Hearth & Lawn

The best dehumidifiers for UK homes

Last updated: · By the Hearth & Lawn team

How we chose these: We haven't tested these dehumidifiers ourselves. Our picks are based on manufacturer specifications, UK retailer listings, independent tests (mainly Which?, The Guardian and the Evening Standard) and patterns in owner reviews. Where sources disagree, we say so. Prices were checked on 18 October 2026. Dehumidifiers are often discounted in January and around Black Friday.

Streaming windows, a musty smell in the back bedroom, washing that takes three days to dry on the airer: in a British winter, most of that comes down to too much moisture in the air. A dehumidifier pulls that water out and collects it in a tank you empty.

For most homes, a compressor dehumidifier rated at 10–20 litres a day is the right tool. It costs about 4–6p an hour to run at the current price cap, and many have a laundry mode that makes indoor drying much quicker. If the room is cold, such as a garage, conservatory or unheated spare room, a desiccant model works better.

A dehumidifier treats the symptom, not the cause. If you have damp patches, leaks or black mould coming back, read our guide on how to stop condensation on windows and black mould too.

Quick picks

Pick Best for Type Rated extraction Power Price checked 18 Oct 2026
MeacoDry Arete One 20L Best overall, and best for drying clothes Compressor 20 L/day 216W £234.90–£260
Ebac 4650e (18L) British-made alternative with app control Compressor 18 L/day 190W £309 at Argos
MeacoDry Arete One 10L Bedrooms, flats and 1–2 bed homes Compressor 10 L/day 151W £159.99
Pro Breeze 12L Compact Budget pick for one room Compressor 12 L/day 184W £134.99
EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3 Cold rooms, garages and conservatories Desiccant 7.5 L/day 300W / 580W £179–£199.98

How to choose a dehumidifier

Compressor or desiccant?

  • Compressor (refrigerant) dehumidifiers cool the air over a cold coil so the water condenses, like a fridge. They use the least electricity and suit heated living spaces. They slow down a lot in cold rooms: Meaco's own figures for the Arete One 10L show it collects about 4.3 litres a day at 20°C, but only about 1.4 litres at 10°C.
  • Desiccant dehumidifiers pass air over a moisture-absorbing wheel and use a heater to dry it out. They work almost as well at 10°C as at 20°C, are lighter and give off a little warm air, which helps drying laundry. The catch is they draw two to three times the power.

Rule of thumb: if the room is usually below about 15°C, look at desiccant. If it's a normal heated room, buy compressor.

What size dehumidifier do I need?

The "litres per day" figure is the maximum the machine can collect in a lab test at warm, very humid conditions (often 30°C and 80% humidity). In a real UK home at 18–20°C, expect much less. Meaco is unusually open about this: its 10L model collects about 4.3 litres a day at 20°C and 60% humidity.

As a rough guide, based on makers' room-size claims:

Home Suggested size
One bedroom, a small flat, or one damp room 10–12L compressor
2–3 bedroom house, or regular laundry drying 18–20L compressor
4–5 bedroom house, or serious damp 20–25L compressor
Unheated garage, conservatory, boat or cold spare room Desiccant, about 7–9L

Going up a size usually costs only a little more and lets the machine run on its quieter low fan speed.

Features worth having

  • Laundry mode. Runs the fan harder until the room is dry. Put the dehumidifier close to the airer in a small room with the door shut.
  • Adjustable humidity setting (humidistat). Lets it switch itself off when the room reaches your target. Around 50–55% is a sensible target for most homes in winter.
  • Tank size and continuous drainage. A 2L tank may need emptying twice a day in winter. Most models can drain through a hose into a sink or drain instead.
  • Noise. Below about 40dB is quiet enough for a bedroom for most people. Check whether the figure quoted is for the low or high fan speed.
  • Warranty. Meaco gives 5 years on the Arete range; Ebac offers up to 5 years if you register.

Avoid tiny "mini" dehumidifiers for real damp

Small Peltier (thermo-electric) units costing £30–£60 typically collect a few hundred millilitres a day. They're fine for a wardrobe or a small bathroom, but they won't dry washing or fix a damp bedroom.

Running costs

At the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh (average direct debit electricity, 1 October to 31 December 2026), using each maker's quoted power draw:

Model Power Cost per hour 8 hours a day Per month (8h × 30 days)
Meaco Arete One 10L 151W 0.151 × 26.32 = 4.0p 31.8p about £9.54
Pro Breeze 12L Compact 184W 0.184 × 26.32 = 4.8p 38.7p about £11.62
Ebac 4650e 190W 0.190 × 26.32 = 5.0p 40.0p about £12.00
Meaco Arete One 20L 216W 0.216 × 26.32 = 5.7p 45.5p about £13.64
EcoAir DD1 Simple (low / high) 300W / 580W 7.9p / 15.3p 63.2p / £1.22 about £18.95 / £36.64

These are worst cases. A dehumidifier with a humidistat stops collecting once the room reaches the target, so the compressor isn't running all the time.

Work out your own figures with our running-cost calculator

Wondering whether a dehumidifier is cheaper than a tumble dryer for your washing? We've worked it out in the cheapest way to dry clothes indoors.

The best dehumidifiers in detail

1. MeacoDry Arete One 20L: best overall and best for drying clothes

Price checked: £259.99 at Meaco, £260 at Argos, £234.90 at Big On Electricals (18 October 2026). John Lewis had it at £209.99 in a January 2026 sale.

Key specs (Meaco and Argos):

  • Compressor; up to 20 L/day
  • 216W at 20°C and 60% humidity
  • 38–40dB(A) (low and high fan); 4.8L tank
  • Laundry mode, night mode, child lock, humidistat 40–70%
  • Built-in HEPA filter (it doubles as an air purifier)
  • Castors; 15kg; 5-year warranty

The Arete One 20L is the dehumidifier most UK reviewers keep coming back to. The Evening Standard named it best overall and said its laundry mode dried a full clothes horse in under a day. T3 gave it five stars. It's also one of the quietest 20L machines, so it can run in a bedroom.

The downsides are size and weight. At 15kg it's a lot to carry upstairs, although it rolls on castors. The Evening Standard's tester also found the 4.8L tank sometimes needed emptying twice a day in a damp house.

Pros

  • Quiet for its size
  • Low power use for a 20L machine
  • Effective laundry mode
  • 5-year warranty

Cons

  • Heavy and tall
  • No app or timer on the One model (the dearer Arete Two adds them)
  • Like all compressor models, slower in cold rooms

2. Ebac 4650e (18L): best British-made dehumidifier

Price checked: £309 at Argos (was £329), 18 October 2026. Ebac's own site showed it sold out when we checked; other retailers list it at about £299–£359.

Key specs (Argos and Ebac):

  • Compressor; up to 18 L/day
  • 190W; 44dB (high fan)
  • 3.5L tank; 2.1m cable
  • Smart Control humidity sensing, app control, laundry mode
  • 13.5kg; no wheels
  • Made in County Durham; manufacturer's guarantee quoted as 4–5 years depending on where you buy and whether you register (Argos's listing says 5 years; Argos Q&A answers say 4)

The Guardian picked the 4650e as its best dehumidifier overall in its 2025–26 guide, praising its build, long warranty and the way Ebac's Smart Control adjusts to the room. Which? lists it among the models it tested in January 2025. It uses slightly less power than the Meaco 20L.

Owner reviews on Argos (4.8/5 from 189 reviews when we checked) are very positive about performance, but its noise score is low, and several owners say it isn't quiet enough for a bedroom.

Pros

  • Made in the UK, with UK service
  • Efficient
  • App control and smart humidity sensing

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Noisier than the Meaco
  • No castors and no window to see the water level
  • Warranty length depends on where you buy; check before you pay

3. MeacoDry Arete One 10L: best for bedrooms and small homes

Price checked: £159.99 at Meaco, 18 October 2026.

Key specs (Meaco):

  • Compressor; up to 10 L/day (about 4.3 L/day at 20°C and 60% humidity)
  • 151W at 20°C and 60% humidity
  • 35–38dB(A); 2.5L tank (no handle)
  • Laundry mode, humidistat, child lock; HEPA filter included
  • 10.7kg; castors; 5-year warranty

If you live in a flat or want something for one damp bedroom, the 10L Arete is quieter, lighter and cheaper to run than the 20L. Meaco says it suits spaces up to 42m², which covers most 1–2 bedroom flats.

Don't expect it to clear a big load of washing as fast as a 20L machine. Meaco's own extraction table shows how much the figure falls in cooler rooms, which is useful honesty.

Pros

  • Very quiet
  • Cheapest to run here
  • 5-year warranty

Cons

  • Small tank with no handle
  • Slower with heavy laundry loads

4. Pro Breeze 12L Compact: best budget dehumidifier

Price checked: £134.99 at Pro Breeze, 18 October 2026.

Key specs (Pro Breeze):

  • Compressor; up to 12 L/day
  • Energy consumption listed as 0.184kWh (so about 184W)
  • 42dB; 2L tank; 24-hour timer; continuous drainage option
  • Suggested room size: Pro Breeze's page gives both "up to 20m²" and "10–15m²"
  • 7.6kg; working temperature 5–32°C

This is a sensible choice for one room on a budget. It's light and compact, and it has a "continuous drying" mode for laundry rather than a dedicated laundry setting.

The maker's own page gives two different room sizes, so we'd treat it as a one-room machine. There's no adjustable humidity target listed on this model, so it may run longer than it needs to. The older Pro Breeze 12L "Low Energy" model (about 200W, around £139.99) is also still on sale; check which one you're buying.

Pros

  • Cheap to buy
  • Light and compact
  • Timer included

Cons

  • Small 2L tank
  • Conflicting room-size claims
  • Fewer controls than the Meaco or Ebac

5. EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3: best desiccant dehumidifier for cold rooms

Price checked: £199.98 at EcoAir; about £179–£180 at Peter Tyson (18 October 2026).

Key specs (EcoAir):

  • Desiccant; up to 7.5 L/day (20°C, 60% humidity)
  • 300W (low) / 580W (high)
  • 34/47dB(A); 2L tank
  • Works from 1°C to 35°C
  • Laundry mode, economy mode, tilt-over cut-off
  • 6kg; 3-year warranty

For a garage, conservatory, boat, caravan or a spare room you don't heat, a desiccant model is the better choice. It keeps working at low temperatures and releases slightly warm air, which also helps washing dry.

The trade-off is running cost: on high it costs about 15p an hour, around three times as much as the compressor models above. Use the low setting and the humidity dial to keep it in check.

Which? Best Buy note: Which? has named the Meaco DD8L Zambezi desiccant (£199.99, 351–661W) a Best Buy. We'd have included it, but it was out of stock at both Meaco and Robert Dyas when we checked. If it's back in stock, it's well worth comparing.

Pros

  • Works in cold rooms
  • Light and easy to carry
  • Simple dial controls

Cons

  • Costs more to run than a compressor model
  • Small tank

FAQs

Where should I put a dehumidifier? In the room with the problem, with the doors and windows closed while it runs, and a little space around the air intake. For drying washing, put it next to the airer in a small room.

Will a dehumidifier get rid of mould? It reduces the humidity mould needs, which helps stop it coming back. It won't remove mould that's already there, and it won't fix a leak, rising damp or a broken extractor fan. See our condensation and black mould guide.

What humidity should my home be? Around 40–60% is the range commonly recommended. Above about 60–70% for long periods, mould and dust mites thrive. A cheap hygrometer (about £8–£10) shows you the figure.

Is it safe to leave a dehumidifier on overnight? Many people do, using the humidistat and auto shut-off when the tank is full. Follow the maker's instructions, plug it straight into a wall socket, and keep the air vents clear.

Is a dehumidifier cheaper than a tumble dryer? Usually, yes, compared with a vented or condenser dryer. A 216W dehumidifier running for 6 hours uses about 1.3kWh (about 34p). A condenser dryer uses about 4.5–5.2kWh per cycle (about £1.18–£1.37). A heat-pump dryer is closer, at about 1.8–2.1kWh. Full comparison here.

Do dehumidifiers heat the room? Compressor models warm the air very slightly; desiccant models more so. Neither is a heater.

Sources