Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your crockery and cutlery dry might actually be harder for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Plates and glassware have multiple crevices that may collect water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, and as your dishwasher cools water condenses from the steam.

Different machines also employ a variety of different means to get your plates dry. Some will employ a heating element to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water more approaching the end of the cycle, certain models make use of a fan, and others make use of a mix of all three. There are consequently a number of explanations why your dishwasher may 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 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 utilize this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

Few things are more irritating than a home appliance that isn’t working as it should, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. 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 some appliances perform to a higher standard compared to others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these faults could be the problem.

Inspect How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. It’s also worth noting that plastics 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 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 inspect the dispenser for cracks and check that it’s full.

Check The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a not working heating element might be the reason your machine is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating coil is faulty.

To check the heating element you will need to unplug the appliance, locate the heating coil, you could need the manual for this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your machine getting too hot, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s faulty this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not uncover an fault but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be at fault. Once again you can test this with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will utilize a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the machine. If either of these elements are broken then the water vapor will condense on the dishes instead leaving them wet.

You can utilize your manual to find out if your appliance has a fan and locate it. Again you need to ensure the appliance is disconnected before attempting to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to check if anything is blocking it that would stop it from operating as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of things you can do to increase your appliances drying ability and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overfill the dishwasher. Overfilling the appliance inhibits the flow of air and water making cleaning and drying your plates more difficult. It may be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Use rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the appliance will do no harm. 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 appliance as soon as the program has completed. Some newer machines do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine when the cycle finishes can help allow the water to escape and stop water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Have a look to see if your machine employs a heat feature and utilize it. Setting a higher temperature will result in better drying times and it could be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Unload the bottom rack 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 dishes below.

If none of the above solves the problem it may be a good idea to phone the professionals or perhaps buy a new machine.