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
I’ve just received my Meaco Arete 25l dehumidifier, I waited the 6 hours before switching on and it immediately showed a reading of 46. I set the target level to 55, which registered, the display then returned to 46 and has now dropped to 44 but the machine is still running. I’m also surprised that the reading is so low, I have a lot of damp issues, hence my purchase, so I expected a much higher reading.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Carole,
Thank you for your purchase and your message.
The reading will be correct for the space that the machine is in, you could still have damp issues elsewhere in the house but the machine will not be seeing them at present. I would suggest running the machine on CO to start with and leave all internal doors open so that the air can move about and see how you get on like that for a few weeks. Also think about the sources of the damp problems, no extractor fans in bathroom and kitchen, drying washing in the house, single glazed windows? You can then move Arete closer to the sources of moisture so that the machine can register them.
For example if you do dry washing indoors start to use a clothes horse and put it in a small room with the door closed, place Arete next to the washing in Smart Laundry mode and let Arete dry the washing rather than the moisture go everywhere around the house.
Hope this helps.
Chris
Bought the meco 20l a few days ago.
My idea is to keep it switched on all the time 24/7 as I’ve set the humidity at 50%..it has gone a couple times into sleep mode but mostly is running no stop.
Is this normal?
Also can I leave it on 24/7 ?
Thanks
Teresa,
Thank you for your purchase, this is normal and it will take several weeks to dry your home out for you, it is not an instant fix. The machine will get there, you just need to give it time.
Chris
I have a Meaco Platinum Low Energy dehumidifier, which I bought in 2014 and generally run constantly from around the beginning of October until April each year. Typically, I will empty the dehumidifier on a daily basis for a couple of months, after which it will only need emptying every 4-5 days.
Whilst running, the dehumidifier will periodically ‘pause’ to ‘test’ the humidity, which I set at 55%, before either operating again or pausing for longer, depending on whether the desired humidity has been reached.
This year, the amount of water extracted has been lower than anticipated (i.e. the period during which I have had to empty the dehumidifier on a daily basis has been much shorter). However, I have noticed that the dehumidifier is now not ‘cutting out’ at all, so I am concerned that it is malfunctioning and increasing my electric usage. I can confirm that I regularly clean the vents.
I would appreciate your thoughts.
Thank you
John,
Dehumidifiers will react differently both when you look at year to year and as they age. This Autumn has been a lot warmer and drier than previous years and this affects the amount of water that a dehumidifier collects.
The dehumidifier will only go into sleep mode when the relative humidity is 3%rh below your target, if it is not reaching that point then this will not happen. Press one of the buttons under the display to check you target and that it is still set to 55%rh.
As well as the vents are you also cleaning the air filter, as this will effect the machine greatly as well?
Chris
Thanks Michael. Yes, the dehumidifier is still set at 55% and I clean the filters and vents religiously. I’ll continue to monitor.
Chris, with regards to the comments about setting a certain figure such as 60% and it not turning off when it’s at 58%, while I now understand the explanation….why is it not in the booklet, or is it? I couldn’t see it. I’m sure it would save you repeating this so often if it was very clear and noticeable in the manual ? Just a thought 😉
Thank you Sue, it is in the manuals, in the section about the Meaco Control Logic.
I have a relatively new 10ltr ABC dehumidifier. What has started happening is the unit fan will switch to maximum and the power light will flash very quickly.
I reset the unit by removing the supply for a couple of minutes and switching the unit back on, it will then be OK for a while. The problem is getting more frequent. Any suggestions?
Kevin,
That is defrost mode and is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. As long as the machine is still collecting water for you across 24 hours then all is ok.
Chris
Hi,
I bought the 12l dehumidifier a couple of months ago and it has been fine until recently. The reading on the screen is over 30% lower than the set humidity level but it doesn’t turn off – it just continues to extract moisture. Is this a known fault? I’ve tried changing the settings and moving the set level to make it higher so there is a bigger gap between the actual and set level but it doesn’t work… What should i do?
Thanks,
Hannah
Hannah,
You might have some dirt built up on the humidity sensor behind the air filter, take the filter off and blow through the humidity sensor to try and clean it. You can also check your set point by pressing the down arrow once, the set point will flash up for 5 seconds.
Chris
Hi Criss
I,ve just got the Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier and Air Purifier and its pulling water out of the house great . Had it set to 55 and it was getting down to 52 but not switching of at all . So set it at 60 and its getting down to 54 but still not switching off
Colin,
It should settle down after the first week of working hard. Please see how it goes over the first week and if you see the same behanviour whilst the fan is running (important point), then call us on 01483 234900 and we will help in greater detail.
Chris
Hi Chris. Very good of you to answer all these questions on here. I have an ABC 20L dehumidifer which has been fantastic for us. Humidity now staying in the low 40s in our ground floor Victoran London flat. I have found though that it is coming on frequently when the humidistat reading is well below the programmed setting. I know how to check the current setting and have even tried cranking it up to 60% but it continues to come on when the reading is at 42-43%. Having read some of your answers on here I’ve monitored it this afternoon and it has come on twice in the space of 45 mins despite the reading never getting above 43% (set to 60% and have double-checked). On both occasions for around 5 mins or so. Is this normal?
Frazer,
That all sounds fine to be honest.
Chris
Hi I have just bought the Meaco ABC 12L for my 2 bedroom flat and have been pleased with it, but I am running into one issue. A couple of times it has turned itself from high to low fan speed and then after another minute or two it just stops, the only light that remains on is the defrost light (solid like it is normally, not flashing) and the humidity display jumps up quickly by about 20 (e.g. goes from 50 to 70) could you tell me what is happening here, or if the unit is faulty?
Luke,
Thank you for your purchase. It does this when it has reached the target humidity and it then rests for 17 minutes after which it measures the room humidity again and then starts to work again if the humidity has risen. The high reading that you are describing is the machine reading it’s own internal humidity which will almost always be high. It ignores this and waits to read the room humidity again.
So no fault, just the machine going through it’s cycles.
Chris
Hi Chris, Thank you for your reply. I have read that it is supposed to turn off when it gets to about 3% below the target humidity, but I have my target humidity set to 50% and what I have observed is it going into low power mode when it is on 50% and not below, then while it is in low power mode the humidity meter goes up a couple of percent before then switching off for 17mins. Should this not be happening at a humidity reading just below 50%?
Luke,
It will wait until it is 3%rh below the first time it cuts out, every 17 minutes after that it is just looking for above or below 50%rh until the compressor kicks in again.
Chris
Hi
I have just bought a 20 L.
Very pleased with it but:
1. The fan speed gets stuck … sometimes the button changes the fan speed and sometimes it beeps but refuses to change the fan speed. Once that happens the only way to change the fan speed is to switch the machine off and on again.
2. Once the machine goes below target humidity+ 3% it does not turn off no matter how long I leave it. The condenser stops but the fan runs and runs. I know it should run for a few minutes but it runs for hours or until I manually switch the machine off. Is this a fault or am I missing something?
BW Jon
Jon,
Thank you for your purchase and your message. If you cannot change the fan speed then it is defrost mode and this is normal. Just leave it to do it’s thing.
If you are seeing the compressor off and the fan running then check that the target is set to what you expect and that the RH is more than 3%rh below the target as it has to be more than 3%rh for the fan to turn off.
Chris