Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your plates may actually be more difficult for your machine than removing the dirt. Dishes and cups have lots of nooks and crannies that can pool dishwater making it more difficult for it to evaporate, plus as your dishwasher cools water droplets form from the steam.

Different machines also utilize a number of different methods to dry your crockery and cutlery. Some will have a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and assist the water to evaporate, some warm the water more approaching the final rinse, some employ a fan, and some use a mix of all three. There are consequently a number of reasons why your dishwasher could not be drying dishes fully and a number of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can call a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more frustrating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a tv, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all appliances are created equal and some dishwashers perform to a higher standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how effectively your dishwasher is working one of these faults may be the problem.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the dishwasher. Before assuming the dishwasher is not working you should first check that you haven’t overloaded it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. 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

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a broken heating element may be the explanation your appliance is not drying plates. If your plates aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating coil first unplug the appliance, then locate the heating coil, you may need the manual for this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your appliance overheating, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your machine not reaching a high enough temperature.

If you check the heating coil and do not uncover an issue but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the issue. Once again you can test this with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will employ a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the dishwasher. If either of these elements are broken then the water vapor will remain in the machine preventing the plates from drying.

You can employ your user manual to find out if your dishwasher has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to double check the machine is unplugged before trying to access the fan.

First look at the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that could stop it from functioning as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to improve how well your appliance dries your dishes and make sure you have to hand dry as little as possible.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overfilling the dishwasher stops the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. Although it’s tempting to try and cram everything in, you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the machine won’t hurt. 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 consequently making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open your dishwasher as soon as the program has finished. Some new machines have this as an automatic function, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door when the program finishes allows warm air to escape thus stopping water condensing on the contents as the machine cools down.
Find out if your machine employs a heat feature and make use of it. Setting a higher temperature will result in improved drying times and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Unload the bottom rack first. This doesn’t affect how effective your dishwasher is, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it might be a good idea to phone an engineer or even buy a new dishwasher.