Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your dishes dry may really be harder for your dishwasher than removing the dirt. Crockery and cutlery and glassware have lots of nooks and crannies that could trap dishwater making it more difficult for it to dry out, and as your dishwasher cools down water droplets form out of the humid air.

Different machines also make use of a number of methods to dry your plates. Some will employ a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and help the water to evaporate, some heat up the water further nearing the final rinse, others have a fan, and certain models make use of a combination of all of these. There are thus a number of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying plates fully and a variety of things you can do to improve 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 items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying effectively you can call a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the problem.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more frustrating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a smartphone, tumble dryer or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some makes and models perform to a higher standard compared to others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these areas could be the cause.

Inspect How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

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. It’s also worth noting that plastics 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 dishes therefore, if you have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a not working heating coil might be the reason your appliance is not working as it should. If your plates don’t feel hot when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil is broken.

To check the heating coil you will need to disconnect the appliance, locate the heating element, you could need the owners manual for this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your machine overheating, adjusting the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s broken this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

If the heating coil appears to be working as it should but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat could be the issue. Again you can test this using a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will make use of a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the appliance. If either of these elements are faulty then the water vapor will form droplets on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

You can employ your user manual to find out if your machine uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to ensure the machine is disconnected before attempting to access the fan.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that could prevent it from operating as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Ability

There are a variety of things you can do to improve how well your machine dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overfilling the dishwasher inhibits the flow of air and water making cleaning and drying your crockery and cutlery harder. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, you will get better results if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Use rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a little extra to the appliance 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 crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and thus allowing them to dry faster.
Open your machine as soon as the program has completed. Some newer dishwashers do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the dishwasher at the end of the program allows warm air to escape and stop water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your appliance employs a heat feature and utilize it. Setting a higher heat will mean improved drying times and you may be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Think about how you empty your machine. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it could be a good idea to call in the professionals or even buy a new dishwasher.