This mini MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier is quieter, cheaper and more portable than larger models — yet still has exceptional performance

I've always opted for larger dehumidifier models when choosing units to review for this magazine, simply because I don't live in an apartment and thought something more substantial was needed to make a difference to my small cottage in East Anglia.

So when I was sent this tiny MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier quite by chance when another much larger dehumidifier I was meant to review unexpectedly sold out, I wasn't expecting much. But after putting this machine, which is only 40cm high, through its paces, I found myself questioning my previous assumptions about the best dehumidifiers.

Rarely do I come across a product that impresses me so much as this compact machine, which is pitched as a dehumidifier best suited to be used on a room-by-room basis. Here's why.

Unboxing the 'half-size' dehumidifier

This 6L dehumidifier is nearly half the size of its parent dehumidifier; the MeacoDry Arete One 25L dehumidifier, meaning when the box arrived, it was much smaller and lighter, making it easier to handle.

The packaging opened easily at the top, and the operating instructions were positioned as the first thing you saw as you opened the box. These were actually useful and easy to follow, reminding first-time dehumidifier users to ensure the dehumidifier had rested for at least six hours before attempting to use.

I did find it a bit of effort easing the dehumidifier out of the box as there were no handles on the side of the machine as I expected. But after I removed the plastic bag from the dehumidifier, I discovered the handle cleverly tucked into the top of the unit. Not helpful for the initial removal from the box, but fantastic for everyday use and portability.

In terms of parts, there were two sets of instructions (full manual and a quick start guide) and the dehumidifier to unbox, plus a free HEPA filter affixed to the machine. Overall, I found the unboxing experience very easy and simple.

First impressions of the MeacoDry Arete One 6L

I've only used larger dehumidifiers before, so I didn't really know what to expect from this much smaller size dehumidifier unit. I've always found the larger units very good and the larger tank a huge benefit.

However, once this smaller "half-size" unit was unpacked, I was immediately impressed by its size and look rather than finding it at all inferior as I was expecting. Being smaller, it was less dominant in the room, meaning it was far less noticeable.

Once I'd worked out how to pull up the handle, it dawned on me how much more portable this dehumidifier was compared to the larger models. Typically, with larger models, I've ended up avoiding moving them too much as it's a bit of a faff lugging it up and down stairs, especially if there is any water in the tank. But this smaller unit lifts up to transport so easily, without being at all heavy, I can imagine moving it fairly regularly from room to room, depending on where it might be needed.

The design is also pretty slick. My model was the "charcoal" one, which is nice because all the areas where dirt and grime might accumulate (the rear air filter area and the top where you press the buttons) are darker meaning unsightly marks are disguised.

How I tested the dehumidifier

When testing the MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier, I wanted to find out the answer to the following questions:

• Was it easy to operate?
• Was it effective in laundry mode?
• How quiet was it?
• How effective was it as an air purifier?
• How energy efficient and affordable is it?

I decided to test the small dehumidifier in three different settings in my home. First on a damp spot in the bathroom, second for drying laundry in the utility room, and lastly in a bedroom with single pane windows while sleeping.

Ease of operating the 6L dehumidifier

Turning the dehumidifier on for the first time was easy. All I needed to do was put it in the room I wanted to target, plug it in and press the "on" button.

I started off testing in the bathroom, where we had installed a glass shower panel during renovations rather than a shower enclosure. The glass panel hadn't been as effective as hoped, meaning spray from the shower regularly finds itself on the wooden skirting board, wall and limestone tiles outside the tray, causing a minor damp issue.

While an annoying problem, it was a good test for the half-size dehumidifier to see if it could make a difference by bringing down the humidity in the room.

The initial start-up

After positioning the dehumidifier in the bathroom and pushing down on the "on" button, the unit started dehumidifying the air without needing to press any of the other three buttons. The screen also lit up and helpfully gave me a room humidity reading of 65% on the screen, with a target humidity level of 55% already set automatically. Overall, I found the ease of initial start-up fantastic and unfaultable.

Setting the target humidity level

The quick start manual took me as far as turning the machine on, so it was time to take a deeper dive into the fuller instruction booklet to have a play around with adjusting the target humidity level.

I discovered this was achieved by pressing the water drop button either once for setting a "smart" target humidity of 55% or repeatedly pressing to scroll through target humidity options from 40% through to 70%. There was also a "CO" option available to set the dehumidifier to continuous.

A droplet with two arrows pointing upward shows on the screen when the dehumidifier is in dehumidifying mode. I found this moderately easy to operate, but definitely needed the instruction manual to understand how to do it.

Overall, I found the ease of operating the MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier excellent. Despite needing the instruction manual to find my way around in the first instance, it was easy to remember how to make the adjustments after that.

In terms of how effective the dehumidifier was on the damp in the bathroom, it dropped the humidity down to a sensible level of 55% with ease when left in there overnight. I was impressed this tiny dehumidifier managed it, without the tank becoming full before the target level was reached.

Using the dehumidifier in laundry mode

After testing the dehumidifier in the bathroom, I moved it into the utility room to see if the dehumidifier would help speed up drying the handwashing on my drying rack. There is also a degree of humidity in this room anyway as I regularly have the washing machine, tumble dryer and handwashing sinks in action at the same time.

Setting laundry mode was fairly self explanatory for anyone that has used a dehumidifier before, it was the button with the T-shirt on it. Pressing this button once, set the target humidity level to 35% with a high fan speed, and the dehumidifier automatically switched itself off after six hours meaning it could be left on overnight without fear of sucking up too much humidity and wasting energy unnecessarily. A quick look at the instruction manual revealed that you can check how many hours are left on the timer by pressing the T-shirt button twice.

One thing I really loved was that I could easily lift and position the dehumidifier on the worktop. We don't have a large amount of floor space in our utility room, and it is a bit of a walk-through area, so being able to do this was incredibly useful.

Placing the dehumidifier on the worktop also gave me the chance to test its continuous drainage function and I quickly found that while a spout was included, tucked cleverly away in the water tank, it was a bit disappointing that there wasn't a hose pipe included with the unit. When I fixed the spout to the correct outlet, it wasn't long enough to drain straight into the sink. As a result, without a handy piece of hose, I had to abandon testing this and stick to using the water tank.

Overall, the dehumidifier surprised me at how effective it was in laundry mode, arguably just as effective as a larger model. I left the unit for the full six hours and found my clothing nicely dried afterwards – saving me the hassle of dealing with any nasty damp smells and needing to do any rewashing.

Noise levels when using the dehumidifier at night

After testing the dehumidifier in both the bathroom and laundry room, I was confident about sleeping in the same room as this small unit. The MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier had already proven itself to be extremely quiet when running, as low as only 32 decibels (the quietest Arete One dehumidifier), even with the full fan speed turned on in laundry mode.

Even so, I dutifully switched the unit to "night mode" to avoid any chance of the dehumidifier being loud by pressing the half moon button, to trigger a slower, quieter fan speed and the screen lights to turn off. This would create optimal sleeping conditions so I could wake up the next morning with no condensation on the single pane windows in the room without it being disruptive in the night.

A quick check over of the guide showed that the humidity level could still be checked while the screen light was off by pressing the half moon button once. There was also a child lock mode (indicated with a padlock) set by holding this half moon button down for two seconds.

The next morning, I woke to condensation-free windows after an undisturbed sleep so it got a resounding thumbs up. There was certainly no need for a more powerful machine in my double-sized bedroom.

Using the dehumidifier as an air purifier

I didn't actually realise this dehumidifier was also an air purifier at first, but it turns out, air purifying happens automatically while dehumidifying if a HEPA filter is fitted.

A read of the instructions highlighted that this clever little unit can also be used exclusively as an air purifier on its own. Is that actually useful? Well, yes because in times when there might be low humidity, like the summer, you might want air purifying in your room to ease allergies without having to run the dehumidifier simultaneously.

Air purifying mode was selected using the same water drop button but holding it down for two seconds to select "AP" mode. This was easy once I'd read up on how to do it, but in all honesty I probably wouldn't have worked it out without doing that.

You can confirm the dehumidifier is in air purifier mode by checking the icon with the arrow pointing right with a line cutting through it, is visible on the screen. Overall, I found this function most useful at night to avoid waking up stuffy. I always find air purifiers difficult to test conclusively, but can confirm I had a comfortable night's sleep with it switched on.

Affordability of the MeacoDry Arete One 6L

The energy efficiency of this 6L unit is something to really shout about at only 101 watts, compared to 151 watts for the 12L model and 267 watts for the 25L model. This gave it a 3p per hour cost based on 26.35p/kWh energy pricing. There is also an argument that by targeting a home room-by-room, this can also keep down the running time of the dehumidifier, thus lowering dehumidifier running costs.

Affordability of the unit however was where I was initially a little disappointed. With an almost half-size model, I naturally expected a half-size price tag. Yet this 6L model was priced at £129.99 on the Meaco website, while the larger 12L version was £179.99 on the Meaco website in comparison; only a £50 difference. However, the larger 25L version was a larger jump up in price at £299.99 on the Meaco website.

But on further reflection, you could argue that a smaller dehumidifier should actually command a higher price tag if it performs the same job, with the same performance, while taking up less space. Certainly this can be true when it comes to other technology such as computers.

So is my initial disappointment over the price justified? Absolutely not when you take all this into account. It smaller stature ended up being a huge benefit rather than a hindrance. I was able to move the unit far more easily from one room to the next, potentially saving on needing to buy a second unit, and it packed away easily into a kitchen cupboard when not in use. The MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier was also much quieter and economical than a larger dehumidifier so all-in-all it is being sold at a hugely competitive price point.

Shop MeacoDry Arete One 6L dehumidifier

Final thoughts

It goes without saying that I definitely recommend the MeacoDry Arete One 6L Compact dehumidifier. It is not only excellently priced, it is highly portable (more of a plus than I realised before testing), yet also highly effective despite its tiny size.

And for that reason, I highly recommend snapping one of these small dehumidifiers up, before it too is sold out like the other Meaco dehumidifier I was meant to review.

If you are looking to alleviate damp or stop mould in a garage, colder outbuilding or campervan or caravan with a power source, you would be much better opting for a desiccant dehumidifier specially designed to handle lower temperatures and this kind of environment.

You can read up on my review of the EcoAir DD2 desiccant dehumidifier, which I highly recommend, or if you prefer sticking to the Meaco brand, you can hold on for my review of the Meaco DD8L Pro Desiccant Dehumidifier in January when it is back in stock on the Meaco website.