EcoAir | DD1 Simple Black | Rotary Control | 7 Litre per Day | Quiet 34dBA | Anti Bacteria Silver Filter | Laundry Mode | Light Weight 6Kg | Desiccant Dehumidifier | 2Y Warranty

Due to my excitement, I wrote a review within one hour of switching it on. After watching loads of videos and reviews, here are the reasons why I chose the EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3: 1) Didn't want pump-based dehum as they tend to break more often. 2) Efficiency at around 20 °C. (Most dehumidifiers will not tell you they must be around 30 °C to be effective.) Due to the climatic conditions, my bedrooms tend to have 65%–75% humidity in winter. I tried a “very good” cheap dehumidifier (£50+), but had to return it as it was garbage despite amazing Amazon reviews. However, the EcoAir DD1 Simple MK3 dried my bedroom from 75% to 53% in less than half an hour at 18 °C. Yes, it's more expensive than cheap garbage, but it does the job!

Updated 2/1/24 Spoke too soon. This DD1 didn't last five weeks. I've revised this review to knock off a couple of stars because it started leaking a few days ago and I'm returning it. I found it standing in a puddle – just as well I decided not to risk running it in a carpeted room. At first I thought I might have overlooked some water that had spilled on emptying because of the shallow tank, but it was the same every day after that. The tank wasn't overflowing, as you can see from the low level in the picture. Water seemed to be pooling in the tank space instead of the tank itself and running out from both sides. (The tank was fully in place and I couldn't find any cracks in the plastic.) So maybe what I thought was a spillage problem right at the start was actually the leak, and it might even explain some of the other performance issues. Two out of three dehumidifiers I've bought from this brand have had to be returned. I've now ordered a compressor model from another manufacturer. Original review (3 stars) This is the third Eco Air dehumidifier I've bought in the last few years. As the first one – a DC18 compressor model that's now been running pretty much daily since November 2016 – was so good,, I decided to buy Eco Air again a couple of years ago. That was a Vebo, but it had to be returned with a fault within days. I shelved the idea of a second machine for a while, but a few weeks ago I opted for for a desiccant type because the house is can get pretty cold. I always think less is more with appliances because too many bells and whistles equals more things to fail, but in this case, less really is less. There are so many things that could have been better, like including some basic features that my old machine has. I'm assuming this one isn't faulty (yet) but it's not something you can set and forget for a while like the old one. To be fair, I could see the dial was going to be guesswork before I bought it, so I bought a hygrometer to check what it was actually achieving, but the other issues only became apparent after running it for a while. If there's an engineering reason for any of its omissions, or I've missed some important point about using it, I really do want to know what they are, because I'd rather be wrong about this than regret how much I spent on it. Here's the comparison. The old DC 18 has a digital RH display, and an illuminated button to tell you the wall socket is switched on. You press that button to actually operate it. When it's full, it beeps and the flashing red light stays on until you clear it. Its tank is deep and narrow, so the water doesn't slop around when you remove it, and you can set your desired humidity in 5% intervals that you can easily see. The Simple desiccant model doesn't do any of that, it seems. Pros: * it's light and it has a proper handle * it's quieter than the compressor on the low setting (but I still wouldn't call it quiet – I can hear it two rooms away) * the louvre feature is useful Cons: * no power light, just an operating light, so you can't see if there's power to it when it's not active * no on-off switch – you just turn the dial to the lowest RH position, which might be fine for some but I want some indication that it's really off * unhelpful dial with just three broad ranges – a numbered one would have made it easier to set the right RH position (assuming that it's actually graduated and hasn't just got three fixed settings) * doesn't switch on or off when I expect it to – I used the hygrometer to work out roughly where 50% is on the dial, but sometimes the machine starts working at that RH, and sometimes it doesn't come on until it passes 60. Or it'll keep going down to 45. * the tank is broad and shallow, so when it's full (or even half-full) the water slops around no matter how carefully you remove the container * there's no audible warning or persistent indicator light for the tank – when you notice it's been silent for some time, you have to check if it's just standing by or if it's shut down because it's full, and the only way to do that with a red light that doesn't stay on is to turn the dial clockwise until the machine either starts up again or the red LED comes on * it doesn't appear to perform better than the DC18, even a cold room I'm making allowances for the fact I've not had it long, so I'm likely to check it more often, but the inability to see the exact RH when it switches itself on or off, and the apparent inconsistency in when it does that, aren't going to be solved by getting used to it. I'm around all the time to keep an eye on it, but if I was working elsewhere, I doubt I'd leave it running unattended with the same confidence that I do with the old DC18. Whatever the reason for making the water tank the shape it is, wide and shallow containers are inherently unstable even before they're full, and that's not rocket science. Anyone who's tried to carry a washing-up bowl finds that out. The water level is very near the top of the tank and there are openings where the water can slop out. I find the tank too tightly fitted to pull out smoothly, so I've had to move the appliance to a tiled floor rather than risk soaking the carpet. I always have to wipe out the interior cavity when I've removed the tray. Summary: this machine has too many missing basics that I now realise matter quite a lot. For £235, I'd rather have had any one of those than a silver nano filter. When the DC18 finally goes to its reward, I'll buy a different brand to replace it. If they were still making that model, and to the original spec, I'd have been better off with another one of those.

I looked at loads of different makes and models in different shops and decided that a desiccant dehumidifier was the best for my cold, single story house in the far north of Scotland. I have black mould starting on my bathroom ceiling and things that are stored in cupboards or near outside walls get mould growth. My budget was limited so I opted for this model. There are cheaper ones but they’re not desiccant. Setting it up was simple and after reading the instructions I put it in my hall to start. I put it onto the highest setting with all the doors open. I was amazed at the amount of water in the tank after just a couple of hours. I then put it in each room to do it’s magic. I have a thermometer with a humidity gauge (it cost less than £10 from Amazon). It’s good to know what the level is. I now have this machine running most of the day on medium economy mode and switch it off at night. As soon as we’re up and showered I put it on and let it do it’s thing. I’ve hardly had to put the heating on, the house is definitely warmer. As far as how heavy it is on electric usage, I have a prepayment electric meter and I haven’t noticed any increase. The only negative thing I will say is that when it’s running on the turbo setting, there is a smell comes from it. It kind of smells like a gas. The booklet says it is zeolite desiccant material that absorbs odours. It’s not harmful and will not last long. I don’t notice it at all when it’s on economy mode and that is more than efficient for my needs. I’d only put it on turbo for drying a very steamy bathroom or if I had a lot of laundry to dry. I wish I had got one of these years ago. I plan on looking after it and hoping it will last me for years to come.

Perfect. (Will update later)

This dehumidifier has worked well for us over the last couple of years, we’ve ran it over winter to help with drying out clothes - it’s collected a huge amount of water and had been faultless. However two weeks ago it started making a grinding noise, I reached out to eco air support who were pretty responsive. In the end I diagnosed it myself as a faulty motor. The problem is spare parts are proprietary and expensive, for example a replacement motor (which is a small component and probably costs a couple of quid to produce) eco air will charge you £30! To be fair the system is easy to open up and repair, but it’s annoying the manufacturer charges you so much for spare parts. Knowing this may have made me reconsider my purchase if I had known.