Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes may really be harder for your dishwasher than removing the dirt. Crockery and cutlery and cups have lots of crevices that could collect water making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your appliance loses heat water droplets form from the humid air.

Different machines also utilize a variety of different approaches to dry your crockery and cutlery. Certain models will have a heating coil to warm the air in the dishwasher and help the water to evaporate, some warm the water further approaching the end of the cycle, others have a fan, and some make use of a mix of all of these. There are therefore a number of reasons why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can call a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more annoying than an appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, 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 your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and some makes and models perform to a better standard compared to others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these faults may be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the dishwasher. Before assuming the machine is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. Also be aware that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates and so if you have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

Visually inspect the dispenser for cracks and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a not working heating coil could be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying dishes. If your dishes aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil is faulty.

To check the heating coil you will need to unplug the appliance, find the heating coil, you might need the owners manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, adjusting the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your appliance not reaching a high enough temperature.

If the heating element appears to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat could be the issue. Once again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many machines will make use of a drying fan and vent to suck moist air from the dishwasher. If either of these elements are faulty then the water vapor will condense on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

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

First visually inspect the fan and vent to see if there is anything lodged that might prevent it from working as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Ability

There are a number of things you can do to improve your appliances effectiveness at drying and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Don’t overload the machine. Overfilling the machine limits the circulation of both water and air making removing the dirt from and drying your plates more difficult. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, your appliance will be more effective if you leave enough space so that plates are not touching.
Make use of rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the dishwasher can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glasses a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes helping the water to run off them and consequently allowing them to dry faster.
Open the door at the end of the program. Some newer models have this as an automatic function, but many do not, thus, opening the door when the program completes allows warm air to evaporate and prevent water condensing on the contents as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your machine employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will result in better drying times and it could be possible to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Empty the bottom rack before the top. This is simply because cups and glasses that are upside down on the top shelf often have a concave bottom where water can pool. Emptying the bottom rack first stops you spilling this water onto the plates below.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be a good idea to phone an engineer or perhaps upgrade your dishwasher.