Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your dishes may actually be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and glassware have lots of crevices that may pool water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, plus as your machine cools down water condenses out of the steam.

Different machines also make use of a variety of approaches to dry your dishes. Certain models opt for a heating coil to warm the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat the water more near the end of the cycle, others make use of a fan, and certain models have a mix of all of these. There are therefore a number of explanations why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a variety of options to improve the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first make use of this troubleshooting guide to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more annoying than an appliance that isn’t working as it should, whether that’s a smartphone that really isn’t being that smart, a washing machine that’s churning out dirty clothes, or a dishwasher that is either not cleaning or drying your dishes. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and you will find that some makes and models perform to a superior standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these areas might be the problem.

Check the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is broken you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. It’s also worth noting that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your dishes therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can mean wet plates at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the rinse aid dispenser for damage and ensure that it’s full.

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Without enough heat your plates will not dry so a faulty heating element may be the explanation your machine is not working as it should. If your plates aren’t hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating coil first disconnect the dishwasher, then locate the heating coil, you could need the manual for this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your appliance doesn’t get too hot, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your dishwasher not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an issue but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat may be at fault. Again you can test this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will make use of a fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the water vapor will remain in the appliance preventing the dishes from drying.

You can utilize your manual to find out if your machine has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to ensure the machine is unplugged before attempting to access the fan.

You can visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that would prevent it from working correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to increase how well your appliance dries your dishes and make sure you have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Allow sufficient space between plates. Overloading the dishwasher stops the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both washing and finishing your dishes. It could be tempting to cram in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance won’t hurt. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your dishes, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open the door at the end of the program. Some new machines have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the dishwasher at the end of the cycle allows warm air to escape thus stopping water condensing on the plates as the dishwasher cools down.
Have a look to see if your machine uses a heat feature and make use of it. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you could be able to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Unload the bottom rack before the top. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, but it does prevent water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it might be a good idea to call in an engineer or perhaps buy a new machine.