Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but getting your dishes dry may really be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glasses have multiple nooks and crannies that may collect water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, plus as your machine cools down water droplets form from the humid air.

Different machines also utilize a variety of different methods to get your dishes dry. Certain models opt for a heating element to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat the water more nearing the end of the cycle, certain models make use of a fan, and some have a mix of all of these. There are consequently a number of reasons why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a number of things you can do to improve the situation.

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

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying effectively 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 Dishes

Few things are more annoying than a home appliance that isn’t working 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 removing the dirt from or drying your dishes. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are built to the same spec and you will find that some makes and models do a better job of drying your plates than others. But if you notice a change in how effectively your machine is working one of these faults may be the cause.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Plates

It might be that there is no fault with the machine. Before assuming the appliance 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 don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your crockery and cutlery therefore, if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is broken this can mean wet plates at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the dispenser for damage and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a not working heating element might be the explanation your appliance is not working as it should. If your dishes aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating element is faulty.

To check the heating element you will need to disconnect the machine, find the heating element, you may need the instruction manual for this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your appliance doesn’t overheat, determining the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your machine not heating up at all.

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

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize a drying fan and vent to suck moist air from the dishwasher. 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 employ your user manual to ascertain if your machine uses a fan and find its location. Again you need to make sure the appliance is unplugged before trying to access the fan.

You can look at the fan and vent to check if anything is blocking it that might stop it from working as it should. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Capability

There are a variety of methods you can use to improve how well your appliance dries your dishes and ensure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Allow sufficient space between plates. Overfilling the appliance inhibits the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. It may be tempting to stuff in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets 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 dishes, 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 program. 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 and stop water condensing on the dishes as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and use it. Setting a higher temperature will lead to improved drying times and it might 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 dishwasher is, but it does prevent water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it may be necessary to call in the professionals or even buy a new machine.