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- Easy to use
- Reliable laundry drying
- Works in lower temperatures
- Noisier than some compressor models
- Water tank tricky to empty
Winter being peak dehumidifier season, it’s not all that surprising that the Meaco DD8L Pro is out of stock. However, a spokesperson for the brand has told us that, because of a production and shipment issue, there’s been a delay on further batches. We’ve also been told that the it should be back in stock in January, so we’ll be keeping our eyes out. Until then, you can read our full review of the DD8L Pro below or, if you’re desperate to get your hands on a dehumidifier now, check out our best roundup and buying guide.
You can see the Meaco DD8L Pro as the manufacturer’s attempt to apply the winning formula of its Arete dehumidifiers to a dessicant model. The current Arete Two is a compressor dehumidifier, but one that’s smaller, slimmer, quieter and more energy efficient than most of the competition. The DD8L Pro is compact and borrows from the Arete line’s styling, and is designed to deliver faster dehumidification and laundry drying with lower power consumption than the previous DD8L Zambezi.
As a desiccant unit, it can also do so in lower temperatures than its compressor brethren, working perfectly well at temperatures of between 1°C and 10°C. Got a soggy loft, a damp garage or a moist and dingy outdoor office? This dehumidifier will help you tackle it, though it’s also happy in your bedroom, lounge or dining room.
What do you get for the money?
The Meaco DD8L Pro is a compact desiccant dehumidifier capable of extracting up to 7.97l of water from the air per day at ambient temperatures between 1°C and 40°C and relative humidities between 40% and 70%. It has a similar modern and minimalist style to the popular Arete Two, with a glossy white panel that curves around the front and sides of the appliance and a matte black control panel and louvre at the top, the latter angling upwards to uncover the vent. This opens automatically when in use.
The control panel has a wide display which shows the current humidity level, target humidity and mode, surrounded by an array of touch-sensitive controls. The two biggest buttons – one left and one right – switch between dehumidification and laundry modes. A collection of smaller buttons power the machine on and off or toggle other settings. It’s not the most intuitive control panel, but it is responsive. A quick pass through the manual was all it took to master its operation. Sadly, however, the cheery cartoon elephant from the DD8L Zambezi’s LCD screen no longer features on the DD8L Pro.
With a 356 x 230mm footprint this dehumidifier doesn’t take up a whole lot of space, while it stands 577mm tall. At 8.7kg it’s lightweight enough to carry around the house by the handle set into the rear of the unit, though I’d advise removing and emptying the 2l water tank first. The latter is opaque, so you can’t see the current water level, and I also found it surprisingly tricky to work out where the holes were to pour the water from once removed, as the lid itself seems to be non-removable. If you’d prefer continuous drainage, there is an outlet at the back, used through an adapter stashed away in the lid of the water tank.
What features does it have?
The DD8L Pro has both a Smart Humidity mode, during which the dehumidifier sets the heater on the dessicant disc and the fan speed to reach a target humidity of 55%, and a Variable Humidistat mode that allows you to toggle through target humidities in 10% increments. You can also set the unit to work continuously until turned off. A Smart Energy Auto mode works to optimize the dehumidifier’s performance and power consumption, and three manual modes control both the fan speed and power directly.
On top of this there’s a Night mode, which dims all indicators and attempts to keep dehumidifying quiet, plus a Smart Laundry mode which opens the louvre wide and runs the fans at high for six hours to dry any clothes placed in front. Finally, you get the usual timer and child lock functions, plus a built-in ioniser that can help remove bacteria and germs from the air. Scientific opinion varies on how effective this is in real-world settings, but in theory it encourages the unwanted particles to clump together, which makes them easier to filter and more prone to falling onto surfaces, where they’re not so easily inhaled.
If you prefer tapping onscreen buttons to physical controls, you can manage the DD8L Pro through Meaco’s iOS and Android app. This allows for control through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, or you can set up routines to schedule on and off times throughout the week.
How well does it work?
The DD8L Pro is easy to use and reliable when left on Auto, though you can set a lower target humidity or use the manual High mode if you want to dry an area more thoroughly or faster. And while the 7.97l daily extraction rate might leave you expecting poor performance compared to 12-20l compressor dehumidifiers, I found the DD8L Pro very effective. In my living room at 19°C, it took the humidity level from 74% to 65% within an hour, and down to 62% in an additional sixty minutes. That’s in line with the performance of the Meaco Arete Two, though it’s not quite as speedy as the excellent Duux Bora.
The DD8L Pro proved just as effective in a smaller upstairs bedroom, where humidity levels dropped from 69% to 60% in an hour, and to 59% in two hours. Even in a damp and chilly 11°C utility room it did the job, reducing humidity by 9% over sixty minutes.
Energy efficiency has certainly improved since the DD8L Zambezi. The old model could consume up to 669W while dehumidifying, but the DD8L Pro used a maximum 463W, only hitting a higher 664W while starting off in Laundry mode. What’s more, these are worst case scenario figures, and consumption soon ramped down while dehumidifying to around 441W and even down to 39W once the unit was maintaining the humidity level rather than actively trying to decrease it.
I also found the DD8L Pro to be a fantastic laundry dryer, even handling jeans, jumpers and thick sweatshirts given six hours on a laundry rack in the upstairs bedroom. Over several loads of washing on several wet November days, it delivered solid and reliable results with all our soggy spin-dried garments.
What could be improved?
While Meaco talks up the DD8L Pro as a good option for the bedroom, it’s still fairly noisy even in its Night mode. I couldn’t sleep through it when it’s putting out between 43 to 44dBA. With the fans maxed out in Laundry or manual mode, the output can reach 53.8dBA. A more reliable option for night-time dehumidifying is the Arete Two, which is significantly quieter at 34 to 38.7dBA.
Should you buy the Meaco DD8L Pro?
As long as you don’t need peace and quiet the Meaco DD8L Pro is a great dehumidifier. It can keep up with compressor models in your living rooms, home offices and bedrooms, but has a bit more flexibility for keeping damp and mould out of cooler areas, including garages and outbuildings – not to mention unused and unheated rooms if you run it overnight. The Arete Two and ProBreeze PB-08 remain our top picks for most households, but if you’re looking for a desiccant dehumidifier, this one’s as good as they come.
