Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but getting your crockery and cutlery dry may actually be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Dishes and glasses have lots of nooks and crannies that could collect water stopping it from evaporating, and as your appliance loses heat water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of different approaches to dry your plates. Some will employ a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and help with evaporation, some warm the water more approaching the end of the cycle, certain models employ a fan, and certain models make use of a combination of all three. There are thus a number of reasons why your dishwasher may not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a number of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than other materials as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

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

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more annoying 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 here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all makes and models are created equal and some makes and models perform to a superior standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how effectively your machine is working one of these faults might be the problem.

Check the Placement of Your Dishes

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the machine is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. Also be aware that plastics are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

The best thing to do is inspect the rinse aid dispenser for cracks and check that there is rinse aid inside.

Check The Heating Element

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

To check the heating coil first disconnect the machine, then locate the heating element, you could need the manual for this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your dishwasher doesn’t get too hot, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s not working this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not find an fault but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the problem. Once again you can test this using a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will utilize a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the water vapor will remain in the machine preventing the dishes from drying.

You can employ your manual to ascertain if your machine has a fan and find its location. Again you need to make sure the appliance is disconnected before attempting to access the fan.

You can visually inspect the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that might stop it from operating as it is supposed to. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Ability

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

Don’t overfill the machine. Overcrowding the appliance inhibits the circulation of both water and air making removing the dirt from and drying your dishes more difficult. It could be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but your dishwasher will work better if you leave sufficient space so that plates are not touching.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glasses a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your plates helping the water to run off them and therefore allowing them to dry faster.
Open your machine as soon as the program has completed. Some newer machines have this as an automatic function, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine when the cycle finishes allows warm air to evaporate and stop water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Check if your machine 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.
Unload the lower level first. This is simply because cups and glasses that are upside down on the top shelf often have a concave bottom where water can pool. Emptying the bottom rack first stops you spilling this water onto the crockery and cutlery below.

If none of the above solves the problem it could be time to phone an engineer or perhaps replace your machine.