Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your plates may in actual fact be harder for your machine than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that can collect dishwater preventing it from drying out, plus as your machine cools down water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a number of different methods to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Certain models will employ a heating coil to heat up the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some warm the water further nearing the end of the cycle, certain models have a fan, and some employ a combination of all of these. There are therefore a variety of reasons why your machine could not be drying dishes fully and a variety of options to improve the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than other materials 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 hire 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 Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more frustrating than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it should, regardless of whether its a smartphone, washing machine or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some makes and models perform to a higher standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how effectively your dishwasher is working one of these faults may be the cause.

Inspect How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the machine. Before assuming the dishwasher is not working you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. It’s also worth noting that plastic items 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 have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

The best thing to do is check the dispenser for cracks and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a broken heating coil might be the reason your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating element you will need to unplug the appliance, locate the heating coil, you may need the manual to do this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your machine overheating, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s broken this can result in your machine not reaching a high enough temperature.

If you check the heating coil and do not find an issue but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be the issue. Again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will utilize a fan and vent to remove the warm 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 machine preventing the crockery and cutlery from drying.

You can utilize your manual to ascertain if your machine has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to ensure the dishwasher is disconnected before attempting to make repairs.

You can look at the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that might stop it from functioning correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Boost Drying Power

There are a number of things you can do to increase your dishwashers effectiveness at drying and ensure you have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overfill the machine. Overfilling the dishwasher limits the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. It could be appealing to cram everything in but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher can only improve matters. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your dishes, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open your appliance as soon as the cycle has completed. Some new machines have this as an automatic function, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the cycle can help allow the water to evaporate and prevent water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Have a look to see if your appliance employs a heat feature and make use of it. The higher the heat the better the drying and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Empty the lower level before the top. 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 this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be a good idea to call in the professionals or perhaps buy a new dishwasher.