Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but getting your plates dry could actually be more arduous for your machine than cleaning them. Dishes and glassware have multiple crevices that could pool water preventing it from evaporating, plus as your appliance cools down water condenses out of the steam.

Dishwashers also employ a variety of different approaches to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some opt for a heating coil to warm the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature nearing the end of the cycle, some have a fan, and others employ a combination of all three. There are therefore a variety of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of options to rectify 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 taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

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 problem.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

There is nothing more annoying than a home appliance that isn’t working as it should, regardless of whether its a tv, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a few places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some dishwashers perform to a better standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these faults might be the cause.

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the dishwasher is broken you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can result in wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

Visually check the dispenser for damage and check that it’s full.

Inspect The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a faulty heating coil might be the reason your machine is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating coil you will need to disconnect the machine, find the heating element, you could need the owners manual for this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your machine getting too hot, adjusting the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s not working this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

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

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize 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 remain in the dishwasher preventing the crockery and cutlery from drying.

You can utilize your manual to find out if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to double check the dishwasher is disconnected before trying to access the fan.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that would prevent it from working correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to boost your machines drying ability and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

  1. Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overcrowding the appliance inhibits the flow of both water and air making removing the dirt from and drying your crockery and cutlery more difficult. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, your dishwasher will be more effective if you leave enough space so that dishes are not touching.
  2. Employ rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher won’t hurt. 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.
  3. Open your dishwasher as soon as the program has completed. Some newer machines do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the dishwasher when the program finishes allows warm air to evaporate and stop water condensing on the plates as the appliance cools down.
  4. Find out if your appliance employs a heat feature and utilize it. Setting a higher temperature will result in improved drying times and you might be able to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
  5. Unload the bottom rack first. This doesn’t affect how effective your dishwasher is, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If you have checked all the above it might be time to phone an engineer or even buy a new dishwasher.

More Dishwasher Problems:

  • Dishwasher Being Loud
  • Dishwasher Not Turning On
  • Dishwasher Not Draining
  • Dishwasher Leaking