Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your dishes might in actual fact be more difficult for your dishwasher than removing the dirt. Crockery and cutlery and glasses have multiple crevices that could collect water making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your dishwasher cools water condenses out of the humid air.

Dishwashers also make use of a number of different approaches to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some opt for a heating coil to warm the inside of the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat the water further nearing the final rinse, some employ a fan, and certain models make use of a mix of all three. There are therefore a variety of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying plates fully and a variety of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully 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 call a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting guide 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 irritating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it should, regardless of whether its a tv, washing machine or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the issue.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and you will find that some dishwashers do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if you notice a change in how effectively your dishwasher is working one of these issues could be the problem.

Have a Look at How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the dishwasher is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. Also be aware that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your plates therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can result in wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

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

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a broken heating element may be the explanation your machine is not drying plates. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating element is faulty.

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

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your dishwasher getting too hot, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s not working this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If the heating element seems to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be at fault. Once again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will make use of a drying fan and vent to suck moist air out of the dishwasher. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will remain in the appliance preventing the dishes from drying.

You can use your instruction manual to ascertain if your machine has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to double check the machine is disconnected before attempting to access the fan.

You can look at the fan and vent to check if there is anything lodged that might stop it from functioning as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Ability

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

Allow ample space between plates. Overfilling the dishwasher limits the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your dishes more difficult. It could be tempting to cram everything in but your dishwasher will be more effective if you leave enough space so that plates are not touching.
Utilize rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance will do no harm. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your plates, 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 new models do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the door when the cycle finishes can help allow the water to evaporate and stop water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and you might be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Unload the lower level first. 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 may be necessary to call in the professionals or perhaps buy a new machine.