Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your plates dry could in actual fact be more arduous for your machine than cleaning them. Plates and glassware have multiple crevices that may trap dishwater preventing it from drying out, plus as your dishwasher loses heat water droplets form out of the steam.

Dishwashers also make use of a number of means to get your dishes dry. Certain models will have a heating element to warm the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water further approaching the end of the cycle, others use a fan, and others use a mix of all three. There are thus a number of explanations why your machine could not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a variety of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can enlist the help of 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 Plates

Few things are more annoying than a home appliance that isn’t working properly, 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 your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the issue.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some appliances do a better job of drying your plates than others. However, if you notice a change in how effectively your machine is working one of these faults may be the cause.

Inspect 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 first check that you haven’t overloaded it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. It’s also worth noting 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 dishes thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can result in wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

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

Inspect The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a broken heating element may be the explanation your machine is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your dishes don’t feel hot when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

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

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your machine getting too hot, adjusting the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s not working this can result in your appliance not reaching a high enough temperature.

If the heating coil seems to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the problem. Again you can make sure with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will utilize a fan and vent to suck moist air from the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will condense on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

You can make use of your instruction manual to ascertain if your dishwasher uses a fan and locate it. Again you need to ensure the machine is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that could stop it from working correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to increase how well your appliance dries your dishes and ensure you have to hand dry as little as possible.

Allow ample space between plates. Overfilling the machine limits the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance 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 dishes are not touching.
Make use of rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the machine won’t hurt. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open your machine as soon as the cycle has completed. Some newer machines have this as an automatic function, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the program allows warm air to evaporate thus stopping water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Check if your machine employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and it may be possible to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Think about how you empty your machine. 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 crockery and cutlery below.

If you have checked all the above it might be time to phone an engineer or even buy a new dishwasher.