Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes could really be harder for your machine than cleaning them. Dishes and glassware have multiple nooks and crannies that can pool dishwater stopping it from evaporating, plus as your machine cools down water droplets form out of the humid air.

Dishwashers also employ a variety of approaches to dry your plates. Certain models opt for a heating coil to heat up the inside of the dishwasher and help with evaporation, some heat the water to a higher temperature near the final rinse, some make use of a fan, and certain models use a mix of all of these. There are consequently a number of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying plates optimally and a variety of things you can do to rectify 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 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 make use of this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

There is nothing more irritating than an appliance that isn’t working 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 plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some dishwashers do a better job of drying your dishes than others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your plates in the past one of these faults may be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the dishwasher. Before assuming the appliance is not working you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. Also be aware that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

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

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

Check The Heating Coil

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

To check the heating coil first unplug the appliance, then find the heating coil, you may need the manual to do this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your dishwasher getting too hot, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your dishwasher not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an issue but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat could be the problem. Again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will make use of a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the dishwasher. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will form droplets on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

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

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

Ideas to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to boost how well your machine dries your dishes and make sure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Allow sufficient space between dishes. Overfilling the appliance limits the flow of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, your appliance will be more effective if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Use rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the appliance can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glasses a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes helping the water to run off them and thus speeding up drying times.
Open your dishwasher as soon as the cycle has ended. Some newer models do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the cycle allows warm air to escape and prevent water condensing on the contents as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your appliance employs a heat feature and use it. Setting a higher temperature will lead to improved drying times and you may be able to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Empty the lower level first. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be a good idea to call in an engineer or perhaps upgrade your machine.