Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your crockery and cutlery could actually be harder for your machine than removing the dirt. Dishes and glasses have lots of nooks and crannies that can pool water making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your machine cools water condenses out of the humid air.

Different machines also make use of a number of different approaches to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some will have a heating element to warm the air in the dishwasher and help the water to evaporate, some heat the water further nearing the final rinse, certain models make use of a fan, and others employ a mix of all of these. There are consequently a number of reasons why your machine may not be drying dishes fully and a number of things you can do to improve 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 seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly you can call a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the problem.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more annoying than an appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, 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 crockery and cutlery. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the problem.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and you will find that some appliances perform to a higher standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these issues may be the problem.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Plates

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is faulty you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. Also be aware 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 dishes and so if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

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

Inspect The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a broken heating element may be the reason your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating coil is faulty.

To check the heating coil first unplug the dishwasher, then find the heating element, you could need the manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your dishwasher overheating, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s faulty this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

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

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will employ a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the machine. If either of these elements are broken then the hot air will condense on the plates instead leaving them wet.

You can employ your instruction manual to ascertain if your machine uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to double check the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to access the fan.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that might stop it from operating as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase your machines effectiveness at drying and make sure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Allow ample space between crockery and cutlery. Overloading the dishwasher inhibits the circulation of both water and air making cleaning and drying your dishes more difficult. It might be tempting to cram everything in but your appliance will work better if you leave enough space so that dishes are not touching.
Employ rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the machine can only improve matters. 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 new models do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door when the program completes allows warm air to escape and stop water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher has 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.
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 dishes below.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it might be a good idea to phone an engineer or perhaps replace your machine.