Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your dishes dry could really be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Dishes and glasses have lots of nooks and crannies that may pool dishwater stopping it from drying out, thus as your appliance cools water condenses from the humid air.

Different machines also employ a number of means to get your dishes dry. Certain models will have a heating element to warm the air in the dishwasher and help with evaporation, some warm the water further near the end of the cycle, some have a fan, and certain models have a combination of all three. There are therefore a number of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of things you can do to improve the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more frustrating than a home appliance that isn’t working as it should, regardless of whether its a smartphone, tumble dryer or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some dishwashers perform to a better standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these areas may be the problem.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

It might be that there is no fault with the machine. 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. It’s also worth noting 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 the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can mean wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a faulty heating coil may be the reason your machine is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating coil you will need to disconnect the appliance, find the heating coil, you could need the manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s not working this can result in your dishwasher not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not find an fault but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be at fault. Once again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will employ a drying fan and vent to suck moist air from the appliance. 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 leaving them wet.

You can utilize your manual to check if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to ensure the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to check if anything is blocking it that might stop it from operating correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Capability

There are a variety of methods you can use to boost how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and ensure you have to hand dry as little as possible.

Allow sufficient space between plates. Overfilling the appliance stops the flow of both water and air making cleaning and drying your plates harder. It may be appealing to cram in as much as possible but your machine will be more effective if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Make use of rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glassware in particular a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your plates helping the water to run off them and thus making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some newer dishwashers have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the machine when the cycle finishes can help allow the water to evaporate and prevent water condensing on the contents as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher heat will result in improved drying times and it may be possible to choose which points in the program you add more heat.
Empty the lower level before the top. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, 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 call in an engineer or perhaps upgrade your machine.