Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your crockery and cutlery may really be harder for your machine than removing the dirt. Plates and cups have lots of nooks and crannies that could collect water preventing it from drying out, and as your appliance loses heat water condenses out of the humid air.

Different machines also employ a number of means to get your dishes dry. Certain models opt for a heating element to heat up the inside of the dishwasher and assist with evaporation, some heat the water to a higher temperature near the end of the cycle, some have a fan, and others use a combination of all three. There are therefore a number of reasons why your machine could not be drying plates fully and a variety of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than other materials 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 your dishwasher isn’t drying properly you can call a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting list to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

Few things are more frustrating than a home appliance that doesn’t work 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 removing the dirt from or drying your dishes. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the problem.

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. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these issues could be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the dishwasher. 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. It’s also worth noting that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates therefore, 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.

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

Check The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a faulty heating element may be the reason your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your plates don’t feel hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating coil you will need to unplug the machine, find the heating coil, you could need the instruction manual for this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your appliance 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 the heating element appears to be working as it should but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat may be the issue. Again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will use a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the appliance. If either of these elements are broken then the steam will remain in the appliance preventing the plates from drying.

You can make use of your manual to find out if your dishwasher has a fan and locate it. Again you need to double check the machine is unplugged before trying to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that could stop it from functioning correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Power

There are a number of methods you can use to increase your machines drying ability and make sure you need to get the drying up cloth out as infrequently as possible.

Allow ample space between crockery and cutlery. Overfilling the appliance stops the flow of air and water making cleaning and drying your crockery and cutlery harder. It could be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but your appliance will work better if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the dishwasher will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glasses a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and thus making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open the door at the end of the program. Some new dishwashers do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the cycle can help allow the water to evaporate and stop water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Check if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and use it. Setting a higher temperature will lead to better drying times and it could be possible to choose which points in the cycle you add more heat.
Think about how you unload your dishwasher. This doesn’t affect how well your machine works, but it does prevent water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it could be a good idea to call in the professionals or perhaps upgrade your dishwasher.