The MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact Dehumidifier / Air Purifier is a two in one that not only helps remove added moisture from the air but also purifies it too
There are a number of telltale yet mundane signs that signify when one has officially entered the adulthood era – aside from the obvious buying a house, getting married and having a baby. Buying cute but efficient salt and pepper shakers. Building storage solutions. Deciding on paint colours… and of course, getting excited about a dehumidifier. For me, I’d been yearning after one for a good year or so but never took the plunge, until I spotted a small but noticeable (to my eye) patch of mould specs in my bathroom by the window.
While my house is pretty well ventilated (thanks to it being a new build), our bathroom’s extractor fan isn’t that powerful and hot showers in small spaces have become a haven for this kind of growth, especially in winter–so I’ve learnt. I mean, no-one wants to step out the shower into a freezing room with the window wide open and blowing a gale.
With my bathroom being an en-suite, too, it meant our bedroom was always pretty humid and stuffy, especially so post shower. So, to combat the risk of any more mould, I folded and snagged myself a dehumidifier – more specifically the MeacoDry Arete® One 6L Compact Dehumidifier / Air Purifier, £129.99.
Really easy to set up, it comes ready built with the option to add in a medical-grade H13 HEPA filter (which comes in the pack and is also very easy to slide into the back of the unit) to use as both a dehumidifier and air purifier – which is what I do to remove particles in the air like dust, cat dander and even viruses.
Firstly, the machine is quite sleek and isn’t too hefty – as the brand’s ‘most compact dehumidifier’, it fits neatly in the corner and isn’t much of an eyesore. It’s easily moved too as it features a handle at its top. Plus, its tank is unbelievably easy to empty – simply pull it out and tip it upside down before sliding it back in place.
MeacoDry Arete® One 6L Compact Dehumidifier / Air Purifier
£129.99
Meaco
Buy Now on Meaco
The MeacoDry Arete® One 6L Compact Dehumidifier / Air Purifier is a fab gadget to help prevent damp, mould and condensation. Not only this, but its Smart Laundry Mode helps dry clothes in six hours and it only costs 3p/ hour to run.
Pros:
- Visibly reduces condensation and damp
- Helps dry clothes faster
- Purifies the air
- Is cheap to run
- Easily portable (with a plug in reach)
Cons:
- Isn’t as quiet as I’d hoped during night mode
When first turning on the machine, I was shocked to see that the moisture levels were in the high 60s – the ideal, so the machine’s manual declares, is mid-50s.
There are settings to manually set the ideal humidity level but I always use the pre-set button that automatically adjusts it to hit 55. When it reaches that level, it automatically switches off to save energy, then kicks back into life if it rises.
But since switching it on every day – and emptying the tank (which is rather satisfying) when full – the humidity has dropped over the weeks to be consistently 50 and even dropping to the 40s. Although I blame going away over the Christmas period.
While it could totally be the placebo effect, I’ve also noticed some long-term chest tightness and irritation hasn’t been as prominent, and it feels lighter in the air. A surprising detail I’m pleased about, too, is that it didn’t cause my chest to get even more dry – something my husband was sceptical about as it removes some of the moisture from the air.
One slight gripe is, while it claims to be quieter than most dehumidifiers (I do agree, it’s not quite as invasive and is a bit like white noise), its ‘Night Mode’ doesn’t differ from its normal noise settings, which means I have to turn it off in order to get to sleep as it’s quite disruptive. The night mode, on my model, only means the lit-up symbols turn off, ensuring the room is completely dark (which I didn’t even notice).
That’s my only gripe though. Alongside the auto, manual and night modes, there’s a button which helps dry washing quicker (in six hours) and stops clothes smelling must and damp. Naturally, I had to put this ‘smart’ mode to the test, moving my dehumidifier into the kitchen to see how quickly it actually dried the clothes (and if they didn’t emit that lovely damp whiff).
The result? I put a washload on just before bed and hung it up so it’d dry overnight with the help of my Meaco. While the cold snap doesn’t help with this process, and often requires about 14+ hours for my washloads to dry in winter, more so when there’s denim involved, I found that by the morning (about 8.5 hours later) my clothes were basically all dry – aside from the waistband of one pair of jeans, although it was more slightly damp than soaked, which is brilliant, considering they’d been sitting in a cold kitchen.
Letting it work its magic over the last few weeks, I’m pleased to report that—spoiler—the MeacoDry Arete dehumidifier has massively reduced the level of humidity in our bedroom and bathroom area and has almost halved the drying time (from trialling it with a few washloads). Plus, the mould previously mentioned hasn’t grown – although it’s not disappeared. It’s still visible as the dehumidifier won’t eradicate it specifically, but no growth is a good sign. My next task is to safely get that removed.
All in all, I’m seriously impressed with the MeacoDry Arete® One 6L Compact Dehumidifier / Air Purifier and can totally get on board the hype all my friends and family have around the wonders of these nifty little gadgets.
While I’ve not tried any others, if this particular model isn’t quite fitting the bill, our own Sam Jones and Meghan Coon have shared their love of their dehumidifier – the NETTA 500ml Dehumidifier and the Russell Hobbs 10L dehumidifier. Sam explained of the latter: “I purchased the Russell Hobbs 10L dehumidifier (£129 at Dunelm) and it instantly made a noticeable difference. It not only put an end to the overnight window condensation, but it now allows me to dry clothes on an airer on rainy days, without having to switch on the heating.”
Meanwhile, Megan spoke of her NETTA machine: “This mini dehumidifier has been a godsend, as I live in an attic room of quite an old building, meaning the risk of damp and mould is quite high, especially during the winter months. But thanks to this little device, I’ve noticed that the damp has cleared substantially, and the air is a lot clearer – which is a major bonus during this time of year when colds are exacerbated by damp.”
