Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your dishes dry could actually be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Dishes and glassware have multiple crevices that may pool water preventing it from evaporating, thus as your dishwasher cools down water droplets form from the humid air.

Dishwashers also utilize a number of different methods to dry your dishes. Certain models opt for a heating coil to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some warm the water more near the final rinse, some employ a fan, and some make use of a mix of all of these. There are thus a variety of reasons why your machine may not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a number of options to improve the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying properly you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more irritating than an 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 designed for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some appliances do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these issues may be the cause.

Have a Look at How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. 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 plastics are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your plates and so if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your plates coming out properly dry.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a not working heating element might be the reason your appliance is not drying dishes. If your plates aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating element you will need to disconnect the appliance, find the heating coil, you may need the instruction manual for this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t get too hot, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s not working this can mean your dishwasher doesn’t heat up at all.

If the heating coil seems to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat may be at fault. Again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will use a fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will remain in the machine preventing the dishes from drying.

You can employ your user manual to check if your machine uses a fan and find its location. Again you need to make sure the machine is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

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

Ways to Increase Drying Capability

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

Don’t overload the machine. Overfilling the machine stops the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your crockery and cutlery harder. It may be tempting to cram in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Employ rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher will do no harm. 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 new models do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the program can help allow the water to evaporate thus stopping water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Find out if your appliance uses a heat feature and make use of it. Setting a higher temperature will result in improved drying times and you might be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Think about how you empty your dishwasher. 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 might be time to phone the professionals or even buy a new dishwasher.