Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your crockery and cutlery could actually be harder for your machine than cleaning them. Crockery and cutlery and glassware have lots of crevices that could pool water making it more difficult for it to dry out, plus as your dishwasher cools water condenses out of the steam.

Dishwashers also make use of a number of different means to dry your dishes. Certain models opt for a heating element to heat up the inside of the machine and help with evaporation, some heat the water to a higher temperature nearing the final rinse, some employ a fan, and certain models employ a combination of all three. There are thus a number of explanations why your machine may not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a variety 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 taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying effectively you can call a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more irritating than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it should, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, washing machine 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 few places you can look to help you figure out the issue.

Not all makes and models are built to the same spec and some appliances do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these faults may be the cause.

Have a Look at How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the machine. Before assuming the appliance 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 don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your dishes and so if you have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can result in wet plates at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the rinse aid dispenser for cracks and ensure that it’s full.

Have a Look at The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a broken heating coil could be the reason your machine is not working as it should. If your dishes aren’t hot at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating element you will need to unplug the appliance, find the heating coil, you may need the manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

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

If the heating coil appears to be working as it should but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be at fault. Once again you can check this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize a drying fan and vent to suck moist air out of the appliance. If either of these elements are broken then the steam will remain in the dishwasher preventing the dishes from drying.

You can use your user manual to find out if your machine has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to make sure the appliance is disconnected before attempting to access the fan.

You can look at the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that might stop it from functioning correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Ability

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

Don’t overcrowd the dishwasher. Overcrowding the machine inhibits the flow of both water and air making cleaning and drying your dishes harder. Although it’s appealing 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 can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glassware in particular a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes helping the water to run off them and therefore speeding up drying times.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some newer models have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the machine when the cycle finishes allows warm air to escape thus stopping water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Find out if your appliance uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you may be able to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Unload the bottom rack before the top. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it does prevent water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If none of the above solves the problem it might be a good idea to call in the professionals or even buy a new machine.