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If you're looking for a dehumidifier to buy, chances are you'll have come across both Ebac and Meaco.
Both brands produce dehumidifiers at a range of prices, although mainly clustered around the middle of the price spectrum. You won't get an ultra-cheap dehumidifier from either, other than possibly in the sales. Dehumidifiers can cost as little as £70 or as much as £450. Meaco and Ebac home dehumidifiers start at £140 and go up to £300.
So far, they might sound pretty similar. Yet one of the brands stands head and shoulders above the other in our dehumidifier tests.
Read on to find out how these two popular brands compare, or head straight to our list of best dehumidifiers across all the brands we've tested.
As you can see from the chart above, one brand tends to do much better than the other in our tests, with a higher average test score.
And one has several Best Buys, while the other has none. The brand with no Best Buys also has one model that disappointed us so much that we made it a Don't Buy.
However, not every model from the brand that does better on average is a Best Buy, so it's not a completely straightforward choice.
It's best to check our reviews of Ebac dehumidifiers and Meaco dehumidifiers for the model you're interested in before parting with your money.
Every two years, we survey hundreds of Which? members about their experiences of different brands. In our last survey in 2021, 1,000 dehumidifier owners took part. We gathered data on six brands: DeLonghi, Dimplex, Ebac, Ecoair, Electriq and Meaco.
Out of Ebac and Meaco, one earned the second-highest customer score out of the six brands and the other sits mid-table.
For one brand, 5% were faulty after seven years; for the other brand, it was 10%.
Dehumidifiers are generally pretty dependable appliances, with our survey finding that 94% of them (across all the brands) remain in perfect working order for seven years.
So you can expect your dehumidifier to last a long time, whichever of the two brands you go for. That said, if you're disappointed with the performance of yours from the start, you might find yourself replacing it long before it gives up the ghost.
As you can see from the chart, Meaco, with an average test score of 76%, tends to do much better than Ebac (58%) in our lab tests.
Meaco has several Best Buys, while the Ebac has none. Ebac also has one model that disappointed us so much that we made it a Don't Buy.
However, not every Meaco is a Best Buy, so it's not completely straightforward.
It's best to check our reviews of Ebac dehumidifiers and Meaco dehumidifiers for the model you're interested in before parting with your money.
As you'll also see from the chart, both Meaco and Ebac are reliable brands. Every two years, we survey hundreds of Which? members about their experiences of different brands. In our last survey in 2021, 1,000 dehumidifier owners took part. We gathered reliability data on six brands: DeLonghi, Dimplex, Ebac, Ecoair, Electriq and Meaco.
Meaco was second most reliable of the four brands, and Ebac sits mid-table – but still pretty reliable on the whole.
Dehumidifiers are generally pretty dependable appliances, with our survey finding that 94% of them (across all the brands) remain in perfect working order for seven years.
So you can expect your dehumidifier to last a long time, whichever of the two brands you go for.
That said, if you're disappointed with the performance of yours from the start, you might find yourself replacing it long before it gives up the ghost.
Ebac dehumidifiers typically start at £140 and go up to £300.
Ebac models come with a technology called Smart Control, which Ebac claims is better than a basic humidistat (you would set it to your desired relative humidity or RH) and can reduce running costs by up to 40%.
It's designed to understand the conditions in your home and regulate the moisture accordingly using artificial intelligence.
The idea is it prevents excess moisture developing, rather than simply responding to it. It's also designed to try to achieve an optimum relative humidity that varies according to the activities within your home and the weather outside, rather than trying to achieve a fixed relative humidity.
You can't set the dehumidifier to try to achieve a specific relative humidity you have stipulated. Most Ebac models have this.
Ebac dehumidifiers also have a feature called Intelligent Defrost. Refrigerant dehumidifiers need to defrost periodically, like a freezer does. But, according to Ebac, a dehumidifier in defrost mode can't collect moisture, so Intelligent Defrost is designed to optimise the defrost frequency and duration, keeping the dehumidifiers running more efficiently. Again, this is a feature most Ebac models have.
Ebac dehumidifiers also have handles to make them easier to move around, a container-full indication light, telling you when it's time to empty the water tank, continuous drainage options if you don't want to empty the tank yourself, and a cable tidy to stop loose cables trailing around and getting in your way.
Ebac dehumidifiers come with a free one to two-year warranty (extended warranties can also be bought).
Meaco dehumidifiers typically start at £140 and go up to £300.
Meaco claims that its MeacoDry ABC dehumidifiers have noise-reducing technology, making this the most suitable range for smaller properties where noise is likely to be irritating. Several have Quiet Mark accreditation.
Models in the range also come with a humidistat (allowing you to set the dehumidifier to aim for your preferred relative humidity), laundry modes (whereby the dehumidifier runs at maximum for six hours, then switches off), a timer function and a child lock to stop little ones playing with the settings.
Meaco Low Energy Platinum dehumidifiers also have a humidistat, laundry mode, timer and child lock. And they have a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter designed to filter out pollutants and allergens, such as mould spores and dust mites. This isn't intended to replace an air purifier, but is more like a nice bonus feature.
There are three Meaco DD8L dehumidifiers.
Meaco dehumidifiers come with a free three-year warranty, which Meaco says is worth £40, if you buy through Love Shopping Direct, its official partner.
Some dehumidifiers come with plastic hoses you can use to set up your dehumidifier for continuous drainage.
Meaco removed all plastic hoses from its dehumidifiers in 2019, on the basis that many people don't use them and they end up in landfill. In 2020, Meaco replaced polystyrene in its packaging with recyclable cardboard.
To find out more about the features to look for, see our guide on how to buy the best dehumidifier.
How we gather our data:
We've rounded-up some of the best and worst dehumidifiers tested from both brands.
Only logged-in members can view our recommendations in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.
Tables correct as of July 2021.
Ebac and Meaco aren't the only brands we've tested, of course: we've tested more than 30 dehumidifiers, including those from Ecoair, Electriq, DeLonghi, Dimplex and Vax.
Want to find out more about all the brands we've tested, including how long you can expect models from different brands to last for? Head over to our guide which dehumidifier brand to buy in 2022.