De’Longhi DDSX220WF-WH Tasciugo AriaDry (DeLonghi dehumidifier/air purifier review)

De’Longhi DDSX220WF-WH Tasciugo AriaDry is one of its Tasciugo AriaDry range that covers from 14 to 30L removal of water from the air per day.

• 14L room to 65m3 – $399 (currently on special at $379)
• 16L room to 70m3 – $499
• 21L room to 90m3 (this review) – $649 ($599)
• 25L rooms to 100m3 – $519
• 30L rooms to 150m3 – $649

The question is, do you need a dehumidifier or just an air purifier? The answer is that removing excess water from the air can stop toxic mould growth, help with respiratory problems, and control dust mites. A dedicated air purifier is best if you don’t have a humidity issue and has far lower running costs.

Most east coast Australian homes have around 50% relative humidity (RH) indoors. But that can easily hit 70-80% during wet weather. You know you have a water problem if you find white powdery mould in your wardrobe, shoes or clothes, or black mould on walls, windows or sills, or a damp and musty smell.

The De’Longhi Tasciugo AriaDry are not commercial dehumidifiers, but they do a reasonable job for small to medium enclosed rooms with humidity issues and, for the 21L model only, purifies the air as well.

Most HEPA air purifiers can remove 99.97% of 3um (hair is about 70um) so we use Breathe easy this spring (air purifier guide) to review them.

How do DeLonghi dehumidifiers work?

They use R290 refrigerant and a compressor to trap the water in the air that flows over the coils (similar to a heat pump clothes dryer) to expel dryer, cleaner air.

That means higher electricity use – from 305W (14L Model) to 575W (30L model on maximum).

Australian review: De’Longhi DDSX220WF-WH Tasciugo AriaDry air purifier dehumidifier

Website	Product Page and Range page
Price	$649 is currently on special for $599
From	DeLonghi online, Harvey Norman, Myer, David Jones, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Appliance Central
Warranty	2-year ACL, 30-day free return
Country of origin	China
Company	DeLonghi is an Italian brand est. 1902 makes a huge range of coffee makers, kitchen appliances, air treatment, heaters and more. Its aim is that Every De’Longhi product comes with ‘something special.’
More	Cybershack air purifier news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – DeLonghi Italian design – Pass+

It is pretty small and compact, reflecting DeLonghi’s design credos. Very well-made and thoughtfully designed.

The conundrum here is that it is primarily a dehumidifier and air purification is a bonus.

Features – De’Longhi DDSX220WF-WH Tasciugo AriaDry only

• HEPA 12 filter, Active carbon filter and pre-filter, with Bio Silver to help reduce bacteria.
• Laundry function to help quickly dehumidify laundry areas
• Air-only mode for air purification (CADR maximum 140m3/hr)
• Wi-Fi, App and Real feel auto mode
• 5L water container – 21L maximum water removal per 24 hours with included continuous drain feature
• For rooms to 90m3 (about 6 x 6 x 2.4m)
• 3-speed fan
• 490W power use (maximum compressor)
• Timer
• Castors and handle

App – DeLonghi Connect for Android and iOS – Pass

This model has Wi-Fi connectivity. The App is basic, and you don’t need it to operate the device. It can set up Google Assistant or Alexa access.

The main feature is Real Feel which will automatically set the device to the optimal for the room.

Apple users should buy the DDSX220WFA that works with Apple HomeKit systems.

Real Feel – undecided

The App has a Real Feel setting that works over a longer time to achieve its goal (based on room conditions, it automatically sets the appliance to reach the ideal humidity level for your comfort). There is no manual button to enable it (as in other models).

Real Feel (auto setting) tends to be quieter. We ran it for 24 hours, and RH went from 659% to 67% with minimal water collection.

Test – Pass(able)

Test 1 – Bedroom 72m3

Real Feel 24 hours: It has been quite wet, and the RH has been well over 60% for some weeks. In a 5 x 6m bedroom, it collects about 500ml of water in 24 hours, reducing the RH from 69% to 67%. This was not the result we expected, but it was quiet and energy efficient.

We were cognisant that reducing the water in the air may lead to dry skin. In reality, you only need low humidity levels, and the room smells fresher.

Test 2 – Laundry 22m3

In laundry mode, the fan speed is set to maximum; it is pretty noisy. But it maintained the RH at 50%, coping well with a Vented dryer.

Test – open space area 90m3

While the air was at RH 68% over 24 hours, it made little difference to the RH levels collecting little water. This requires a closed room to be effective.

Noise – Pass on fan one

• Real Feel mode 30dB
• Fan 1 – 40dB
• 2 – 55dB
• 3 – 60dB

But we are concerned with an annoying ‘thrumming’ noise that accompanies fan speeds two and three. The thrumming intensity depends on the floor covering. It was lower on a hard floor and worse on the carpet.

As a purifier – Pass

It removes up to 99.9% of particles up to 2.5um at 80m3/h. This is for a small room, and the claim is based on fan speed three. Still, it exceeds the minimum 2x air turnover even on fan speed 2. In this mode, it only powers the fan, so energy use is minimal.

Power – All dehumidifiers are all thirsty

On fan speed three with the dehumidifier set to achieve RH 30%, it consumes about 380W/h. It is also quite noisy, with a thrumming sound on top of the typical fan noise. That is the worst case and means it costs about $2.75 every 24 hours (at 30 cents per kWh).

If you set the RH target to 50% (which is reasonable for a home), it uses almost the same wattage, which means the compressor is the power user, not the fan.

Laundry mode (Dry mode) uses about the same power.

You should know that the dehumidifier process heats the expelled air to about 40°. In a small room, it will increase the room temperature over time.

Air purifier mode (fan only) ranges from 7W (fan one), 13W (fan two) to 16W (fan three) – negligible power use.

Child safety and movement – Pass

It is 600 (H) x 383 (W) x 257 (D) x 13.5kg (plus up to 5L wastewater (1kg per litre). It is relatively stable on castors and easy to move. A child could, with some effort, push it over, but we rate it a fairly low risk. Take care if toddlers try to use it as a handhold.

Maintenance

The water tank holds 5L, and a continuous empty feature requires a connection to a drain, but these are relatively rare indoors.

The pre-dust filter can be washed. It needs to dry again before use.

The HEPA filter is a $50 replacement.

CyberShack’s view – De’Longhi DDSX220WF-WH Tasciugo AriaDry is a dehumidifier with a bonus purifier

Fact: It will reduce the relative humidity in a closed environment like a bedroom. As long as you know that it costs around $2.75 a day (maximum) and can be pretty noisy, then we have done our job.

When looking at the models, the 21L one, as tested, is the only one with Wi-Fi, HEPA and Active carbon filters. I suspect that you may be better off looking at the dehumidifier-only models and saving some money because there are better small air-purifiers

We are rating it as a dehumidifier, not as an air purifier. Due to the noise issues and power use, it cannot rate as highly, so let’s say the range is fine to remove water.

• Features – 8 (it has Wi-Fi, an App and an air purifier function)
• Value – 7 (the price is for multi-function – standard dehumidifiers are lower cost)
• Performance – 7 (energy use and noise lose some points)
• Ease of Use – 7 (noise)
• Design – 8 (well-made and good-looking).