Meaco MeacoDry Arete Two 20L Review: price, specs and verdict (2026)

For a damp bedroom or living room, Meaco recommends running the Arete Two in Smart Humidity mode set to 50-55%, which is the level most UK health guidance points to as the ceiling for avoiding dust mites and mould growth. It will cycle on and off automatically rather than running non-stop.

For drying laundry indoors — the single most common reason UK buyers search for a dehumidifier — place the unit next to a clothes airer, close the door, and activate Laundry mode. It runs at full power for six hours and then shuts off automatically to save energy; most owners report a full load dry in 4-6 hours, versus 24-48 hours of air-drying without one.

Best placement is a central spot in the room with a few centimetres of clearance on all sides for airflow — not tucked into a corner or behind furniture. In a hallway or landing, leaving adjoining doors open lets one unit dehumidify several rooms at once.

The 4.8-litre tank is the part you will live with most. At the full 20 litres a day the unit is rated for, a tank that size would fill several times in 24 hours, but that only happens in a genuinely soaked room. In a normal damp bedroom or lounge running in Smart Humidity mode, the compressor idles once the target is reached, so the tank fills far more slowly. Empty it before you go to bed and again in the morning during the first week, and you will soon learn your own routine. If you want to leave it unattended for days, check the manual for the continuous drainage option rather than relying on the tank alone.

Filter care is what keeps the running costs honest. Every few weeks, slide out the filter, vacuum off the surface dust and let it dry fully before refitting. A clogged filter restricts airflow and makes the compressor work harder for the same result. The HEPA H13 layer on the Arete Two is a replacement part rather than something to wash, and Meaco recommends changing it roughly once a year, sooner in a home with pets or a lot of dust. Wipe the tank and the outside of the case with a damp cloth now and then, and keep the air inlet clear of fluff.

Where you put it matters as much as the settings. Stand it on a flat, hard floor, a few centimetres from walls and furniture, and keep it away from the radiator so the humidity sensor is not fooled by warm air. Buyers and reviewers point to the castors and retractable handle as the reason a 15.1kg unit is still manageable on one floor. Moving it between rooms daily is fine. Carrying it up and down stairs every day is not.

For running cost, the sum is simple: power in kilowatts × hours run × your unit rate. Because Smart Humidity mode idles at the target, real-world hours are lower than the hours the machine is switched on. Check your own tariff and use the figure Meaco publishes as a guide only.

Meaco is a British company that has specialised in dehumidifiers since 1991, and the Arete Two range is the result of five years of development aimed squarely at UK housing stock — old sash windows, solid brick walls, homes without cavity insulation. The 20L model sits in the middle of the Arete Two line-up (10L to 25L) and is the size Meaco itself recommends for a typical 3-4 bedroom house.

Unlike cheaper compressor units that simply run flat-out until you switch them off, the Arete Two uses a brushless DC motor paired with a smart humidity sensor: set a target (for example 50%) and the unit runs until it hits that level, then idles, checking every 30 minutes rather than running continuously. That's the main reason owners report barely noticing a change on their electricity bill despite running it 24/7 through winter.