Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your crockery and cutlery dry might actually be harder for your machine than removing the dirt. Dishes and glassware have lots of nooks and crannies that can trap water preventing it from evaporating, plus as your machine loses heat water condenses out of the steam.

Different machines also employ a variety of different methods to dry your plates. Some opt for a heating coil to heat up the inside of the machine and help the water to evaporate, some heat the water to a higher temperature near the end of the cycle, others use a fan, and certain models make use of a combination of all three. There are consequently a number of reasons why your machine may not be drying dishes fully and a number of options to improve the situation.

Plastic items are more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can call a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting guide to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

There is nothing more annoying than an appliance that isn’t working properly, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, washing machine 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 places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are built to the same spec and some appliances perform to a higher standard compared to others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your plates in the past one of these areas may be the problem.

Have a Look at How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the machine is faulty you should first check that you haven’t overloaded 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.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

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

Visually inspect the rinse aid dispenser for damage and ensure that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Element

Without enough heat your crockery and cutlery will not dry so a not working heating element may be the reason your dishwasher is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating coil first unplug the appliance, then find the heating coil, you may need the manual to do this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your dishwasher overheating, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your machine not reaching a high enough temperature.

If the heating coil seems to be working as it should but your appliance isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be the problem. Once again you can check this using a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will utilize a fan and vent to suck moist air out of the dishwasher. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will remain in the machine preventing the dishes from drying.

You can employ your instruction manual to check if your machine uses a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to double check the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to make repairs.

You can visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that might stop it from operating correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Increase Drying Capability

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

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overcrowding the dishwasher inhibits the flow of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. It may be tempting to cram in as much as possible but your machine will be more effective if you leave sufficient space so that dishes are not touching.
Utilize rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glassware in particular 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 speeding up drying times.
Open your appliance as soon as the cycle has completed. Some newer machines have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the cycle allows warm air to escape and prevent water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Find out if your appliance employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you could be able to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Unload the bottom rack before the top. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, 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 may be a good idea to phone the professionals or perhaps replace your dishwasher.