Midea is a large Chinese electronic appliance company that has existed since 1968. It has over 160,000 employees worldwide and has an extensive product range from refrigerators to large HVAC systems.
In a recent survey from Consumer Reports, Midea was included as one of the most reliable based on a survey of their members, so I was very excited when the Cube arrived.
Most residential dehumidifiers have a similar design: a rectangular box with a small bucket at the bottom. With the Cube, Midea has chosen a completely different technique that, as you can guess from the name, uses a cube as a bucket, allowing for a much bigger water bucket than the traditional design.
The Midea Cube was launched in 2019, which means it is a reasonably new dehumidifier design. Since then, it has been very popular with consumers, so we were keen to test and review it for ourselves.
I am reviewing the 50-pint model (MAD50PS1QWT) with a built-in pump, which is recommended for spaces up to 4500 square feet. This model is usually found for just under $300, but smaller versions go down to $200 for the 20-pint version.
- We set up the dehumidifier inside our very humid basement of 2,000 sq. ft.
- We set up our trusted SensorPush wireless hygrometer to track humidity levels in the air every minute while the dehumidifier is running.
- We switch the dehumidifier on to its highest speed and record how long it takes to lower the humidity levels in our basement.
- We use an energy meter to measure precisely how much electricity is used when running the dehumidifier.
- We track sound levels emitted by the dehumidifier with the help of our sound meter.
The lowdown on the Midea Cube
If you don’t have the time to read my full review, then check out the key things you need to know about this dehumidifier to see if it’s a good fit for you:
What we really like
What we think could be better
| HouseFresh Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Water it can remove in a day: | 50 pints (28.41 litres) |
| Recommended room size: | 4500 sq. ft. (418 m2) |
| Water tank capacity: | 4.2 gallons (19 liters) |
| Dimensions (in inches / in cm): | 14.45D x 14.76W x 14.57H inches (36.7 x 37.5 x 37 cm) |
| Weight (in pounds / in kg): | 42.4 pounds (19.25 kg) |
| Noise level (low – high): | 42.5 — 49dB |
| Max wattage | 425 watts |
| Other features: | Pump and gravity drain hose option |
| Warranty: | 1 year |
| Estimated energy consumption: | $446.76 |
A simple black cube that you can stack up
The large drainage bucket in the Midea Cube means you won’t need to make as many trips to the sink to get rid of the water removed from the air.
One thing I really like about this dehumidifier design is that you can save a ton of space when not using it by putting it inside the water bucket. This means that when storing, you will take up a lot less space than a traditional design.
You get the option of white or black. Personally, I like how well the black Cube looks; it easily fits into the surroundings in a place like a basement (which is where I have my Midea Cube).
You can see how different the design looks when comparing it to the similar-sized devices from Honeywell and Frigidaire. The entire box beneath can hold water, so you can really see how much extra water this device can hold compared to competing brands.
The main fan is at the top of the device and a control panel is underneath. It includes a screen that gives you the current humidifier as a percentage.
The control panel comes with buttons for adjusting the desired humidity and choosing the pump type. You also get a setting for selecting how high you want the bucket to fill up — if you think the full 4.2 gallons will be too heavy to empty easily, you can reduce this so the device will only fill up half the bucket. Finally, you also get a timer button, meaning you can run the device for several hours.
Another great feature of the Midea Cube is the pump. When the Cube is in pump mode, the water the dehumidifier is pulling from the air can be simply pumped from the device into a drain through a pump drain hose that is included in the box.
I was pleased to see how clear the instructions were on the Cube itself:
My not-so-great experience setting up the Midea Air app
To set up the app mode, you will need to connect the Midea Cube to your phone by holding the power button for three seconds. From there, it’s all about getting the Midea Air app set up on your smartphone.
Honestly, it was not easy setting up the Midea Air app on my iPhone.
For starters, you can’t use it on a 5ghz WiFi – even if your router can provide for both 2.4 and 5 GHz on the same network, you must create a WiFi connection that only has 2.4 GHz. They make this clear in the app, but this could be a total pain for people, especially those with a router from their internet provider that might not provide an easy way to set this up.
The next issue I encountered was when I tried logging in using my Apple account. It did allow me to set up the app using this login, but when I tried to add the Midea Cube, it failed every time.
I was able to set it up with a standard email address login, but feel that they should remove the ability to use third-party login choices if they don’t work.
The setup involved several steps as the app connected to the onboard WiFi, and then finally, you chose the WiFi you want to use to control the dehumidifier.
Compared with setting up the smart App with Levoit or Dyson, this was far from easy. I would love to see this improved in future iterations.
There was also a concerning alert when I finally set up the app that said that the Midea Air app was no longer being updated and asked me to move to a different app than the one that was included in the material that came with the Midea Cube. You can still use the current Midea Air app, but it was concerning that they were not providing updates and I worry that, at some point, this app may no longer work.
Once I was in the app and connected to my Midea Cube, I was happy with the overall design and UX. The Midea Air app includes features that are unavailable on the control panel, such as the estimated time when you will need to empty the water bucket.
Setting the bucket level is also much easier with a simple visualization inside the app vs the numbers on the onboard control panel.
While the installation was far from easy, I could see myself using this app daily versus the on-board buttons because it saves me a trip down the basement.
Two filters to keep the device free of dust
The Midea Cube has two filters, one on each side of the device. This is a unique feature not found in many dehumidifiers.
A big issue for all types of dehumidifiers is ensuring that no dust or particles get into the device, as this can reduce the device’s efficiency and lead to faults over time.
Most residential-style dehumidifiers use just one filter, so it was good to see the Midea Cube comes with two filters, one on each side.
Both filters use mesh to block small particles from entering the device and are easy to remove and clean. The dehumidifier also has a light to alert you when it’s time to clean the filters.
As a rule of thumb, it’s recommended to clean the filters every 2-3 weeks when the dehumidifier is used, as dust can accumulate quickly, especially in a location like a basement.
Be aware that these filters are used only to protect the machine. They won’t be able to clean the air — you will need an air purifier if you’re looking for air filtering capabilities.
The filters are easy to remove by just pulling them from the side. The best thing is that you can remove them fully to allow you to clean them thoroughly. Here is a video to show you how simple it is to do this:
The Midea Cube took 6 minutes to reduce the humidity in our testing tent
This powerful dehumidifier took only 6 minutes to reduce the air in our test tent from 65% to 45%
We tested the Midea Cube in a Gorilla Shorty Tent with a width and length of 3 feet and a height of 4.92 feet. This testing space has a volume of 44.28 feet, and this small space allows us to test all sizes of dehumidifiers in the same space.
This model has also been tested by Energy Star and was found to remove 50 pints of water, which means it will be powerful enough to keep even a large area (up to 4500 sq. ft.) clear of humidity.
Noise levels test results
Noise is a key feature for a device like a dehumidifier as you will likely have to run it continuously, so if it’s overly loud, this could create a problem. Thankfully, the Midea cube is a fairly quiet device, considering the amount of water it can remove in 24 hours.
But noise can be subjective, so I made sure to include a video of the device running so you can hear for yourself:
The cost to run a Midea Cube: $446.78 per year
When buying a dehumidifier, upfront costs are important but you also need to be mindful of long-term costs.
Considering that a dehumidifier is an air conditioning unit in reverse, they can be power hungry and energy usage is higher with more powerful devices.
While the total cost of running this device is on the high side, considering the amount of water it can remove, this is one of the most efficient devices on the market. With 1.8 liters of water removed for every kWh of energy, ENERGY STAR has certified this device.
If you don’t have a large space, you can reduce long-term costs by choosing a smaller device such as the 20 or 30-pint mode. Be sure to match the water removal level to the size and space of the location you want to reduce humidity.
Bottom line
An innovative design that is one of the best home dehumidifiers on the market
The Midea Cube is one of the best dehumidifiers we have reviewed for those looking to reduce humidity in their home.
It’s priced well, considering the features and water removal rates, and it comes from a brand that has been making appliances for a long time.
While we had some issues with the WiFi setup, its smart features worked well and made it easier to use the device in the long term.
I would prefer to see a warranty that covers the dehumidifier for longer than just one year. Still, this is my favorite dehumidifier for consumers looking for a large water bucket that won’t need emptying all the time.
SOURCES
We calculated energy consumption costs with the help of the Department of Energy’s appliance energy calculator. We calculated yearly costs associated with running [Name of the Unit] for 24 hours a day for 365 days. We ran this calculation utilizing the U.S. average utility rate of $0.12/kWh as of January 16, 2024.
