Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but getting your crockery and cutlery dry may in actual fact be more arduous for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and glasses have multiple crevices that may collect water stopping it from evaporating, plus as your dishwasher cools water condenses out of the humid air.

Dishwashers also make use of a variety of different methods to get your plates dry. Certain models will use a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature near the end of the cycle, certain models make use of a fan, and certain models have a mix of all three. There are thus a variety of explanations why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a number of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are 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 noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying properly you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

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 cleaning or drying your plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all makes and models are created equal and you will find that some makes and models do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these issues might be the cause.

Check the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the machine. Before assuming the machine is faulty you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. 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 machine needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can mean wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

Visually check the rinse aid dispenser for damage and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a faulty heating element might be the reason your dishwasher is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your plates aren’t hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating coil 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 for this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t get too hot, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s not working this can result in your dishwasher not reaching a high enough temperature.

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

Check The Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will employ a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will form droplets on the dishes instead preventing them from drying.

You can make use of your manual to check if your machine uses a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to ensure the machine is unplugged before trying to access the fan.

You can visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that would prevent it from functioning as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Ability

There are a number of things you can do to improve how well your appliance dries your dishes and make sureyou need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Allow ample space between crockery and cutlery. Overfilling the machine inhibits the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. It may be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but your machine will be more effective if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the dishwasher will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glassware in particular 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 consequently speeding up drying times.
Open your machine as soon as the program has finished. Some newer machines do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine when the program completes allows warm air to escape and stop water condensing on the plates as the dishwasher cools down.
Check if your machine has a heat feature and make use of it. Setting a higher heat will result in improved drying times and it could be possible to choose which points in the program you increase the temperature.
Think about how you unload your machine. This doesn’t affect how effective your dishwasher is, but it stop and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If you have checked all the above it could be a good idea to phone the professionals or even buy a new dishwasher.