&text=Condensation%20in%20lofts%20occurs%20when,the%20underside%20of%20the%20roof.
Hi,could you recommend a dehumidifier for a 3 bedroom terraced house,3 people at most in it,bedroom windows have condensation,mostly on cold days/nights,I have looked into the 20l arete,I would also like to use it to dry laundry in a medium sized spare bedroom,I always have a lot of washing and dont want to be using my tumble dryer,and I never hang my clothes on the radiator..thanks in advance
The Arete 20 or 25L would be best. Stock will be in Argos tomorrow and John Lewis between Christmas and New Year.
Chris
Hi, can you recommend the best low energy option for a 2 bed house. 60sqm, average temperature is around 12° without heating, but the house is getting lots of condensation on walls and windows.
Nikki,
If the temperature will never go above 15°C then it has to be a Arete 20L or a 20L Low Energy model. If the temperature will actually go above 15°C most of the time then one of the Meaco 12L machines will be fine.
Chris
Can you recommend the best humidifier for a cold conservatory size about 12 x15
That is an easy one, the Meaco DD8L Junior – https://www.meaco.com/products/meaco-dd8l-junior-dehumidifier
Hi Chris,
I live in a 2 bed flat, in the winter the temperature is around 13-15 when I wake up and then between 16-19 during the day as the heating is on or off. I was looking at the Arete 12L, which is out of stock everywhere, but bit concerned it won’t be much use between 14-17 degrees, would I be better buying a deccisant one? I live near a busy road so I thought air purifier was a useful bonus.
What would you recommend?
Thanks!
david,
I would go for the Arete 20L, better at all of those temperatures than the small machine or the desiccant and a lot cheaper to run than desiccant.
John Lewis will have stock tomorrow.
Chris