Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes could really be more arduous for your machine than removing the dirt. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that could collect water stopping it from drying out, and as your appliance cools water droplets form from the humid air.

Dishwashers also employ a number of means to get your plates dry. Some will employ a heating element to heat up the air in the dishwasher and assist the water to evaporate, some warm the water further approaching the end of the cycle, others employ a fan, and others employ a combination of all of these. There are consequently a number of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying dishes fully and a variety of things you can do to improve the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying effectively you can hire 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 Dishes

Few things are more annoying than a home 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 plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the problem.

Not all appliances are built to the same spec and some appliances do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these faults might be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

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 stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items 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 plates and so if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

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

Inspect The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your plates will not dry so a broken heating element might be the reason your dishwasher is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your plates don’t feel hot at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating element is broken.

To inspect the heating element you will need to unplug the dishwasher, find the heating element, you may need the owners 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. Therefore, if it’s broken this can mean your dishwasher doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an fault but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be at fault. Once again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize a drying 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 water vapor will remain in the machine preventing the crockery and cutlery from drying.

You can utilize your user manual to find out if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Again you need to double check the dishwasher is disconnected before attempting to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to check if anything is blocking it that might prevent it from operating as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Power

There are a number of things you can do to boost your dishwashers effectiveness at drying and ensure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Don’t overcrowd the machine. Overloading the dishwasher limits the flow of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both washing and drying your dishes. It may be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but your machine will work better if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the appliance can only improve matters. 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 the door at the end of the program. Some newer machines have this as an automatic option, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the program allows warm air to escape and stop water condensing on the plates as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and utilize it. The higher the temperature the better the drying and it may be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Unload the bottom rack first. 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 may be necessary to phone an engineer or perhaps buy a new machine.