Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your crockery and cutlery may in actual fact be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of nooks and crannies that may pool water preventing it from evaporating, thus as your appliance cools water condenses from the steam.

Different machines also utilize a number of different approaches to get your dishes dry. Some opt for a heating element to warm the inside of the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water more approaching the final rinse, certain models make use of a fan, and others have a mix of all three. There are consequently a number of explanations why your machine might not be drying plates optimally and a variety of options to improve the situation.

Plastic items are more difficult to dry than other materials as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with 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 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 Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more irritating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it should, 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 there are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the issue.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some makes and models do a better job of drying your dishes than others. But if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these faults could be the problem.

Check the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is not working you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. Also be aware that plastics are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your crockery and cutlery thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

Visually check the rinse aid dispenser for cracks and check that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Element

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

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

Check the Thermostat

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

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

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will utilize a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the appliance. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the water vapor will condense on the plates instead leaving them wet.

You can utilize your user manual to find out if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to double check the appliance is unplugged before trying to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that could stop it from functioning correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Boost Drying Ability

There are a number of methods you can use to boost how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and make sure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Don’t overcrowd the machine. Overcrowding the machine stops the flow of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, your appliance will work better if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the machine will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glasses a streak-free finish 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.
Open your dishwasher as soon as the cycle has ended. Some newer dishwashers have this as an automatic option, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door at the end of the cycle allows warm air to evaporate thus stopping water condensing on the dishes as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and it may be possible to choose which points in the program you increase the temperature.
Unload the bottom rack before the top. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, 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 necessary to call in an engineer or perhaps buy a new dishwasher.