Meaco DD8L Pro

The Meaco DD8L Pro is a desiccant dehumidifier: instead of a cold coil it uses an absorbent wheel dried by a small heater, so it keeps working in rooms too cold for a compressor model. It removes about 8 litres a day on its top fan at 20°C and still about 6.9 litres at 10°C, works from 1°C, and blows out air about 10 to 12°C warmer than it takes in. That makes it the right tool for a garage, a conservatory, an unheated spare room or a cold utility room full of washing. It's a Which? Best Buy and Meaco's most advanced desiccant model.

The price of that cold-weather ability is electricity and noise. It draws 231 W on low and about 623 W on its top fan, so it costs 6.1p to 16.4p an hour, against about 3.6p for an Arete Two in a warm room, and it's loud at full speed. The 2 litre tank fills quickly during a big laundry session, castors cost extra, and the warranty is three years rather than the Arete range's five. In a cold room it earns its keep; in a heated one, a compressor model makes more sense. See how the two types compare in our guide to the best dehumidifiers.

A desiccant dehumidifier works differently from the compressor models most people own. Damp air passes through a slowly turning wheel packed with moisture-absorbing material, and a small heater dries one section of the wheel at a time, releasing the water into the tank. There's no cold coil to freeze up, so it keeps collecting water in a room at a few degrees above freezing, and the heater means the air coming out is noticeably warmer.

That's why it suits the spaces compressor models struggle with: a garage or workshop, a conservatory in winter, a holiday let left unheated, or a cold utility room where you dry washing. It also works in a heated home, but there a compressor model does the same job for far less electricity. Aim for 50 to 55% humidity; there's no benefit in going lower, as our guide to the ideal humidity in a house explains.

Meaco sells four DD8L models. The DD8L Junior (£149.99 direct) is the basic version, without an ioniser or wall mount. The standard DD8L (£169.99) adds the ioniser. The DD8L Zambezi adds a digital display, an automatic louvre, a 3 litre tank and a fuller timer, but it's currently out of stock at Meaco. The Pro is the only one with app and voice control, and its low setting draws 231 W rather than 330 to 351 W, which makes it the one to buy if you'll run it often.

Expect to pay around £250 to £260. Appliances Direct has it at £249.98 and Meaco sells it direct at £259.99 with its three-year warranty. That's roughly £60 to £80 more than an Arete One 12L, which is typical for a desiccant model.

Running costs depend heavily on the fan speed. The sum is power in kW × hours × the unit rate, and at the October 2026 Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh it costs about 6.1p an hour on low (231 W), or 49p for eight hours, and about 16.4p an hour on its top fan (623 W), or £1.31 for eight hours. A six-hour laundry run on the top fan comes to about 98p, against about 35p a load for a heat pump tumble dryer. In a cold room, some of that cost comes back as warmth you'd otherwise pay to heat. Try your own hours in our running cost calculator.

Prices correct as of 5 November 2026. Running costs use the October to December 2026 price cap, which changes quarterly.