Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your crockery and cutlery might really be more difficult for your machine than cleaning them. Dishes and cups have lots of crevices that can collect water preventing it from evaporating, plus as your appliance loses heat water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of different methods to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some opt for a heating element to warm the inside of the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water more approaching the end of the cycle, some employ a fan, and certain models employ a combination of all of these. There are thus a variety of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a variety of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are 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 your dishwasher isn’t drying effectively you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more annoying 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 crockery and cutlery. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are created equal and you will find that some dishwashers 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 cause.

Have a Look at How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the dishwasher is faulty you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your machine needs rinse aid to properly dry your dishes and so if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can result in wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the dispenser for cracks and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Coil

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

To inspect the heating coil first disconnect the dishwasher, then find the heating coil, you may need the owners manual to do this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Check 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 heating up at all.

If the heating coil seems to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat may be at fault. Once again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will utilize a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the appliance. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will condense on the plates instead leaving them wet.

You can employ your manual to find out if your machine uses a fan and locate it. Again you need to double check the dishwasher is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

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

Ideas to Boost Drying Capability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase how well your machine dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Allow ample space between dishes. Overcrowding the machine stops the circulation of air and water making removing the dirt from and drying your plates more difficult. It might be tempting to stuff in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that dishes are not touching.
Use 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 can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glassware in particular a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes 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 newer dishwashers have this as an automatic option, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door when the program completes allows warm air to evaporate and prevent water condensing on the plates as the machine cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher has a heat feature and use it. The higher the heat the better the drying and it could be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Think about how you empty your machine. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it could be necessary to phone an engineer or perhaps upgrade your dishwasher.