Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your plates could really be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glasses have multiple nooks and crannies that can collect dishwater making it more difficult for it to evaporate, and as your appliance cools water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of methods to dry your crockery and cutlery. Certain models opt for a heating coil to heat up the inside of the machine and assist the water to evaporate, some heat the water more approaching the end of the cycle, some use a fan, and certain models employ a mix of all three. There are therefore a variety of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of options to rectify 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 noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more frustrating than an appliance that isn’t working properly, 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 dishes. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are built to the same spec and some dishwashers do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these faults could be the cause.

Check How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the machine. Before assuming the appliance is faulty you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates thus, 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.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a not working heating element might be the reason your dishwasher is not drying plates. If your dishes aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

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

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your dishwasher overheating, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s not working this can result in your machine not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an issue but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat could be at fault. Again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will make use of a fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will form droplets on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

You can employ your manual to check if your dishwasher has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to make sure the machine is disconnected before trying to access the fan.

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

Ideas to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase your appliances drying ability and make sure you have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Allow sufficient space between dishes. Overfilling the machine stops the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both washing and finishing your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Make use of rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher can only improve matters. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some newer machines have this as an automatic function, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the program allows warm air to escape and prevent water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Have a look to see if your appliance uses a heat feature and make use of it. The higher the temperature the better the drying and it might be possible to choose which points in the cycle you add more heat.
Unload the bottom rack first. This doesn’t affect how effective your dishwasher is, but it does prevent water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

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