Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but getting your plates dry may in actual fact be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and cups have lots of nooks and crannies that could collect water preventing it from drying out, and as your dishwasher loses heat water droplets form out of the steam.

Different machines also make use of a variety of approaches to dry your dishes. Some will have a heating coil to warm the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature approaching the end of the cycle, others have a fan, and certain models make use of a mix of all three. There are therefore a variety of reasons why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a number of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than other materials as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

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

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more frustrating than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a tv, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are created equal and some appliances do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your plates in the past one of these faults may be the cause.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Plates

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the machine. Before assuming the dishwasher is not working you should first check that you haven’t overloaded it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. Also be aware that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your machine needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates thus, if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is broken this can mean wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the rinse aid dispenser for damage and check that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Element

Without enough heat your plates will not dry so a broken heating element may be the reason your appliance is not drying dishes. If your dishes aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating element first disconnect the appliance, then 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 stops your machine getting too hot, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s faulty this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not discover an issue but your appliance isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat could be at fault. Again you can make sure with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will make use of a drying fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If either of these elements are broken then the steam will condense on the crockery and cutlery instead leaving them wet.

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

You can look at the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that could prevent it from operating correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase your appliances effectiveness at drying and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Don’t cram the dishwasher. Overfilling the machine stops the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your crockery and cutlery harder. Although it’s appealing to try and cram everything in, your machine will work better if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Employ rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the dishwasher won’t hurt. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glasses a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and consequently making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some newer machines do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the program can help allow the water to evaporate and stop water condensing on the dishes as the dishwasher cools down.
Check if your dishwasher has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and you could be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Think about how you unload your dishwasher. 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 might be a good idea to phone an engineer or perhaps upgrade your dishwasher.