Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your crockery and cutlery could actually be harder for your machine than cleaning them. Crockery and cutlery and cups have multiple crevices that can collect dishwater preventing it from drying out, thus as your appliance cools water droplets form out of the steam.

Dishwashers also make use of a variety of methods to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Certain models opt for a heating coil to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some warm the water more nearing the final rinse, some use a fan, and some make use of a combination of all three. There are consequently a number of reasons why your dishwasher might not be drying dishes optimally and a number 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 seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly 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 Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more annoying 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 crockery and cutlery. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

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

Check the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

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

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your dishes therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can result in wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

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

Inspect The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a not working heating element may be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying dishes. If your dishes don’t feel hot 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 you will need to unplug the appliance, locate the heating coil, you could need the instruction manual for this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s faulty this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not uncover an fault but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be at fault. Once again you can check this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will employ a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the machine. If either of these elements are faulty then the water vapor will remain in the machine preventing the plates from drying.

You can make use of your instruction manual to check if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Again you need to ensure the dishwasher is unplugged before trying to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that would prevent it from working as it is supposed to. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Power

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

Don’t overload the machine. Overcrowding the machine limits the circulation of both water and air making removing the dirt from and drying your plates harder. It may be appealing to stuff everything in but you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Make use of rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the machine won’t hurt. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glasses 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 speeding up drying times.
Open your appliance as soon as the cycle has ended. Some newer machines have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the door at the end of the cycle allows warm air to escape thus preventing water condensing on the contents as the machine cools down.
Check if your dishwasher has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and it may be possible to choose which points in the cycle you add more heat.
Think about how you empty your dishwasher. This is simply because cups and glasses that are upside down on the top shelf often have a concave bottom where water can pool. Emptying the bottom rack first stops you spilling this water onto the plates below.

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