Had a Meaco DD8 for a few years based on on all the positive reviews but it developed a fault not far out of warranty where it will only run on the lowest setting. It also leaks. Had it apart to clean it out and look for anything obvious but no joy. Not particularly impressed with it to be honest. It will live in the garage sat in a tub as ideal left on low keeping condensation down and stopping bike helmet pads going mouldy.

Want to get another one for clothes drying duties in the house. Done a bit of reading on pros and cons of compressor versus desiccant, compressor sounds like it could work as house temp is usually around 20 when we’re in. Also read desiccant are better for clothes as they have warmer, higher air output. What I really want is something reliable that works well. Secondary but still useful are noise and running costs. Weight not such an issue. Was thinking of spending around £150 but prices look to have gone up.

Any recommendations for one type over the other and any particular brands/models to recommend?

we’ve got a EBAC (maybe recommended off here) which is great and hasn’t let us down after may 8 years so far. It’s got an 8hr boost mode for quicker drying. I’d also consider adding a fan blowing at the clothes to help with moisture transfer from clothes to air before the dehumidifier removed the moisture from the air.

Have an EBAC one in the house – pretty chunky, it’s been a god-send as windows used to get covered in condensation in cooler months – was suggested we get a dehumidifier and not looked back. Plenty of settings, sits in the kitchen (where the clothes are dried on a pulley). It developed a fault, was out of warranty, senti t back for repair, came back fixed at no charge.

Also have a smaller eco air one sitting in the shed to keep moisture levels down, where the bikes sit. Again, it’s been OK, the grab handle has snapped in the last year, otherwise does the job. It has a fan setting, which the EBAC doesn’t.

We have an EBac 2650e which was primarily bought for condensation issues (sorted those a treat) but it is a laundry mode/setting which whilst we haven’t used can only assume would do the job very well as even on its normal ‘smart’ setting any wet clothes on maiden(s) dry much faster than before we had it.

As for noise. I was worried at first as I’m very sensitive to background noise especially when trying to get to sleep, but with it set to ‘smart’ on ‘low’ for both sensitivity and fan speed it doesn’t disturb me in the slightest and we have it on the landing upstairs.
High fan speed possibly might but having it in ‘low’ has been adequate to solve the issues it was bought for.
Too soon to comment on running costs though but think Ebac say something like £2 ish a week.
On its ‘smart’ setting it takes about 3-4 days to fill the tank.

Edit for link…

https://ebac.com/dehumidifiers/2650e-18-litre-white-dehumidifier-dd695wh-gb/

I recently bought this for my cool, slightly damp cellar and have been very pleased with it;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D8SZJGM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It’s desiccant, which seemed best for my purpose, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work well for you. Definitely warms the area more than the previous cheapie compressor job I had. For me I just fitted a drain hose and select the humidity level I want to maintain and then it just looks after itself. You can direct the angle of the warm air coming out which might be useful for clothes drying.

Also got an Ebac 2650 here. Definitely helps with drying clothes.
But often seems to ice up on the back. Then the ice melts, and it makes a puddle on the floor. It is sometimes a bit chilly in the house, but not really that cold (10 to 15C°).
It is supposed to have an auto defrost feature, not sure if that is actually working?

I’ve got an old EBAC 2650e and a Meaco 20l Platinum low energy. Both do the job, the EBAC is generally more expensive to run, but works very well and seems to still work well in colder areas ie garage / cellar. The Meaco uses less kwh but I’ve found it a bit less effective in cold areas (it probably works better in warm house). Both can have permanent on, so can be controlled from a smart plug or timer. The Meaco can have an external drain hose (not sure my EBAC can). The meaco gets really good results in Which mag, hence me getting one to try.

Ebac

It is sometimes a bit chilly in the house, but not really that cold (10 to 15C°)

that’s too cold really, if you think about how it works (like a fridge!). I have a little heater on in the “drying room” if the main heating isn’t on.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EcoAir-DD1-CLASSIC-MK5-Dehumidifier/dp/B008BZVCVM?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

Ecoair dd1 desicant which also has a dedicated clothes setting. Very good and would buy another when needed.

I posted on this 4 years ago: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dehumidifier/#post-7643021
Still have the same machine, used daily now for clothes drying. Still going strong 8 years on.
EDIT – this one https://www.dehumidifiersuk.com/dio-ela-dd822-8-litre-desiccant-dehumidifier-dehumidifer.html

Another vote for the Ebac. We got it thinking it could be used for all sorts of things but it seems to be used full-time for drying clothes – the tumble dryer hardly gets used now. Apparently it’s less harsh on clothes than the tumble dryer (or so Mrs R tells me).

@CraigW, I think when ours started to go wrong there was ice collected and it wasn’t getting freed up – and would then as you say drip on the floor, rather than collect in the container. That was the fault we logged, eventually sent it back and it’s been fine since, so may imply a clogged pipe or broken connection – def worth giving them a shout.

We’ve been using one of these for 10 years:

Link to Mitsubishi Dehumidifier

It will dry 2 wash loads of clothes on racks in a small room in a few hours taking between 3-6 liters of water out of them.

We also ran it alongside a cheap dehumidifier in a rental house that had terrible humidity problems. the cheap 0ne would spend all day defrosting itself and pull about a liter of water out of the air per day. The Mitsubishi one would remove between 16 and 20 liters per day in the same conditions.

Can anyone suggest a smaller one, for in the garage. I get condensation on the bikes and wondered if something next to them would help?

– @geomickb – this is what I’ve got in the bike shed — good number of features.
https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/dd122-mini/ecoair-dd122mini-dehumidifier

There are tinny ones sub £30 from likes of B&M but they’re not really much use.

Noted for future reference

Noted for future reference

For who is to blame once climate change really kicks in?

For who is to blame once climate change really kicks in?

All of our electricity comes from renewables.

zippykona

All of our electricity comes from renewables.

Does that include nuclear? Genuine question, not being a tw@.

Does that include nuclear? Genuine question, not being a tw@.

Friends of the earth approved Sun ,Wind and Water.

Have a Ecoair dd1 desicant (like Juanking).

Sits blowing on the laundry, next to the kitchen and my son’s bedroom. I really like the way it blows air around so nearby rain-jackets and a wet sleeping dog also get a dehumidifying blast.

Some days it sucks 7l of water out of the air.

Really impressed – having bought it on the recommendation of a friend.

Thanks all. Doesn’t seem to be much consensus on whether dessicant or compressor is better. Thinking if I am going to pay out might get another desiccant and extend warranty to 5 years as was pleased with the performance, just not the reliability

Looking at the price of those dehumidifiers, why not just buy a tumble dryer which will do the job better ?

Just bought an Ecoair DD128 dessicant for use in garage and house.

It’s doing a sterling job in both so far, collecting lots of water and it makes the garage that little bit warmer for evening bike maintenance too.

Can’t comment on durability obvs but reviews seemed very positive in that regard.

Looking at the price of those dehumidifiers, why not just buy a tumble dryer which will do the job better ?

A dehumidifier will use a lot less electricity than a tumble dryer. Except a heat pump tumble dryer maybe, but they are not cheap.
And less damage to clothes. I wouldn’t put my lycra shorts in a tumble dryer.

Also space is limited and even cheapos aren’t much less than a half decent dehumidifier. Also I only ever iron work clothes and don’t want to start doing more, I read tumble dryers cause more creasing

Do like the idea of not having the clothes rack cluttering the place up though

Tumble drier suggestions aside (I never use one they really shorten the useful life of clothes) don’t overlook the spin option on you’re washing machine – I always give stuff an extra spin or two when the wash finishes. Results in far less water getting into your house

also – it’s always worth a peep in local charity shops when you’re passing. It tends to be something people buy for short term problems. I’ve got two decent dehumidifiers they I’ve used to do things like dry out a leaky car and after a burst pipe. Paid less than a tenner each for then

Dehumidifiers dry ALL your clothes whereas tumble dryers ruin half of them!

Ours seems to have a small heater that comes on when the room is too cold. We got it secondhand for about £30 but it’s £140 online.

Re: comments about spin cycle, I realised recently that the Time/energy save function I always used on the washing machine means it does not spin the clothes as thoroughly, so if I’m not hanging then outside to dry I now use the standard wash cycle so the dehumidifier is not running as long.