This is the most common question that we are getting at the moment. Phone call after phone call telling us that their dehumidifier never seems to turn off and it is collecting lots and lots of water. Is this normal people ask us?
The answer is yes.
The Explanation – Why it’s normal.
The dehumidifiers have a built in humidistat that measures the temperature and relative humidity of the room and tells the dehumidifier whether to sleep or dehumidify. If you have a house that has never had a dehumidifier in it before then the dehumidifier will be running flat out for around two to four weeks while it dries out all of the air in the house and then the organic material in the house (wood, clothing, furniture, paper, books etc.) releases all of the moisture into the air that they have been holding on to, giving the dehumidifier more work to do.
As well as the above you are also putting moisture into the air each day (bathing, showering, cooking, breathing etc.) and this slows down the process of getting to a point whereby the humidity is low enough for the dehumidifier to turn off for a rest.
Then there is the weather, if it is raining a lot then the dehumidifier will run for longer. When it has caught up and brought things under control you will find that your dehumidifier turns off and then you will settle into a cycle of on/off/on/off as required.
After all you bought the dehumidifier to dry your house and that is exactly what it is doing for you. So don’t be too hard on your poor old dehumidifier!
Products featured: Dehumidifiers
240 responses
Hi
I have the Meaco 25l low energy dehumidifier.
I have it set to Humidistat Mode at a setpoint of 50%. The unit does start up every 30 minutes and what I see is the displayed humidity will be a lot higher 60-70%. The machine will then run for around 10 minutes reducing it to 49% when it cuts off. Now I know that the room humidity when it turns off doesn’t rise that high, so is the sensor acting on the internal humidity of the dehumidifier. This repeats every 30 minutes, I don’t really see it coming on, sampling the air, then going off again as the number is always quite high when it initially starts the fan, so I suspect it ignores the check and goes straight into running the compressor. Seems strange how the displayed value creeps up so quickly over the 30 minutes?
Is this normal operation?
Mike,
Thank you for your purchase and your question. What you are describing is normal because when the fan is turned off the dehumidifier can only measure the internal relative humidity close to the condensor and it is very damp by there because the condensor is cold and wet and therefore you get a high reading.
It is only when the fan turns on that the dehumidifier is registering the room relative humidity.
Hope this helps.
Hi. I’ve bought a 12L Meaco Dehumidifier just over 2 weeks ago. The unit has been running non-stop ever since with the rh not dropping below 65% with just the dehumidifier running. Yesterday, I decided to use a portable aircon unit to help the dehumidification process and I’ve decided to run the pipes into a bucket to determine how much moisture is being pulled from the air. Within the last 24 hours, +- 20 litres has been pulled and the rh is still on 64% at the time of writing this.
Should I be concerned about the amount of humidity in the air? This is a newly built home of 108 square metres. Could this be a design flaw with lack of ventilation?
Daylin,
Thank you for your message. High humidity is very common at this time of year and it has been very high recently with the warm weather, thunderstorms and high rainfall. The amount extracted will be even higher of you have the windows open.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your quick response. And thank you for providing clarity on the current high level of humidity. I was a bit unsure on whether or not this was normal.
Thank you again for all your help!
Kind regards
Daylin
Thanks for making feel better about the one I bought. I was worried my 30 qt small dehumidifier should be returned so I could buy a bigger one. Everything you said made sense and is happening right now here in Michigan. Moisture is at an all time high so I will stop worrying about how much it’s running.
Hello Chris, I have been reading all the comments about dehumidifiers. I’m sorry I did not buy one of yours but I am having the same problem with setting the RH but it keeps running. We have it set on automatic and 50% RH but when it reaches 50% it does not shut off but the RH goes back up a few %. Is this normal? First time using it.
Rae,
I don’t what machine you have but most dehumidifiers only turn off when they reach a value below the target so you would have to get to 49%rh.
Chris
Hi Chris hope you’ve had a great Easter. Not sure if I’m having a bit of a problem with my Meaco 12L. If it’s set to a certain relative humidity say 50 when its reached and I decrease to a lower one it it won’t turn the compressor on until I turn it off and back on again even if it’s set much lower than the relative humidity? Also the droplet led is constantly illuminated even if the compressor isn’t running just the fan and remains illuminated when it goes into sleep mode? It’s probably the way it’s meant to work but just thought I’d check. Thank you. Dale
Dale,
Thank you for your purchase and your message. The machine is working fine so don’t worry and you don’t have to turn it on or off. When the target humidity has been reached it goes into a 30 minute sleep mode and it will react to your lower setting when it comes out of that 30 minutes and when then start to dry the air again if required.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Thank you for the reply Chris. Makes sense now I’ve thought about it hah is it still right that the droplet indicator is on all the time even when it’s not dehumidifying? I’ll just think of it as a power light 🙂
Dale,
Yes, that is all correct.
Chris
Thanks Chris. Had the Zambezi model previously until I gifted it to a family member with a damp problem in their house so still trying to get used to this one. Have a great one Chris and thanks again for taking the time to reply. Dale
Hi, I have an ABC Meaco dehumidifier, and whilst it seems reasonable that the unit intermittently operates 10 percent below the target set point, how does this make sense when the water collection tray remains bone dry? This would suggest that the unit is simply cooling down air and then heating it up, for no net benefit and unnecessary energy use – or is there another rationale? Thanks
Sailesh,
Thank you for your purchase and your question. The dehumidifier is simply testing the air to see if it needs to turn back on and start to dehumidify again. This is normal and not a fault. When it does this it only uses 30 watts for about one minute.
regards
Chris
Mr.Chris, I bought a Meaco 20L Low Energy dehumiidifier. I put the humitidy setting at 50, 60 or 70 but it does not stop whatever the indication on the RH LCD screen. If lets say I put the setting at 70% and the RH indication drops to 50, it does not stop. Do you think this is OK or there is something wrong with the appliance.
Thank you for your email. If you press the up or down arrow once what number do you get? This number is the set point that the machine is working to and normally in these cases the target is different to what the user thinks and this explains everything.
If you still think that there is a problem then please call the office on 01483 234900 so we can help you further.
Chris
Hi Chris, is it safe rob leqve the meaco dehumidifier on all day and all night, I’m laying when going out to work?
I’ve just got one and understand it will take around a month to dry the place out – so I just want to check it’s okay to be on continuiously and while out of the house.
Many thanks
Maeve
Absolutely fine, no problem at all.
Hi
I have a 20L Meaco which is great but,even though I used the up -down arrows to set it to 55%, it keeps running even when it is showing 45%.What am I missing?
Thanks
I would press the up or down arrow once to check the humidity you have set it to. When you press the button once the number you have set will flash. Any problems then please do call us on 01483 234900.
Hello Chris! We have purchased your 12L Dehumidifier. When we initially turned it on it helped the room go from 68 to 53 – I put the ideal humidity in the room at 55 but it goes below that to around 53/52 and doesn’t turn off? It’s not continuously set to run so it should be turning off and waking up every 30mins? Why is this happening! Thank you in advance.
Anna,
Thanks for your purchase. It turns off 3%rh below the target to ensure that you have stable relative humidity and to take into account the accuracy of the sensor. So all is fine.
Chris