Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes might actually be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Dishes and glassware have multiple nooks and crannies that could pool water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, and as your appliance cools water condenses from the humid air.

Different machines also employ a number of different approaches to get your dishes dry. Some opt for a heating element to warm the inside of the dishwasher and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water more nearing the final rinse, some use a fan, and some employ a combination of all three. There are therefore a variety of explanations why your machine may not be drying dishes optimally and a variety of options to rectify 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 seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly 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 Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more irritating 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 removing the dirt from or drying your dishes. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

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

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the dishwasher is not working you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastics are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your dishes therefore, if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

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

Check The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your crockery and cutlery will not dry so a not working heating coil could be the explanation your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your dishes don’t feel hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

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

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your dishwasher getting too hot, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s not working this can result in your appliance not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an fault but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the issue. Again you can test this using a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will use a 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 steam will condense on the crockery and cutlery instead leaving them wet.

You can utilize your manual to ascertain if your dishwasher has a fan and locate it. Again you need to double check 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 would stop it from functioning as it is supposed to. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Power

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

1. Don’t overcrowd the machine. Overcrowding the dishwasher inhibits the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. Although it’s tempting to try and cram everything in, your dishwasher will work better if you leave sufficient space so that plates are not touching.
2. 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 crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and consequently making them dry more quickly and evenly.
3. Open the door at the end of the program. Some new machines do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine when the cycle finishes allows warm air to evaporate thus preventing water condensing on the dishes as the machine cools down.
4. Check if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will lead to improved drying times and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
5. Think about how you unload your dishwasher. This doesn’t affect how well your machine 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 time to phone the professionals or perhaps replace your dishwasher.

More Dishwasher Problems:

• Dishwasher Being Loud
• Dishwasher Not Turning On
• Dishwasher Not Draining
• Dishwasher Leaking