Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your plates may actually be more arduous for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Plates and glassware have lots of nooks and crannies that could pool dishwater stopping it from drying out, and as your machine loses heat water condenses from the humid air.

Different machines also utilize a number of different means to get your plates dry. Some opt for a heating element to warm the inside of the dishwasher and help with evaporation, some heat the water more near the end of the cycle, certain models have a fan, and certain models make use of a mix of all three. There are thus a number of reasons why your dishwasher could not be drying plates optimally and a number 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 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 guide to help you identify and rectify the problem.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more annoying than a home 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 removing the dirt from or drying your plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the problem.

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

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the machine. Before assuming the appliance is broken you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery therefore, if you have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your plates coming out properly dry.

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

Inspect The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a not working heating coil might be the reason your appliance is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating element first unplug the appliance, then find the heating coil, you may need the instruction manual to do this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Check 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 faulty this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

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

Have a Look at The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will make use of a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will remain in the machine preventing the dishes from drying.

You can utilize your instruction manual to find out if your appliance has a fan and locate it. Again you need to double check the machine is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

You can visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that could stop it from working as it is supposed to. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Capability

There are a number of methods you can use to increase how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Don’t cram the machine. Overcrowding the appliance limits the flow of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and cram everything in, you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Use rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance won’t hurt. 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 cycle. Some newer models have this as an automatic function, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine when the cycle finishes allows warm air to escape thus preventing water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and it could be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Empty the lower level before the top. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it could be necessary to phone an engineer or perhaps upgrade your machine.