Welcome to the latest in dehumidifier design: the new award-winning Meaco Arete. This collection has been in development for 5 years, with the dedicated Meaco design team working closely with more than 2000 customers to find out exactly what makes the perfect dehumidifier. Beyond that, this dehumidifier is very easy to use, the controls are all really well laid out, and there’s not too much to get your head around when it comes to operating it. The extensive feature set makes this the perfect dehumidifier for almost any home and can be deployed in any room as well as conservatories, garages, boats, or caravans with exceptional performance.

If you want to control the humidity in your home without distraction then the Arete range is the market leader for exceptional humidity extraction at a super quiet operating volume. The Pro Breeze Premium also uses a lot more energy to do its work, requiring 440W of energy compared to the 12L MeacoDry's 151Wand the 20L MeacoDry's 216W. That means running costs of the MeacoDry Arete One are lower. You can read more detail in my Pro Breeze 20L Premium Dehumidifier with Special Laundry Mode review. A dehumidifier isn't the most exciting of household appliances, but it's obvious that attention has still been paid to the MeacoDry Arete One dehumidifier's design. The unit looks both sleek and modern, with simple monochromestyling that blends easily into a room without standing out too much. This dehumidifier also offers a night mode which keeps the fans on low in case you want to use it in a bedroom overnight, but, I found the MeacoDry Arete One very quiet whichever mode I had it running in. As mentioned, the water tank stores 4.8L and simply slides in and out of the body of the unit. On even the heaviest day of testing I didn’t have to empty it more than once, although I’ve generally been working at room temperatures of around 22°C with humidity levels starting at around 62-67%. If you’re dehumidifying a seriously damp space or one that’s been flooded, then you may have to empty more often. The unit also supports continuous drainage, although you’ll need your own hose and a nearby drain or sink.It is the case that when a dehumidifier is new to a home that it will run hard to dry the house out for the first few weeks. Once the house (and the material in the house) are dry, then use will settle down and decrease.

As with all these questions, the heart of the matter lies in how often you’re planning to use your dehumidifier. If you are running a dehumidifier 24/7, the costs will clearly be higher than if you’re just using it for a couple of hours a day. It also depends on the season – dehumidifiers are more often used in the autumn and winter than in the spring and summer, so your running costs will necessarily be higher during the colder months. Normally, you wouldn’t do this – the ideal humidity is usually 40% to 60% and within a few degrees of 50% is fine. However, if you’re trying to deal with mildew, mould or damp patches, then you’ll want to keep it a little lower. We wanted Arete to be useful all year round. So every Arete One dehumidifier includes a H13 HEPA filter, a 75% bigger and better quality HEPA filter. This is a medical-grade filter that cleans the air during dehumidification, and can also be used as a stand-alone purifier during the warmer months of the year.As important as it is to have moisture in the air, too much can cause problems, from mould growth to making it feel hotter as a result of sweat being unable to evaporate. Dehumidifiers are the solution, but many are expensive to run and fiddly to use. The MeacoDry Arete One aims to fix that. It’s relatively cheap to run and can aim for an ideal humidity level automatically, so you’ll never over-dry your air. Design and Features

Beyond that, maintenance is minimal for this machine. Because it’s white, it will show any dust that gathers on it, so it’s worth keeping the exterior clean just by wiping it down with a damp cloth occasionally. Arete’s Night Mode is not just for night-time but anytime when you want the dehumidifier to be as quiet as possible. Arete is the Greek Goddess of Excellence in all things and, with this range of dehumidifiers, this is exactly what we have achieved. The attention to detail has been exhaustive as we perfected every interaction between the user and the dehumidifier.

What makes a cost-effective dehumidifier?

We should point out that I took these sound readings using a smartphone app inside a home with wooden floors, and that sound levels will vary depending on your carpet, curtains and furnishings. Meaco’s own noise measurements, taken in a sealed chamber using calibrated microphones at 1m from all four sides, measured noise levels at between 38dB and 40dB for the 20L model and 40 and 42dB for the 25L model. Plus, when running the dehumidifier in the kitchen, I found that it got rid of odours from cooking. It’s certainly an effective dehumidifier. In a small bedroom with damp and mould issues, I saw the humidity fall from 67% to 52% within a couple of hours, and I had to force the target down to 45% to keep the purifier busy. The MeacoDry Arete One 12L dehumidifier is a great buy for apartments or small to medium-sized houses, and it’s easy to move from room to room thanks to the extendable handle and castors, and compact enough to store easily when not in use.Larger homes, or those with more serious damp issues, may benefit from opting for the MeacoDry Arete One 20 or 25L which offer the same great functionality with an increased extraction capacity.